Duke of Alba the House of Álvarez de Toledo (extinct in 1755), the House of Silva (extinct in 1802), and the House of FitzJames, which descends from an illegitimate son of King James II of England. Famous dukes include Don Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, governor of the Spanish Netherlands (references to "Alba" (Alva in Dutch), particularly in the context of Dutch history, are usually about him), and Doña María del Pilar de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba, a muse of the painter Francisco Goya. Various dukes have married into the families of Christopher Columbus and Cosimo de Medici, as
Fernando de Silva, 12th Duke of Alba Fernando de Silva, 12th Duke of Alba Fernando de Silva y Álvarez de Toledo, 12th Duke of Alba, GE, KOGF, KOHS, KOC (27 October 1714 – 15 November 1776), was a Spanish politician and general who was Prime Minister of Spain in 1754. Better known as the Duke of Huéscar, Fernando de Silva was a man of the Enlightenment and friend of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was Spanish ambassador to France between 1746 and 1749. On November 8, 1753 he was appointed Mayordomo mayor and chief of the Royal Household and, on April 9, 1754 he was made director of the