Duke of Cádiz

Duke of Cádiz, named after the city Cádiz in Andalusia, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1484 for members of the Spanish royal family. It does not include any land tenure and does not produce any income for the holder.

Dukedom of Cádiz
Arms of the Dukedom of Cádiz
Creation date	1484
Creation	First
Created by	Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile
Peerage	Peerage of Spain
First holder	Rodrigo Ponce de León
Last holder	Don Alfonso de Borbón y de Dampierre
Heir apparent	Reverted to the Crown
Status	Extinct

History

Rodrigo Ponce de León was a Castilian military leader who was granted the title of Duke of Cádiz in 1484. After the death of the first duke in 1492, the Catholic Monarchs negotiated with Francisca Ponce de León y de la Fuente regarding the abolition of the Marquisate and Duchy of Cádiz, reinstating the city and the titles to the crown after her death.

For centuries, the title remained in abeyance, until the nineteenth century. Since then, the title was held by members of the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon.

The title was re-created by the Head of the Spanish State, Francisco Franco, in favor of Alfonso de Borbón, the first-born son of the infante Jacques, Duke of Anjou and Segovia, who received his title by decree for the birth of his son Francois. However, Royal Decree No. 1.368, of November 6, 1987, of King Juan Carlos I made the lifetime title and the predicate of royal highness non-transferable to “spouses [and] children” (transitory provisions). It returned to the Crown on the death of Alfonso de Borbón.

List of holders

	Royal Title	Period
First creation by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile
I	Rodrigo Ponce de León	1484–1492
II	Francisca Ponce de León y de la Fuente	1492–1493
Second creation by Ferdinand VII of Spain
I	Infante Francisco de Asís of Spain (6 May 1820 – 15 November 1821)	1820–1821
II	Francisco de Asís, King consort of Spain	1822–1902
Third creation by Francisco Franco
I	Alfonso de Borbón	1972–1989

Sources

• Martina Torres, Juan (2009). The History of Spanish Nobility, 1500–present. Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) (translated title)
• Suppression of the Duchy of Cádiz (Spanish)