March 1, 2024
Don Fernando Humberto Gómez-Acebo de Borbón died today in Madrid. He was 49 years old. The cause of death was chronic respiratory failure, which was "complicated by influenza and Covid." He had been battling respiratory issues for some time, and in recent months, his health began to decline. In January, he underwent a tracheostomy, to relieve his bronchial issues.
It has been reported in the Spanish media that Fernando's first cousin, King Felipe VI, visited him in the hospital last night.
Don Fernando was born at the Sanatorio de Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Madrid on September 30, 1974. He was the fifth and youngest child of HRH Infanta Doña María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz (1936-2020) and Don Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada, 2nd Viscount of La Torre (1934-1991). Infanta Pilar was the eldest child of HRH Infante Don Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso of Spain, Count of Barcelona (1913-1993), and HRH María de las Mercedes Cristina Genara Isabel Luisa Carolina Victoria y Todos los Santos of Bourbon-Two-Sicilies (1910-2000).
The Count of Barcelona was the third son and heir of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
Don Fernando's health problems have worried his family for some time. To his family and friends, he was known as Coco. Although he tried to maintain a low profile, his "love affairs" were fodder for the Spanish gossip columnists.
He was married twice.
His first marriage to Mónica Martin Luque took place on November 26, 2006, at the Real Monasterio de la Encarnacion in the presence of the entire Spanish royal family as he was the nephew of King Juan Carlos I. The couple separated two years later and divorced in 2013. They remained good friends. "The fact that we had separated does not mean we get along badly," Mónica Martin Luque told a reporter.
Don Fernando married for a second time on May 31, 2016. This marriage was in a civil ceremony at the City Hall in Paleo Faliro in Greece where he wed Greek journalist and businesswoman, Nadia Halamandari.
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Five days after the wedding, Nadia gave birth to the couple's son, Nicolás in an Athens clinic. The couple separated within a year, as it was difficult for Fernando and Nadia to maintain a long-distance marriage, as Nadia helped run her father's business, in Greece, and Fernando was back living in his family's home in Puerta de Hierro in Madrid. It has not been confirmed if the couple were divorced.
In 2017, Don Fernando denied rumors of a divorce. He told El Mundo "It's not the best situation we can be in, but hey, it is what it is. Life is like that and it's not drama nor are we doing to tear our clothes off. We are three hours away by plane and I go to Greece many times."
Don Fernando is survived by his widow, Nadia, and their son, Nicolás, and his siblings, Doña Simoneta Gómez-Acebo y Borbón, Don Juan Filiberto Gómez-Acebo y Borbón, 3rd Viscount of La Torre, Don Bruno Alejandro Gómez-Acebo y Borbón and Don Luis Beltrán Gómez-Acebo y Borbón and numerous nieces and nephews.
His body has been taken to the Tanatorio de La Paz Mortuary in Tres Canto, a Madrid suburb, where his family and friends will pay their respects.
Don Fernando was a descendant of Queen Victoria.
Victoria - Beatrice - Victoria Eugenie - Juan - Pilar - Fernando
Thank you for providing the photo links. What an outpouring of respect. I was moved to see the young son, Nicholas Gomez-Acebo, attending and greeted by Spain's King and Queen.
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