José Antonio Azlor de Aragón
y Hurtado de Zaldívar
Duke of Luna
José Antonio Azlor de Aragón y Hurtado de Zaldívar (Biarritz, 14 January 1873-San Sebastián, 18 July 1960), 2nd Duke of Luna (1895), 17th Duke of Villahermosa (1921), 7th Duke of Granada de Ega (1919), 10th Marquis of Cábrega (1914), XIII Marquis of Cortes, XII Marquis of Valdetorres, VIII Marquis of Narros, XIV Count of Luna, X Count of Javier, X Count of Guara (1919), XIV Count of Real (1957), XIX Viscount of Zolina, XVIII Viscount of Muruzábal. He was also Master of Zaragoza, Knight of the Order of Malta and Gentleman of the King, and was also distinguished with the Grand Cross of the Order of Our Lady of the Conception of Villaviciosa in Portugal. He was the son of Francisco Javier Azlor de Aragón e Idiáquez and Isabel Hurtado de Zaldívar y Heredia. His special education enabled him to know several foreign languages. He graduated in Law at the University of Madrid, but because of his noble character and the fact that he could live off the income from his enormous property, he never practised as a lawyer. In 1906, in the church of San José in Madrid, he married Isabel Guillamás y Caro, 11th Marquise of San Felices, among other titles. In 1908 he applied to enter the Upper House as a senator in his own right. On 11 March, after being admitted, he took the oath of office, and in 1921 he addressed the Senate to communicate his intention to appear as the 17th Duke of Villahermosa. In his political life he was always linked to the conservative party. He died on 18 July 1960 in San Sebastián.
The ‘Lusitania’ Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry unit of the Spanish Army. Its permanent badge is the skull and crossbones, awarded by King Philip V, after the battle of Madonna del Olmo and won in combat for the courage and bravery of the components of the Regiment (two thirds of the Unit died), the ‘Dragons of Death’. By Royal Order dated 18th December 1709, King Philip V accepted the proposal made by the Count of Pezuela de las Torres to raise a Regiment of Dragoons, which, as was customary at the time, took the name of its founder: Regiment of Pezuela, 10th Dragoons. On 10 February 1718 it was renamed the ‘Lusitania’ Regiment, 10th Dragoons, by Royal Decree. The first military action of the Pezuela Dragoons was in the War of the Spanish Succession, specifically in the siege of Campomayor where they repulsed the Portuguese (1712). He continued his deeds of arms in the Spanish conquest of Sardinia and in the siege and capture of Cagliari (1717), a precursor to the victories he achieved the following year when, incorporated into the troops of the Marquis of Lede, he took part in the conquest of Sicily under the name of the Lusitania Dragoons. There he took part in the siege and surrender of Messina and later in the battle of Milazzo, a city under siege by Spanish troops. In the battle of Francavilla (1720), they distinguished themselves fighting on foot, given the position of the
Spanish troops in defence of a Capuchin convent. After returning from Italy, he fought in Tres Fontanas, forcing the enemy to lift the siege of Castillo de Mola, continuing his operations in Africa the same year, helping Ceuta and repelling the troops of Sultan Muley Ismael in his attack on the Serrallo and Tarajar Gorge to facilitate the army's retreat until returning to the Peninsula, where he served as a garrison in Cordoba. In 1726 he took part in the siege of the Rock of Gibraltar. In 1732 he was part of the army of the Count of Montemar for the expedition to Oran and distinguished himself in the attack on Monte del Santo and other actions of that siege. In 1742 he continued the series of brilliant deeds of arms in Italy, with the capture of the Castle of Aspremont and the positions of Maurienne and Modane, the attack on the entrenchments in the Alps, the capture of the Tour-du-Pont, the occupation of Chamberí (1743), the recapture of the Castle of Aspremont, attack and capture of Nice and the Monte Albano estate in Villafranca, siege and surrender of Demont and capture of Cherasco, until 1744, when these soldiers participated intensely in the battle of Madonna del Olmo, famous in the annals of Spanish cavalry. New laurels were won by the Regiment in the battle of Fregarolo (1745); the surprise of Codogno, the battle of Piacenza and Tidone (1746). In Portugal they took Miranda, Bragança, Chaves, Castelo Rodrigo, Salvatierra and Almeida (1762). On 13 November 1776, the ‘Dragones de Lusitania’ Regiment set sail, forming part of General Cevallos' expeditionary army in the conquest of the island of Santa Catalina and Colonia de Sacramento (1777). They then operated in the war against the French Republic to invade Roussillon and take San Lorenzo de Cerdá, Arlés and Ceret. They took part in the battle of Masdeu, the capture of Argeles and Elna, the actions of Prats de Molló and Colliure, the conquest of Thuir, the attack on the Puig-Oriol batteries, the actions of Millás, Pontellas and Canoes, the battle of Truillás and Boulou, Trompeta and Montesquieu and the action of Lascum (1795). He fought in the battles of Tudela (1808) and Almonacid; the battle of La Solana, the battle of Tamames, in which he was awarded a coat of arms with the motto ‘He won at Tamames’ for his behaviour; the action of Medina del Campo, where he took a battery, and the battle of Alba de Tormes. Showing great discipline, he fought in the Cuesta del Madero, battle of Ocaña, repelling repeated charges by the Imperial Cavalry (1809). It also took part in the actions of La Roca, Ronquillo, Aracena and Alcalá la Real (1810), Santa Engracia, the battle of La Albuera, the battle of Usagre, Cáceres and the surprise of Arroyomolinos (1811). During the Second Carlist War, it distinguished itself in Catalonia in the actions of La Ginebrosa (1847), being called the 3rd Lusitania Regiment of Hunters from 1844. It took part in the battles of Igualada, Caspe, Cientamo (1848), Castelfullit, Cambrils and Bancal de San Miguel (1849) and in the Political Events at Puerta Nueva and the action of Castell-Bisbal. In 1849 the Italian liberal, nationalist and republican revolutionaries took Rome, creating the Roman Republic and decreeing the end of the Pope's temporal power. Pius IX, taking refuge in Gaeta, appealed to the Catholic powers of Europe for support. France, Spain, Austria and Naples organised military forces to help the Pope and bring about his return to Rome. Spain sent four thousand men under the command of General Fernando Fernandez de Cordova to Gaeta, including the Lusitania with four squadrons. With the Republican forces defeated, the Pope's power was re-established. In the Third Carlist War, fighting for the constitutional cause, he took part in the actions of Unzue and Enériz (1872), the battle of Santa Gadea, the actions of Subijana, Arriola and Montevite, the battle of Nanclares, the battle of Montejurra, the battle of Fresneda, the battle of Monte-Muro, the lines of Villatuerta, Murillo and Abárzuza, and the battle and capture of Oteiza. Between 1895 and 1898, a squadron of the Regiment formed part of the expeditionary forces in Cuba, taking an outstanding part in numerous combat actions, including the charge at Ingenio Esperanza (1896), actions at Potrero, Cepeda, Macaguabo, Las Varas and Río Grande. The Regiment ended the 19th century with the name of Regimiento de Cazadores Lusitania 12 de Cazadores Lusitania de Caballería and garrisoned in Madrid.
The Royal House of Aragon was the first dynasty to hold the title of King and Queen of Aragon. Twenty-one monarchs ruled over its five centuries (11th-16th centuries), maintaining, in general terms, a certain Mediterranean projection and a policy of rapprochement with France and other great European royal houses. Between the 8th and 10th centuries, the present-day region of Aragon experienced a certain degree of autonomy as a result of its resistance to the Muslims. This was a phase of transition from proto-feudalism to a feudal state, and all the enclaves in the area maintained their own dynasties, although they were often linked together. The origin of the House of Aragon lies in Sancho III the Great (1004-1035), who after a splendid reign in which he obtained a large number of territories decided to divide them among his sons on his death. Thus, in 1035 he left his son Ramiro the territory of Aragon, which passed to his descendant Sancho Ramírez, which had already become a Kingdom. Minor branches of the House of Aragon, such as the branch of the Dukes of Villahermosa and Counts of Luna and the branch of the Dukes
of Montalto, emerged from the royal house. Duke of Villahermosa (Spanish: Duque de Villahermosa) is a hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1476 by John II to Alfonso de Aragón, a half-brother of Ferdinand II. The ducal family's fortunes grew in the mid-15th century, after Pedrola became the Aragonese capital at the time when the Azlor de Aragón family estates and Villahermosa were controlled by Alfonso de Aragón y de Escobar, illegitimate son of King John II of Aragon. This noble family owned the Palace of Villahermosa in Madrid, a neo-classical building on the corner of Paseo del Prado and Calle de San Jerónimo, from the 18th century until the 20th century. Refurbished by Rafael Moneo in the late 1980s, the former ducal townhouse now houses Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.
Awards: Sash and star of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (Ordem de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa), insignia, cross and stars of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Zaragoza, star of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
