Francisco de Borbón y Escasany, who held the title of Duke of Sevilla and was a cousin of honorary King Juan Carlos I, passed away in May 2025. His life was a kaleidoscope of striking events, aristocratic alliances, and personal dramas, many of which became public knowledge.
The aristocrat’s personal life was eventful and far from smooth. He married three times. His first union with German Countess Beatrice von Hardenberg brought him three children: Olivia, Francisco, and Cristina, whose life was tragically cut short in 2020. It was Olivia de Borbón, a well-known socialite, who, after her father’s death, initiated the process to inherit the ducal title, as officially announced in the government bulletin.
The duke’s second marriage, held in Vienna in 1991 to Austrian socialite Isabel Eugenia Karanitsch, proved short-lived and deeply unsuccessful. Only three years later, the couple divorced. Francisco de Borbón himself would later call this union the greatest mistake of his life, overshadowed from the start by constant disagreements.
He found true family happiness only in his third marriage. His chosen one was Ángeles de Vargas-Zúñiga y Juanes, with whom he spent a quarter of a century until his passing. Ángeles became his steadfast support, especially through his hardest times, including the loss of his daughter Cristina. The final years of their life together were darkened by her struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Family stories of the de Borbon lineage have repeatedly drawn public attention. For example, Olivia was once forced to publicly defend the honor of her mother, Countess von Hardenberg. The reason was claims made in the memoirs of a well-known figure, in which Beatriz was accused of spreading rumors about an affair between the Marquis de Grignon and his then-partner. Olivia firmly denied these allegations, highlighting the pain they had caused her mother.
Interestingly, the Duke of Seville himself was once romantically involved with Beatriz Preysler, the late sister of none other than Isabel Preysler. That relationship, too, faced many challenges—including relentless harassment from paparazzi. The aristocrat shared his candid reflections on the twists of fate in his book ‘Almost Memoirs,’ published in 2023, leaving behind a legacy marked by both brilliance and regret.
