“ The 7th duke was betrothed in 1565 to Ana de Silva y Mendoza, who was then four years of age, the daughter of the prince of Eboli. In 1572 when the duchess was a little more than ten years of age, the pope granted a dispensation for the consummation of the marriage. The scandal of the time, for which there appears to be no foundation, accused Philip II. of a love intrigue with the princess of Eboli. The unvarying and unmerited favour he showed the duke has been accounted for on the ground that he took a paternal interest in the duchess. ”

“ The duke retained his posts of “admiral of the ocean” and captain-general of Andalusia in spite of the contempt openly expressed for him by the whole nation. When an English and Dutch armament assailed Cadiz in 1596 his sloth and timidity were largely responsible for the loss of the place. He was held up to ridicule by Cervantes in a sonnet. Yet the royal favour continued unabated even under the successor of Philip II. In 1606 the obstinacy and folly of the duke caused the loss of a squadron which was destroyed near Gibraltar by the Dutch. He died in 1615. ”

“ An early family tradition represents them as having come from Britain, and they may have descended from one of the Scandinavian invaders who attacked the north coast of Spain in the 10th century. It is in the 10th century that they first appear, and they grew great by the reconquest of the country from the Mahommedans. ”