Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquis of Villaverde


Don Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú y Ortega, 10th Marquis of Villaverde, was a Spanish aristocrat, the son in law of dictator Francisco Franco, and a heart surgeon. In Spanish, his peerage is written El X Marqués de Villaverde.

Family

He was born Cristóbal Martínez y Bordiú, one of four children of José María Martínez y Ortega and wife María de la O Esperanza Bordiú y Bascarán, 7th Countess of Argillo. Cristóbal was given the title of 10th Marquess of Villaverde by his mother.
When he was 23, he graduated from medical school.

Marriage and children

He was married on 10 April 1950 in the Palacio Real de El Pardo with María del Carmen Franco y Polo, the future Duchess of Franco, the only daughter of Generalísimo Francisco Franco, the Spanish Caudillo. There were more than 800 attending the wedding. It was performed by the Bishop Leopoldo Eijo y Garay of the Diocese of Madrid. This wedding brought him high social status in the Spain of General Franco. He was jokingly nicknamed the Yernísimo, in a clear reference to the title of Generalísimo of his father-in-law. In 13 years, he and his wife had seven children:
Since he was a heart surgeon and great friend and admirer of Dr. Christiaan Barnard, he became the first Spaniard to perform a heart transplant in September 1968. The patient only survived 24 hours. A popular joke was that Villaverde killed more in La Paz than his father-in-law in the war.
On a visit to Spain Dr. Barnard joked, "I am a surgeon who wants to be a playboy and he is a playboy that wishes to be a surgeon."

Death

The Marqués died in Madrid on 4 February 1998 and was succeeded as marquis by his eldest son, Francisco, 11th Marqués de Villaverde. The 10th Marquis of Villaverde is buried in the crypt of Almudena Cathedral.

Orders and Decorations