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Duchess of Alba, wealthy Spanish aristocrat listed as world's most titled noble, dies at 88

Associated Press
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FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2011 file photo, Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva, Spanish Duchess of Alba, reacts as she walks out of the chapel with her husband Alfonso Diez after their wedding at Las Duenas Palace in Seville, Spain.The Duchess of Alba, one of Spain's wealthiest and most colorful aristocrats and listed as the world's most titled noble, has died at the age of 88. Maria del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva died at her palatial home in the southern city of Seville on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014. The cause of death was not immediately made known. A relative of Winston Churchill the duchess shared toys with England’s future Queen Elizabeth II while living in England as a girl. (AP Photo/Miguel Angel Morenatti, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this file photo taken June 16, 2010, Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva, the Duchess of Alba, arrives for a movie preview in Seville, Spain. The Duchess of Alba, one of Spain's wealthiest and most colorful aristocrats and listed as the world's most titled noble, has died at the age of 88. The Duchess died at her palatial home in the southern city of Seville on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014. The cause of death was not immediately made known. A relative of Winston Churchill the duchess shared toys with England’s future Queen Elizabeth II while living in England as a girl.(AP Photo/Paul White, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this file photo taken June 16, 2010, Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva, the Duchess of Alba, arrives for a movie preview in Seville, Spain. The Duchess of Alba, one of Spain's wealthiest and most colorful aristocrats and listed as the world's most titled noble, has died at the age of 88. The Duchess died at her palatial home in the southern city of Seville on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014. The cause of death was not immediately made known. A relative of Winston Churchill the duchess shared toys with England’s future Queen Elizabeth II while living in England as a girl. (AP Photo/Toni Rodriguez, File) (The Associated Press)

The Duchess of Alba, one of Spain's wealthiest and most colorful aristocrats and listed as the world's most titled noble, has died at the age of 88.

A spokesman for duchess' Duenas Palace residence in Seville said Maria del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva died there Thursday from pneumonia. The spokesman declined to be identified, in line with palace policy.

The duchess was admitted to a Seville hospital Sunday but the family asked for her to be moved to the house Tuesday.

A relative of Winston Churchill, the duchess shared toys with England's future Queen Elizabeth while living in England as a girl.

Twice-widowed, the fabulously wealthy raised eyebrows in 2011 when at age 85 she wed her third husband, a civil servant 25 years her junior.