The Ducal House

History and genealogy

The Ducal House of Medinaceli has its origins in the first-born descendants of Prince Don Fernando, known by the nickname of "...".el de la Cerda"The eldest son and ill-fated successor of Alfonso X, King of Castile and León, and of Blanche of France, daughter of Saint Louis, King of France. When he predeceased his father, he left two young sons, known as the "Infantes de la CerdaThe succession dispute was complex and led to a long civil war in which the eldest of the two, Alfonso, who claimed the title of King of Castile and León, successively disputed the Crown with his uncle Sancho IV, his cousin Fernando IV and, finally, his nephew Alfonso XI, whom he recognised as the legitimate king in exchange for a scattered group of territories known as "...".of the reward". Due to successive deaths without succession, these territories and the representation of the disinherited major line of the Royal House of Castile and León passed to a granddaughter, Isabel de la Cerda who, on marrying Bernardo de Bearne, created Count of Medinaceli in 1368, received the said county as a donation, and from then on was titled Countess of Medinaceli in her own right. From then on, her House would be known by the name of her Soria county town and the preponderance of the maternal line would be reflected in the fact that her descendants forgot the name and arms of Foix of her paternal line and used only the signs of identity of the Cerda lineage, adopting as their coat of arms the combined arms of the royal houses of Castile and France.