Pedro Téllez-Girón, 1st Duke of Osuna

Who was Pedro Téllez-Girón, 1st Duke of Osuna?

Pedro Téllez-Girón, 1st Duke of Osuna, 5th count of Ureña was a Spanish nobleman and administrator.

Born at Osuna, he was the eldest son of Juan Téllez-Girón, 4th Count of Ureña and of María de la Cueva y Toledo, daughter of Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 2nd Duke of Alburquerque. He succeeded to his father's titles in 1558 and on 5 February 1562, King Philip II of Spain awarded him the title of Duke of Osuna, together with the subsidiary title of Marquis of Peñafiel for his eldest male descendents. In 1582, he was appointed Viceroy of Naples, a position he held until 1586. He was also Ambassador in Portugal and to the Holy See with Pope Sixtus V.

He was lord of Osuna, Peñafiel, Cazalla de la Sierra, el Arahal, Olvera, Archidona, Morón de la Frontera, Ortejícar, Briones, Tiedra, Gumiel de Izán and others.

In 1552, aged 15, the future duke married Leonor Ana de Guzmán y Aragón, daughter of Juan Alfonso Pérez de Guzmán, 6th Duke of Medina Sidonia. Her name has been associated since then to the actual Reserve of the BioSphere known as the Coto de Doñana. Together they had eleven children. On 2 February 1575, he married again, this time his cousin, Isabel de la Cueva y Castilla, with whom he had another two children.