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September 2, 2011

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My riches still belong to me, says duchess

ONE of Spain's richest women, set to marry for a third time at 85, has acknowledged she had to overcome opposition among her children but insisted she still controls her immense wealth.

In her first comments since the wedding was announced last week, the Duchess of Alba told Hola! magazine she had not been under pressure when she divided some of her riches among her six children.

"I made the share-out because I wanted to. Nobody pressured me," she told the magazine. "Anyway, as long as I am alive everything remains in my hands."

The duchess divided much of her wealth among her children in July, assigning castles, palaces and other property of the 500-year-old House of Alba that they will inherit on her death.

Spain's media reported the family was satisfied and within weeks the duchess announced plans to wed 60-year-old civil servant Alfonso Diez, whom she first met more than 30 years ago but began dating only three years ago.

In the interview, she said agreement "was a little difficult to obtain" but she had been determined. "I achieved (my objective) of trying to persuade each one. I am not a person who lets herself be managed. I have my own ideas and I try to convert them into reality."

The duchess, whose wealth is estimated between 600 million euros (US$867 million) and 3.5 billion euros, said the wedding will be a small affair in a chapel at her Duenas Palace in Seville in October.

The duchess, who is regularly featured in Spain's gossip pages and magazines, is a distant relative of Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Sir Winston Churchill.

Her full name is Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva.

 

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