Quick Facts
Biography
Don Carlos Gereda y de Borbón, Marquess of Almazán (24 January 1947 – 29 August 2017) was a Spanish aristocrat, engineering entrepreneur and philanthropist.
The youngest son of Don Nicolás Gereda y Bustamante, his mother Doña María Luisa de Borbón y Pintó was the only daughter of Alberto María de Borbón y d'Ast, 2nd Duke of Santa Elena, making Don Carlos a great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Charles IV of Spain.
Carlos Gereda y de Borbón was the 49th Grand Master of the Paris-Malta obedience of the Order of Saint Lazarus (instituted 1910) from 2008 until his death, as such succeeding the Duke of Seville and the Duke of Brissac.
Early life and background
Don Carlos was born in Uruguay where his parents moved after the Spanish Civil War to run the country estate they had inherited.
Through his maternal grandfather, Alberto María de Borbón y d'Ast, 2nd Duke of Santa Elena, he is related to the Borbón family, being a sixth cousin once removed of King Felipe VI of Spain.
Don Carlos spent his early childhood in Spain, before being sent to Ladycross Preparatory School in Sussex, England. He then attended Downside School, a Benedictine foundation in Somerset, before reading Industrial Engineering at the Complutense University of Madrid.
On 15 February 1975 he married Doña María las Nieves Castellano y Barón, Marchioness of Almazán (born 24 September 1947); her family's hereditary title was created in 1575 by Philip II of Spain.
Career
In 1975 Don Carlos embarked on a career in business as a commercial development entrepreneur, which has provided him opportunities to travel the world from the Far East to South America and Central Europe. He and his wife, Blanche, lived in Buenos Aires from 1979 to 1986, from where she still operates an oil services company.
Don Carlos was involved in establishing a Museum of Science and Leisure at Málaga, Spain, with the aim of its developing into one of the most important such museums in southern Europe.
Distinctions
Titles and styles
- 1947 — 1975: Don Carlos Gereda y de Borbón
- 1975 — 2008: Don Carlos Gereda y de Borbón, Marquess of Almazán, iure uxoris ("by right of his wife") as is customary in Spain, being married to the substantive title holder of that marquessate
- 2008 — 2017: His Excellency Don Carlos Gereda y de Borbón, Marquess of Almazán, 49th Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem
Orders
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
Georgia: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Eagle of Georgia
Other
- 49th Grand Master of the Paris-Malta obedience of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910), invested at the Chapter-General in 2008, elected after swearing the solemn oath in the presence of knights and dames of the order at Manchester Cathedral, United Kingdom.
Death
Carlos Gereda y de Borbón died at his residence in Madrid, Spain, on 29 August 2017, following a short illness. He was buried two days later in a private family ceremony.