Octogenarian Duchess of Alba Suffers 2nd Accidental Fall Since Wedding to Much Younger Alfonso Diez

Spain’s duchess of Alba was hospitalized in Rome after suffering a fractured head of a femur from a fall last week in the Italian capital, members of her establishment told Efe on Monday.

Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 87, underwent an operation on Friday, from which she is recovering satisfactorily, and could remain at the medical center for about five days, those close to her said.

The fall occurred when, after visiting the Palazzo Collona and the Piazza del Campidoglio, the duchess went to buy some Murano glass, but tripped and fell, eyewitnesses told Efe.

The duchess’s eldest son, Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, duke of Huescar, arrived in Rome Monday to be with his mother.

The Spanish ambassador to Italy, Javier Elorza, and the Spanish consul in Rome, Eduardo De Laiglesia, contacted the duke of Huescar to offer any help necessary, diplomatic sources told Efe.

“Fortunately it is a clean fracture, my mother is well and we hope that in a few days she can return to Spain,” the duke told the diplomats, whom he thanked for their consideration.

In October 2011, soon after her marriage to Alfonso Diez, the duchess, one of Spain’s richest women, suffered another accidental fall that cause a fracture of the pelvis.

Published in Latino Daily News