Succession
The evidence supporting one's claim to a title may be reviewed by the Deputation of Grandees and Titled Nobles of the Kingdom (Diputación de Grandes y Títulos del Reino). The body includes eight grandees, eight nobles who are not grandees, and a president who must hold both a grandeeship and a hereditary title without grandeeship.
Succession to Spanish noble titles is hereditary, but not automatic. The original letters patent which created the title determines the order of succession. Payment of substantial fees is required whenever a title is inherited.
While noble titles historically have followed the rule of male-preference primogeniture, a Spanish law came into effect on October 30, 2006, after approval by both houses of Parliament, establishing the inheritance of hereditary noble titles by the firstborn regardless of sex. The law is retroactive to July 27, 2005.
Following the death of a noble, the senior heir may petition the King through the Spanish Ministry of Justice for permission to use the title. If the senior heir does not make a petition within two years, then other heirs may themselves do so. Furthermore, there is an overall limit of forty years from vacancy within which one may claim a title.
The petitioner must demonstrate that he or she is a child, grandchild or direct male line descendant of a noble (whether a grandee or not), or that he or she belongs to certain bodies or orders of chivalry deemed noble, or that the father's family is recognized as noble (if succeeding to a grandeeship, the mother's family also). Furthermore, a fee must be paid; the fees depend on whether the title is attached to a grandeeship or not, and on whether the heir is a direct descendant or collateral kinsman of the previous holder. The petition is normally granted, except if the petitioner is a criminal.
Titles may also be ceded to heirs other than the senior heir, during the lifetime of the main titleholder. Normally, the process is used to allow younger children to succeed to lesser titles, while the highest or principal title goes to the senior heir. Only subsidiary titles may be ceded; the principal title must be reserved for the senior heir. The cession of titles may only be done with the approval of the monarch.
Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba, holds the Guinness Book of Records for number of titles with over 50 titles.
Read more about this topic: Spanish Nobility
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