Ira de Fürstenberg has said goodbye at 83 years of age. The princess seemed to enjoy good health in recent years and proof of this is the spectacular parties with which she celebrated her last two anniversaries. The aristocrat died last Monday in the Italian capital, as confirmed by the press of the neighboring country.
Princess, billionaire heiress, iconic face of the Spanish and international jet-set of the 80s and 90s, public relations, actress and designer; There were few things that escaped her talents. Daughter of the Austro-Hungarian prince Tassilo von Fürstenberg and Clara Agnelli - therefore great-granddaughter of the founder of Fiat, Giovanni Agnelli -, the Italian princess is considered the queen of high society of the 20th century.
At just 15 years old, she married Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langernburg, godson of the then kings of Spain, Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia; and who would become the authentic promoter of tourism on the Costa del Sol with the founding of the legendary Marbella Club in the Andalusian capital.
A marriage that, despite breaking up only five years after the wedding, in 1960, gave rise to two children. Christoph "Kiko", who died in 2006 under rare circumstances in a Bangkok prison; and Hubertus, Olympic skier, photographer, singer and a regular in the Spanish social chronicle. After an infidelity, the aristocrat married for the second time with the notorious Italian-Brazilian businessman Francisco Pignatari, 'playboy' of the time; Although she did not have greater success, she divorced him in 1964. Of course, she always considered him the man of her life.
A beautiful woman who became a true icon of style and fashion, with an aura of mystery and better company, among whom one could find names such as the Bismarck family, Audrey Hepburn, Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí. Everyone wanted her next to her, even crediting her with a relationship with Prince Rainier of Monaco, after becoming her widower. "People thought we had a relationship, but all we had was a great friendship," she explained to Vanity Fair a few years ago. "What Raniero did help me with was in the dissemination of the artistic objects that I began to create in the late nineties."
With talent in abundance, the aristocrat was lucky enough to be able to show her know-how in different disciplines. Thus, she participated in films such as You Will Not Desire the Neighbor on the Fifth, alongside Alfredo Landa or When Husbands Went to War, with a leading man of the stature of Arturo Fernández. She also demonstrated her passion for design, especially jewelry.
With her residence fixed in her native Rome, the princess admitted to being like "an airplane stewardess." She spent her life between the Italian capital and points as diverse as India, Nepal, the Philippines or her beloved Spain, which was always her adopted country. The aristocrat spent long periods in the capital; in Ronda to disconnect from her and in her beloved Marbella, which she will always remember as her authentic princess of the Costa del Sol.
