Spain is abuzz in anticipation of an event already dubbed the main wedding of 2025. In just a few hours, this coming Saturday, Cayetano Martínez de Irujo and Bárbara Mirján will formalize their ten-year relationship with marriage vows. The ceremony will take place in Seville, before the image of Cristo de los Gitanos, promising a unique Andalusian flair to the celebration. Festivities for the three hundred invited guests will continue at the family estate Las Arroyuelas, where the couple resides. Guests can look forward to lively flamenco rhythms.
Preparation for this day was so extensive that Bárbara Mirján even temporarily stepped away from her main job as an event planner at OK Diario to fully dedicate herself to the upcoming celebration. Nearly all the details are already known to the public. For example, the main absentee at the event will be Jacobo Fitz-James. The bride will appear in a gown by Navascués, while the groom will wear the same red uniform of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Seville that he wore at his first wedding with Genoveva Casanova.
However, as the much-anticipated date approaches, one question grows increasingly pressing for many. When Bárbara Mirjan officially joins the famous House of Alba, will she acquire any noble status as the wife of an aristocrat? After all, her fiancé, the most publicly prominent of the late Duchess of Alba’s sons, holds the titles of Duke of Arjona and Count of Salvatierra, inherited from his mother. His mother, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, was considered the world’s most titled aristocrat, possessing more than fifty honors, including fourteen Grandee of Spain titles.
Despite all expectations, the answer to this question is negative. According to Spanish nobility law, titles are neither transferred nor shared upon marriage. Therefore, the aristocrat’s future wife will not become the Duchess of Arjona or Countess of Salvatierra. These honors belong solely to their holder. However, social etiquette allows for Bárbara Mirjan to be addressed with these titles as a courtesy, but this carries no legal weight. The true heirs to the dukedom and countship, by right of primogeniture, will be Cayetano’s children from his first marriage—the 24-year-old twins, Luis and Amina.
Cayetano Martínez de Irujo is a multifaceted figure: entrepreneur, Olympic equestrian, and a man whose identity is deeply intertwined with his aristocratic heritage. He holds the titles of Duke of Arjona, Count of Salvatierra, and is a Grandee of Spain. In one of his public statements, he spoke out sharply against proposals to abolish noble titles, calling them “nonsense” and “absurd.” He also emphasized that the aristocracy has historically been a chief defender of the monarchy. His titles are rooted in centuries of history: the County of Salvatierra was established by King Philip III in 1613, and the Duchy of Arjona by King Juan II of Castile back in 1423. Both titles can be passed on to heirs during the holder’s lifetime, as his mother once did.
