Scribbler in Seville

The Wedding of the Year: the view from la calle

fionafloreswatson Current Affairs, Events, History, Royalty/aristocracy, Sevilla city

The entrance of Palacio de las Dueñas, the Duquesa's Seville home and venue for her wedding today.

The palace is the Duquesa's favourite of her many properties.

Today was the Wedding of the Year in Spain. The Duquesa de Alba, Spain’s richest woman, who has one of the finest private art collections in the world, married her third husband. She is a very popular figure in Spain for her openness, her lack of pretension and her love of popular pastimes such as bullfighting and flamenco.

The Duquesa’s favourite palace (she has a wide selection – or did; she had to give them away to her children in order for them to approve of the union) is the Palacio de las Dueñas here in Seville, and it was there where she married her sweetheart, civil servant Alfonso Diaz, this afternoon. Yours truly braved the crush and the heat, both of which were extreme, to bring you some photographic evidence of what went on. ( I couldn’t make Will’n’Kate’s, so this was my replacement posh-celeb nuptial fix.)

Some people had dressed up for the occasion.

One person expresses affection for this most popular of bluebloods.

Others sent cheeky messages - eat your heart out, Twitter:

This TV presenter, from "Otra Movida", got the crowd going from a balcony...

and we all cheered when this TV cameraman panned across the throng of people below in the street.

The Duquesa's neighbours, opposite the palace entrance, had enviable views of the proceedings...

and these lucky people had an even better view. That parasol was very necessary - we were sweltering down in the throng...

so some used the traditional Sevillano means of cooling off - an abanico...

but the press pack were even hotter, in full sun (we had shade, at least).

At last the newlyweds made their appearance - and the roar that went up was deafening, while the surge forward was kind of scary. She danced for the people - and the cameras.

Two people looking very happy, holding hands while the world watched.

And then it was all over.

But they were kind enough to send out some liquid refreshment for the parched fans who had waited patiently for hours.

Me at the palace - time to go home now. What an atmosphere, what an experience. Ever since I interviewed her, I've been fascinated by the Duquesa, so I couldn't miss this. And it was worth the heat, the standing for hours, the shoving and pushing, and the claustrophobia. Seville at its best with high spirits, humour and great affection for a much-loved lady. ¡Viva los novios!

This was day 5’s post a day (one post every day for the month of October) – I just didn’t get to post it till 6 October, unlike my fellow post-a-dayer Digamama. So today you get two for the price of one.

, ,