Barony of Polop - Order of Succession

Order of Succession

Polop, like most other lordships, was hereditary in nature. In the Low Middle Ages and until 1654, it was only allowed to pass down by inheritance through the male line under Royal Charter of 1448. When Don Diego Fajardo de Mendoza y Guzmán died in 1643 without a male heir and with a sole sister, the Royal Audience of Valencia had to administer the lordship for 11 years until by Royal Charter of 1654 King Philip IV of Spain allowed it to be passed to an heir of either gender. Since then and until the present days, the barony has continued to be held by members of the Fajardo de Mendoza family and his blood relatives in the direct line of descent. Unlike titles of nobility in the Spanish peerage, each new baron is not required to be confirmed in the lordship by Royal Charter issued and signed by the monarch.

As the Barons of Polop never made use of their right to let the lordship become a title of nobility under the Royal Charter of 1727 issued by King Philip V of Spain, Polop has remained a feudal barony with aristocratic rank. Therefore, following the enactment of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Spain) Act 1820, its transmission from generation to generation is not subject to the current revival legal provisions for titles of nobility but rather to the provisions of the original grants in the light of the Spanish historic law and the current civil procedure rules. In the 21st century, the rights of the holder of the barony should be confirmed by the Spanish courts of justice. The Cronista Rey de Armas for Castile and León, one of the very few public authorities empowered to certify personal coat of arms in Spain, should also issue a certificate of genealogy and arms to the holder of the barony.