Pedro de Alcántara Álvarez de Toledo
17th Duque de Medina Sidonia
(1803–67)

Biographical

17th Duque de Medina Sidonia, Grandee of Spain 1821–67†
11th Duca di Fernandina 1816–67†
14th Duca di Montalto 1821–67†
11th Principe de Montalbano 1816–67†
'13th Principe di Paternò' 1821–67† [claimant]
13th Duque de Bivona 1816–54 ren
13th Marqués de Villafranca del Bierzo, Grandee of Spain 1821–67†
13th Marqués de los Vélez, Grandee of Spain 1821–64 ced. [inv. 1855]
17th Marqués de Molina 1816–67†
10th Marqués de Martorell 1821–67†
8th Marqués de Villanueva de Valdueza 1821–67†
25th Conde de Niebla 1816–67†
16th Conte di Collesano 1821
16th Marqués de Cazaza 1821–67†
21st Conte di Caltabellotta 1821–65 ren
'Conde de Adernò' 1821 [claimant]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III [Spain]
Caballero maestrante of the Real Maestranza of Seville 1825 [Spain]
Senator 1860
Second lieutenant to the Queen's Cavalry Regiment 1815
Honorary army carabinier 1809
Gentleman of the Chamber to King Ferdinand VII 1817

After the restoration of Fernando VII as absolute king, Pedro was exiled from Madrid for his liberal views and stripped of his gentilhombre title, which he regained only after Fernando VII’s death. Initially residing in Seville, he later moved to Naples, where he had extensive properties, and was living there when the monarch died. Influenced by his stepfather, Brigadier José Álvarez de Toledo, he aligned with the Carlist cause and refused to provide the required documents to join the Estamento de Próceres. In 1835, he communicated his support to Carlos, stating that, while not yet joining his forces, he had already contributed over three and a half million reales and 300 Neapolitan ducats. In 1837, he joined Carlos in the north, but upon reaching Solsona, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Russia. His correspondence from this period, still largely unexplored, is kept at the Royal Academy of History. After Carlos' death, pressure from his son forced him to return to Spain, where he settled in Sanlúcar, focusing on managing his estates, politics, and the railway, eventually becoming a senator.

Place of birth: Madrid
Place of baptism (1803): Church of San Andrés, Madrid
Place of marriage: Palacio de la Nunciatura, Parroquia Castrense de San Andrés, Madrid
Place of death: Madrid

Son of Francisco de Borja Álvarez de Toledo and María Tomasa Palafox, he married María del Pilar de Silva in 1822, and had issue:
• Isabel, *1823 Madrid , †1867 Rome, married 1843 in Naples to Giovanni Andrea Colonna, with issue
• María Teresa (see)
• José (see)
• María Isabel (see)
• Rosalia, *1833 Naples, †1865 Lucca, married 1827 in Madrid to Adolfo Ruspoli, and had issue
• Alonso (see)
• Pedro (see)
• Carlos, who died young and unmarried