Ignacio Romero Osborne, 5th Marquess of Marchelina (1903-1985) was a Spanish
aristocrat, landowner, officer and
Carlist politician. In the 1930s he conspired against the
Republic and co-engineered the
1936 coup in
Seville; during the
Civil War he commanded
company-type units in
Nationalist ranks. He is best known as leader of the
Requeté ex-combatant organisation, active in particular in the late 1960s. During internal struggle within Carlism he sided with the progressist faction against the traditionalist one and helped to tip the balance in favor of
Prince Carlos Hugo. In 1968-1971 he was member of the Carlist executive, Junta Suprema; afterwards he presided over the provincial Seville branch of
Partido Carlista. In the 1970s he conspired against the
Franco regime and supported the radical left-wing socialist line of PC.
Family and youth
paternal grandmother (as a child) and de Arco great-grandparents
Romero descended from aristocratic
Andalusian landholder families. The paternal line was traditionally related to military; his great-grandfather Ignacio Romero Cepeda owned large estates near
Osuna,[2] held high posts in Spanish possessions in America, was made
Marqués de Marchelina in 1858[3] and served in the
Senate in the early 1860s.[4] His son and Romero grandfather Alejandro Romero Cepeda (1832-1895)[5] married the later
Marquesa del Arco Hermoso.[6] Their son and Romero’s father, Ignacio Romero Ruíz de Arco (1858-1915), inherited both marquess titles.[7] He was also a military, serving on various assignments across Andalusia; before his premature death he ascended to
teniente coronel. In 1898[8] he married Enriqueta Osborne Guezala (1862-after 1935)[9] from the well-known winegrowing
Osborne family. She was granddaughter to the founder of the branch Thomas Osborne Mann[10] and daughter to Tomás Osborne Böhl de Faber, the man who turned the business into the Andalusian wine powerhouse; it was her brother who later launched the iconic
Osborne bull symbol.[11]
The couple shuttled between their house in Seville and rural estates in the provinces of
Seville and
Cádiz. They had 5 children, two of them boys;[12] Ignacio was born as the fourth child and the first son. Their father decided to split the aristocratic titles; Marquesado de Marchelina went to Ignacio, while Marquesado del Arco Hermoso went to Alejandro.[13] Both boys assumed their titles upon death of their parent. It is not clear where Ignacio received his early education; both brothers decided to follow in the footsteps of their father and commence a military career. As an adolescent boy in 1919 Ignacio was admitted as aspirante aprobado to
Academia de Infantería in Toledo,[14] but in 1921 he moved[15] to
Academia de Artillería in Segovia.[16] In 1924 Romero was promoted to alferéz alumno;[17] he graduated as
teniente in 1927.[18] His first service assignment, also in 1927, was to
Tenerife.[19]
In 1934 Romero married Micaela de Solís-Beaumont y Lasso de la Vega (1913-1969) from Seville.[20] She descended from a landholder family from
Carmona; though her parents did not hold aristocratic titles, they were related to numerous well-born families, like these of
Marqués de Tablantes (Solís) and
Marqués de Torres de la Pressa (Lasso de Vega).[21] Ignacio and Micaela settled in Seville and had 14 children, born between the mid-1930s[22] and the early 1950s.[23] None of them became a widely recognized public figure.[24] The best known one is Romero’s oldest son, Ignacio Romero Solís. One of
communist Seville leaders in the 1960s, he spent a year behind bars; in the 1980s and 1990s he headed the Andalusian branch of
RTVE.[25] In 2015-2020 he published an epic novel trilogy, focused on disappearance of the world of old Andalusian aristocracy. Holder of the marquesado, Romero Solís later ceded it to his grandson, the current marqués.[26] Romero Osborne’s grandson briefly gained attention of gossip media when in 2012 he married daughter to the then minister of defense.[27] Romero’s siblings married mostly into well-established Andalusian families, e.g. his sister Enriqueta married Conde de San Clemente.[28]
Army, conspiracy and war
In 1929 Romero was re-assigned from
Canary Islands back to the peninsula and posted to Regimiento de Artillería de Costa in
Cádiz.[29] Either in 1930 or in early 1931 he was transferred to
Madrid, where as teniente he served at unspecified position in Fábrica Nacional de Productos Químicos,[30] an army establishment engaged also in development of
chemical weapons.[31] None of the sources consulted provides information on Romero’s fate during early years of the Republic. The government of
Manuel Azaña embarked on major reform of the army. One of its objectives was to scale down what was perceived as an overgrown officer corps; the government deployed a scheme, partially forcing and partially encouraging officers to retire. It is not clear what mechanism worked for Romero; at least since late 1933 he remained beyond active service and was noted in the press as “teniente retirado”.[32]
In terms of political preferences the Romero family has been traditionally related to
conservatism, the great-grandfather and paternal uncle serving as senators respectively in the 1860s and 1910s. None of the sources consulted provides any information on early political engagements of Ignacio, though as member of
Maestranza de Sevilla he was linked to mainstream right-wing
monarchism. However, at some point in the early 1930s Romero started to approach the Carlists and by late 1932 he was already a recognized figure in the Seville
Traditionalist circles.[33] In early 1933 the Andalusian party leader
Manuel Fal Conde nominated him vice-president of Centro Tradicionalista de Sevilla and treasurer – i.e. the third in line of command - of the Seville Junta Provincial.[34] Following wedding Romero left Spain for a long honeymoon trip abroad,[35] but later resumed party activities and acted among leaders of the Seville requeté organisation.[36] He was heavily involved in preparations to the
1936 coup. It is known he was particularly active procuring and smuggling arms,[37] possibly at significant personal financial cost.[38]
In the evening of July 18, 1936 Romero took part in requeté assault on the Gobierno Civil premises in Seville,[39] which contributed to swift seizure of the city center.[40] Later in the month he took command of a requeté column operating east of Seville, which seized
Puente Genil and neighboring locations.[41] He led the column during combat also in August and September, repulsing attack of Republican militias in defense of
Campillos.[42] Following re-organization of Carlist troops he assumed command of machine-gun company, in the first half of 1937 deployed in the
Jaén province;[43] he was one of few professional officers in so-called Tercio Virgen de los Reyes.[44] In October he was promoted to
major[45] and assumed command of Tercer Batallón de Requetés del Sur.[46] In November 1937 the unit was moved to the
Peñarroya sector. In late March 1938, during fierce combat for position named Mano de Hierro, Romero was heavily wounded by exploding shrapnel;[47] he escaped death but had his leg
amputated.[48]
Withdrawal into privacy
In late March 1938 Romero was nominated to Comisión Gestora del Ayuntamiento de Sevilla, the body which consisted of members appointed by the administration and which served as temporary replacement for the normally elected city council.[49] It is not clear whether the nomination preceded or followed his withdrawal from combat; it is neither clear whether he assumed the duties, as until at least September 1938 he was still recovering from his wounds.[50] At unknown time he was promoted to sub-colonel and nominated “coronel jefe de los Servicios de Intendencia”; after the war at this role and as “cabellero mutilado” he appeared seated in places of honor during public rallies, at one opportunity almost next to
Franco.[51] However, in the early 1940s he entirely disappeared from officialdom; the reasons are not clear. One highly sympathetic source would claim 40 years later that he protested executions of his former military colleagues who sided with the
Republicans. Reportedly he also demanded that incarcerated ex-Republican officers like
Urbano Orad de la Torre are not held in atrocious, barbaric prison conditions. This stand purportedly gained him enmity of the Francoist administration and got him stalled on the military ascension ladder.[52] It is not clear when Romero was released from active service and passed to reserve.
In the 1940s Romero completely disappeared from the public eye. He withdrew also from Carlist engagements; except one unclear case,[53] historiographic works dwelling on history of the movement during so-called primer franquismo do not mention him as engaged in either the mainstream Javierista current or in any of the splinter factions, be it the
Rodeznistas or the
Carloctavistas.[54] Romero withdrew to privacy, focused on family and his rural economy. The Romeros shuttled between Seville and their countryside real estate.[55] In 1950 he claimed the vacant
marquesado de Dos Hermanas,[56] but to no avail.[57] Later on during the decade he was noted as a landholder from Carmona, related to the property inherited by his wife.[58] He cultivated olives and operated an own
oil-mill, integrated within structures of the oil and vinegar holding, Compañía Internacional de Maquinaria Aceitera.[59] Following a period of total absence in the press, in the early 1950s Romero re-appeared in local Andalusian titles, though on societé column only.[60] He was mentioned either as member of Real Maestranza de Sevilla[61] when attending related events[62] or during family gatherings, especially that in the late 1950s his older children were already getting married and wedding ceremonies turned into aristocratic Andalusian congregations.[63] Despite his Carlist record, on these occasions he was noted in Sevillan edition of the chief
Alfonsist daily, ABC.[64]
Renewed Carlist engagements
Romero resumed his public engagements in 1962. He entered the executive of newly created Hermandad de Antiguos Combatientes de Tercios de Requetés, a Carlist ex-combatant organization officially affiliated within appropriate delagación[65] of
Movimiento Nacional.[66] The same year he was promoted to full colonel;[67] it is not clear whether both events were related. During the following years Romero started to assume ceremonial roles within mainstream Carlism; in 1964 he accompanied
princess Irene to
Valle de los Caídos[68] and in 1965 he organized and led a large and highly publicized[69] pilgrimage to
Santiago de Compostela.[70] Once the hitherto president of Hermandad,
José Luis Zamanillo, was first outmaneuvered and then expulsed, in 1965 Romero became the new president of the Hermandad.[71]
As president of Hermandad Romero enjoyed little decision-making capacity within Carlism, though he was viewed as a prestigious personality in the movement’s top strata. As such, he was bombarded with alarmist notes from the rank-and-file and local structures; they complained about alleged left-wing turn and betrayal of orthodox Carlist principles.[72] However, he took no action; instead he sided with
Prince Carlos Hugo, the chief promoter of the new course.[73] Banking on his status of mutilated combatant and president of ex-combatant organization, in 1967 Romero addressed Franco requesting Spanish citizenship for the
Borbón-Parma;[74] in 1968 Hermandad issued another letter which denounced expected elevation of
Don Juan Carlos to future royal status as betrayal to “the spirit of July 18” and pledged never to recognize it.[75]
In 1968 carlo-huguistas removed
José María Valiente from position of Jefe Delegado and replaced him with a collegial executive, Junta Suprema; Romero was nominated as one of its members.[76] However, he had no real power within the organization; the progressists needed a mutilated ex-combatant as a front man to enhance their credentials. Nevertheless, he had no problem going along and kept endorsing
carlo-huguistas in their internal fight against the already marginalized Traditionalists. The latter prepared a counter-strike; assisted by Francoist administration, in 1971 the orthodoxes mounted an internal coup within Hermandad[77] and declared Romero deposed.[78] He lost control over the organization and since then the group which kept recognizing Romero were meeting in France.[79]
In 1971 Junta Suprema was dissolved.[80] Romero was nominated jefe of Partido Carlista in the Seville province[81] and the claimant hailed him as “el lealísimo marqués de Marchelina”.[82] In the early 1970s he advanced socialist propaganda styled as renovated Carlism[83] and represented PC in anti-regime groupings.[84] In 1974 he appeared as defense witness during trial of
GAC terrorists[85] but he condemned violence after the
1976 Montejurra shooting.[86] The same year he declared that Partido Carlista “remains fully aligned with socialism” and advocated co-operation within
Coordinación Democrática.[87] He was stripped of
Cruz de San Hermenegildo, result of his call to free political prisoners.[88] In 1977 he was supposed to run for senate on the list of
Partido Proverista,[89] but eventually he withdrew.[90] He last gained attention during an embrace with an ex-Republican combatant, widely reported as a symbolic act of national reconciliation.[91]
^most sources give his birth date as 1903, see Geneall service, available
here, Geneanet service, available
here, Geni service, available
here and Revista de Historia y Genealogía Española (1928), available
here. However, some sources claim he was born in 1905, see Geneaordonez service, available
here, Descendientes de Pedro Solis y Desmaissiers, available
here, or Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heraldica y Genealogia IV (1996-1997), Madrid 2001, p. 69. His death notice claimed he was 82 when deceased in 1985, ABC 17.11.85, available
here. The year of 1903 is accepted here also because Romero was admitted to the Toledo infantry academy in 1919, which renders 1905 a rather unlikely birth date
^Ignacio Vicente Romero y Cepeda entry, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available
here
^Título de Marqués de Marchelina, [in:] Senado de España official service, available
here
^Romero y Cepeda, Ignacio entry, [in:] Senado de España official service, available
here
^Alejandro José Romero y Cepeda, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available
here
^some sources claim she inherited the title in 1915, following childless death of her two older brothers, see Revista de historia y de genealogia española 1928, p. 770, available
here. However, other source claims that already in 1913 the title was with her son, Revista de historia y de genealogia española 1913, available
here
^Ignacio Romero Ruiz del Arco, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available
here. He became IV Marqués de Marchelina and VII Marqués de Arco Hermoso after childless death of his older brother, respectivelu the III. and the VI. marquess, Alejandro Romero Ruiz del Arco (1855-1912), Alejandro Romero Ruiz del Arco entry [in:] Geni genealogical service, available
here
^Revista de historia y de genealogía española 1928, p. 771, available
here
^some genealogical sites claim she died in 1915, see Enriqueta Osborne Guezala, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available
here. However, the press noted she served as god-mother to her grandson in 1935, see Guadalete 23.05.35, available
here
^Osborne. 250 years of passion, [in:] Osborne commercial site, available
here
^Discover the history of a world-renowned brand, [in:] Osborne commercial site, available
here
^the first child died shortly after birth in 1935, La Epoca 28.03.35, available
here
^see e.g. Descendientes de Pedro Solis y Desmaissiers (2011), available
here
^the children were Teresa (giving rise to the branch of Alarcón Romero), Ignacio (Romero Orleans), Pedro (Romero Solís-Beaumont), José (Romero Abaroa), Matilde (Ramos Romero), Micaela (Torres Romero), Diego (Romero Ramis), Angela (Franco Romero), Reyes (Robledo Romero), Cecillia (Cortines Romero), Luis (Romero Guijarro), Enrique (Romero Contreras), and Gracia (Buisan Romero)
^compare e.g. Palmagallarda, [in:] Amazon service, available
here
^C. Villar, El marqués de Marchelina ‘renuncia’ a su título por amor, [in:] El Confidencial 07.07.20, available
here
^Elegante boda en la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla de la hija del ministro de Defensa, Pedro Morenés, [in:] Hola! 07.05.12, available
here
^in an interview of 1966 Romero claimed that he "has always been in Comunion Tradicionalista, following orders of the then Delegado Nacional, Manuel Fal Conde", Montejurra 21 (1966), p. 22. Fal became the Carlist political leader (as secretario general) in 1934, and ascended to Jefe Delegado in 1935
^Leandro Alvarez Rey, La derecha en la II República: Sevilla, 1931-1936, Sevilla 1993, ISBN 9788447201525, p. 303
^Julio Aróstegui, Combatientes Requetés en la Guerra Civil española, 1936–1939, Madrid 2013, ISBN 9788499709758, p. 709
^Juan Ortíz Villalba, Sevilla 1936: del golpe militar a la guerra civil, Sevilla 1998, ISBN 9788488423054, s. 65
^in his novel Palmagallarda Romero’s son portrayed the protagonist aristocratic family as financing arms for the conspirators; the theme comes back in his public appearances also as a reference to history of Andalusian aristocracy. Romero Solis claims families who contributed financially have never been compensated later and their engagement contributed to decay of the aristocracy, replaced by new Francoist oligarchy, see Ignacio Romero de Solís, [in:] Canal Sur channel, YT service, available
here
^Francisco Espinosa Maestre, Guerra y represión en el sur de España: Entre la historia y la memoria, Valencia 2012, ISBN 9788437090320, p. 344. According to other sources, the assault was led by
Enrique Barrau, Juan Carlos Peñas Bernaldo de Quirós, El Carlismo, la República y la Guerra Civil (1936-1937). De la conspiración a la unificación, Madrid 1996, ISBN 8487863523, p. 183
^one author indexed “Ignacio Romero Osborne” as involved in grand Carlist rally of December 1945 in Valencia, the event which turned into anti-Francoist riots. However, the paragraph indexed lists a “José Romero” from Liria among the co-organizers, Josep Miralles Climent, La rebeldía carlista. Memoria de una represión silenciada: Enfrentamientos, marginación y persecución durante la primera mitad del régimen franquista (1936-1955), Madrid 2018, ISBN 9788416558711, pp. 287 (text) and 428 (index)
^compare Manuel Martorell Pérez, La continuidad ideológica del carlismo tras la Guerra Civil [PhD thesis in Historia Contemporanea, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia], Valencia 2009, Ramón María Rodón Guinjoan, Invierno, primavera y otoño del carlismo (1939-1976) [PhD thesis Universitat Abat Oliba CEU], Barcelona 2015, Daniel Jesús García Riol, La resistencia tradicionalista a la renovación ideológica del carlismo (1965-1973) [PhD thesis UNED], Madrid 2015, Francisco Javier Caspistegui Gorasurreta, El naufragio de las ortodoxias. El carlismo, 1962–1977, Pamplona 1997; ISBN 9788431315641, Aurora Villanueva Martínez, El carlismo navarro durante el primer franquismo, 1937-1951, Madrid 1998, ISBN 9788487863714
^his son remembers these days as spent "a caballo entre Sevilla y Carmona”, Generales y mandos franquistas robaban con impunidad en la Sevilla de Queipo, dice el escritor Ignacio Romero de Solís, [in:] Canal Sur service 2019, available
here
^Romero was admitted to Maestranza in 1926 and took the oath in 1928, Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heraldica y Genealogia IV (1996-1997), Madrid 2001, p. 69
^for a sample see ABC 07.04.57, available
here. For detailed review of family interlinks between the Osbornes and other aristocratic Andalusian families, see Pablo Mauriño Chozas, Ser élite. Origen, integración y perpetuación de la familia Osborne en España, siglos XIX-XX [PhD thesis Universidad de Sevilla], Sevilla 2018
^Delegación Nacional de Acción Política y Participación de la Secreteriá General de Movimiento
^the president was José Luis Zamanillo, Julio Pérez Salas served as vice-president. Romero was one of 10 vocales, Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, pp. 118-119
^Diario Oficial del Ministerio del Ejercito 10.07.62, available
here
^Javier Lavardín, Historia del ultimo pretendiente a la corona de España, Paris 1976, p. 241
^Mercedes Vázquez de Prada, El final de una ilusión. Auge y declive del tradicionalismo carlista (1957-1967), Madrid 2016, ISBN 9788416558407, p. 210
^Jordi Canal, El carlismo, Madrid 2000, ISBN 8420639478, p. 357
^since 1966 Romero was receiving letters from so-called Juntas de Defensa, local structures and single individuals, Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 178, also Vázquez de Prada 2016, p. 278. For examples from 1968 see Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 78
^despite increasingly left-wing course of Carlos Hugo and his entourage, until 1968 Romero was careful not to challenge the regime. In 1966 Hermandad representatives attended rallies organized by Girón, Hoja Oficial de Provincia de Barcelona 12.12.66, available
here. In 1967 he took part in a semi-official ex-combatant ceremony, with many state officials attending, ABC 13.11.67, available
here
^Manuel Martorell Pérez, Carlos Hugo frente a Juan Carlos. La solución federal para España que Franco rechazó, Madrid 2014, ISBN 9788477682653, p. 225
^the president of the body was Juan
Juan José Palomino, Robert Vallverdú i Martí, La metamorfosi del carlisme català: del "Déu, Pàtria i Rei" a l'Assamblea de Catalunya (1936-1975), Barcelona 2014, ISBN 9788498837261, p. 209, also Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 129
^Delegación Nacional of Movimiento sided with the rebels, Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 338
^Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 214, Canal 2000, p. 383
^Vallverdú i Martí 2014, p. 224. Romero did not enter any of the newly created consultive bodies or commissions, Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 204. In 1971 as head of Hermandad Nacional he was instrumental in passing down the decision to dissolve Junta Suprema, Vallverdú i Martí 2014, p. 224
^Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 220. The regional head of Andalusia was Guillermo García Pascual, Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 206
^Romero defined himself as “carlista de Carlos Hugo”, Francisco Manuel Heras y Borrero, Carlos Hugo el Rey que no pudo ser: la lucha por el trono de España de Carlos Hugo de Borbón Parma, la última esperanza del carlismo, Madrid 2010, ISBN 9788495009999, p. 107. In 1971 Don Javier confirmed him as president of Hermandad, Información Mensual 13 (1971), available
here, which had little practical effect as the official administration declared him deposed
^e.g. in 1972 as Jefe Provincial in Seville Romero hailed socialism, alliance between dynasty and the peoples, spoke against military dictatorship, but underlined also that the Carlist socialism is not and would never be based on marxism, Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 220
^Romero was among co-signatoties of Frente Democrático Revolucionario, Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 225
^in January 1977, following the 1976 Montejurra shootout, Romero made a statement against violence when confronting press declarations of the competitive Hermandad, ABC 16.01.77, available
here. It is not clear whether he took part in the 1976 Montejurra rally himself. In 1975 he did attend and delivered an official speech from a truck, ABC 10.05.75, available
here, also Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 303. It was the second time Romero was among official speakers at Montejurra; the first time was in 1967, Caspistegui Gorasurreta 1997, p. 302, Martorell Pérez 2014, p. 223
^Entrevista a Ignacio Romero Osborne, Secretario General del Partido Carlista de Andalucía, [in:] Lealtad a la Lealtad service 2016, available
here
^Martorell Pérez 2014, p. 138, Mediterraneo 15.07.76, available
here
^with Carlos Hugo, and María de las Nieves Borbón-Parma, Hoja Oficial de Lunes 09.05.77, available
here
^Diario de las Elecciónes 10.05.77, available
here
^ABC 10.07.77, available
here and
here, also La Vanguardia 10.07.77, available
here. The episode was recalled in Romero’s obituary note, see ABC 09.11.85, available
here
Further reading
Julio Aróstegui, Combatientes Requetés en la Guerra Civil española, 1936–1939, Madrid 2013, ISBN 9788499709758
Francisco Javier Caspistegui Gorasurreta, El naufragio de las ortodoxias. El carlismo, 1962–1977, Pamplona 1997, ISBN 9788431315641
Jesús García Riol, La resistencia tradicionalista a la renovación ideológica del carlismo (1965-1973) [PhD thesis UNED], Madrid 2015
Ramón María Rodón Guinjoan, Invierno, primavera y otoño del carlismo (1939-1976) [PhD thesis Universitat Abat Oliba CEU], Barcelona 2015