Francisco de Borbón y Escasany

Don Francisco de Paula Enrique de Borbón y Escasany, 5th Duke of Seville, Grandee of Spain (16 November 1943 – 20 May 2025) was a Spanish nobleman and businessman who was involved in banking, real estate and other commercial activities. He inherited the title of Duke of Seville in 1968 and was a distant relative of the Spanish royal family. He was not a Carlist pretender, because of morganatic ancestry.

Early life Borbon y Escasany was born in Madrid as the eldest child of Francisco de Borbón y Borbón (1912–1995), who was the younger son of Francisco de Borbón y de la Torre and Enriqueta de Borbón y Parade, 4th Duchess of Seville. His father had renounced his own rights to succeed to the title in 1968. daughter of Count Günther von Hardenberg and his wife, Princess Maria Josepha of Fürstenberg (granddaughter of Maximilian Egon II, Prince of Fürstenberg). The couple had three children and divorced on 30 June 1989 in Madrid. In 2018, he was elected as 50th Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus (Malta-Paris obedience). On 9 October 2021, he married Sophie Elizabeth Karoly, with whom he has a son, Francisco Máximo de Borbón y Karoly (born 2017).

He married for the second time on 19 October 1991 at Vienna to Isabelle Eugénie Karanitsch (born 23 November 1959 in Vienna), daughter of Franz M. Karanitsch and Tatjana Cimlov Karacevcev. They had no children and divorced on 17 June 1993 in Madrid.

Borbon y Escasany married for the third time on 2 September 2000 at Marbella to María de los Ángeles de Vargas-Zúñiga y Juanes (born 19 November 1954). She is the daughter of Manuel de Vargas-Zúñiga y la Calzada and María de los Ángeles de Juanes y Lago, and her paternal grandfather was the 12th . They had no children together, but she has children from a previous marriage.

Order of Saint Lazarus

The Duke of Seville was elected as 48th Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus (Malta obedience) on 5 October 1996 at Santa Maria della Passione in Milan, Italy. He succeeded his father, who had been Grand Master of the Order since 1956.

He retired from his position of Grand Master in 2008 and was succeeded by his cousin, Carlos Gereda y de Borbón, Marqués de Almazán. The Duke of Seville was then given the title of Grand Master Emeritus. In 2018, the Duke of Seville's son was elected as 50th Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus (Malta-Paris obedience), succeeding Carlos Gereda y de Borbón. The Duke of Seville served as the first President of the Spain Society SAR from its founding in 2010 until his passing in 2025.

Death The Duke of Seville died in Madrid on 20 May 2025, at the age of 81, only ten days after his brother Alfonso's death.

Distinctions

Titles and styles 16 November 1943 – 22 October 1968: Don Francisco de Borbón y Escasany 22 October 1968 – 20 May 2025: The Most Excellent The Duke of Seville