Duchesses of Seville - Duchess of Alba and Duchess of Medinaceli

When one thinks of Seville, one thinks marmalade, tapas, and flamenco.

But one must note that this is also the capital of former formidable Spanish duchesses.

The Late Duchess of Alba and the 18th woman who held the title

The late Duchess of Alba, 

hereby referred to as Cayetana and 

the late Duchess of Medinaceli or Alcala

( there were many to choose from), 

hereby referred to as Mimi.

Duchess of Medinaceli when she was younger as she stayed away from the limelight in her later years

The two were the most titled aristocrats in the world and in that aristo-world outranked the Queen of England who was the Duchess of Alba's playmate as a child. Mimi actually held the title but when she found out she was going to be listed in the Guinness book of world records, she was horrified at the prospect and petitioned the King of Spain and gave away a few of her titles to her son and added that her cousin, Cayetana, would enjoy the limelight.

Spanish duchesses rarely get spoken about at length 
in our Anglo culture and 
gets outshined by the likes of the Mitford sisters 
( which did include an eventual Duchess ) and the Bouvier sisters.

Oddly, real life duchesses especially in the UK rarely get a look in.  
Of course, there was Princess Di whose nickname was "Duch".