Dukes of Medina Sidonia

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The Dukes of Medina Sidonia are Grandees of Spain, holding the oldest dukedom in the Kingdom, and were once the most prominent magnate family of the Andalusian region. The most famous was Don Alonso de Guzmán El Bueno, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia, who commanded the Spanish Armada.

The Guzmán family were originally lords of Abiados, on the southern slope of the Picos de Europa in the hill country of León. The name is believed to be a contraction or corruption of Gundamaris, i.e. son of Gundamar. An early family tradition represents them as having come from Britain, or they may have descended from one of the Scandinavian invaders who attacked the north coast of Spain in the 10th century. They first appear in the 10th century, and they grew great by the Reconquista of the country from the Muslims.

Recent evidence unearthed in the family archives by the late Luisa Isabel Alvarez de Toledo, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia, disputes this view. Instead, it suggests that Guzman El Bueno was actually a Muslim, and may have been born in the Moorish territories across the Straits of Gibraltar.

The branch to which the dukes of Medina Sidonia belonged was founded by Alonso Pérez de Guzmán (1256-1309), surnamed El Bueno, the good, in the sense of good at need, or stout-hearted. In 1296 he defended the town of Tarifa on behalf of Ferdinand IV, and when the besiegers threatened to murder one of his sons whom they held as a prisoner if he did not surrender, he allowed the boy to be killed. He was rewarded by great grants of crown land. The ducal title was conferred by John II in 1445 on one of his descendants, Juan Alonzo de Guzmán, count of Niebla. The addition "El Bueno" to the family name of Guzmán was used by several of the house, which included many statesmen, generals and colonial viceroys.

Luisa de Guzman (1613-1666), eldest daughter of the 8th Duke of Medina-Sidonia, became queen-consort of Portugal when her husband John II, 8th Duke of Braganza became, in 1640, John IV, the first King of Portugal of the House of Braganza. In order to encourage her husband when the Portuguese nobility offered him the crown of Portugal, Luisa is known for her phrase: "better Queen for one day, than Duchess all my life".

Luisa’s brother, Gaspar de Guzmán (d. 1664), 9th Duke of Medina Sidónia, also tried to acquire a royal crown when, in 1641, he led the Andaluzia rebellion against the Spanish. But if in Portugal (and Catalonia) there were strong cultural differences (language), an historical record of independence and a strong popular support, Andaluzia never had such an identity and, in the end, the rebellion failed. He had the support of his brother in law, John IV of Portugal, but the promised naval aid from France and the Netherlands didn't arrive. The king of Spain forgave the treason, but the previous prestige of this House was only regained with the following duke.

The style of address is normally "Your Excellency".