Lez Talk About the 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia

Today, I thought I'd give credit to nobility. Yes, actual nobility. I'm talking about the 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia (Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo) who was a Grandee of Spain and, obviously, a duchess- by blood. She married her partner, who is now the Duchess Dowager Maria, hours before her death in a civil ceremony.

Ok, for Americans, what exactly is a duchess? A duchess is a title that ranks below prince/ princess but above a marquis/ marquise. Is a duke/duchess royal? Depends if they are of royal blood. Not all nobles are royal but they may be related to royalty. The 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia was not royal.

What is a Grandee of Spain? It's another title that expresses an exalted position, a higher level of nobility who is most likely very important and/or is extremely wealthy.

Now that we are on the same page, the duchess was also a socialist. Despite your views on socialism, let's look at the big picture that I'm trying to paint for you. She had a very noble heritage and still fought for her ideals which is the total opposite of her upbringing. To give you an idea, she was also 15th Duchess of Fernandina and Princess of Montalbán, 17th Marchioness of Villafranca del Bierzo, 18th Marchioness of los Vélez, 25th Countess of Niebla, and three times a Grandee of Spain. (Marchioness is a marquise)

She is also, the only noble (that I can find) who has married someone of the same sex. Her wife, in turn, shared her titles as well and, as I mentioned, is now the Duchess Dowager Maria. What's a Duchess Dowager? The widow of a duke or in this case, a duchess.

This has been a subject I had been fairly interested in for quite some time. Questions have popped into my mind since Disney movies built a franchise on their princesses and the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (a.k.a. Will and Kate). Are there any princesses who have come out? Are there any noble lesbians in the world? If there were, would they, in turn, share the titles of their spouse?

I suppose it depends on the country. Spain has legalized same sex marriage since 3 July 2005 and obviously titles can be shared. And to my knowledge, there are no princesses or queens who have publicly come out. There are rumors of passed queens like Anne of Great Britain who was said to have had a relationship with Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough and Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham. Marie Antoinette was also rumored to have had sexual liaisons with women as well as Catherine the Great but none of these women were publicly lesbians or publicly admitted to be attracted to the same sex.

Hopefully, a princess in our day will come out and change how people look at royalty. It would be nice to have a lesbian princess or a princess who simply falls in love with another woman. Until then, we can only hope and pay homage to Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia, the first lesbian noble to marry her partner. May she rest in peace.

The Duchess Dowager Maria is now life-president of the Fundación Casa Medina Sidonia.