Gómez Suárez de Figueroa y Córdoba, I Duque de Feria

From A Patron and a Playwright in Renaissance Spain: The House of Feria and Diego Sánchez de Badajoz, by Ann E. Wiltrout (1987):

http://books.google.by/books?id=1BPbjk0JOkgC&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=Su...

Don Pedro, fourth Count of Feria, declined an appointment at court in favor of what he considered to be a more ascetic, pious, and moral life on his own estates. His choice, so contrary to the usual noble preferences of the day, may also have been influenced by his own delicate health and weighty demands of administering his and his mother's estates. His brother, Don Gomez Suarez de Figueroa, fifth Count and first Duke of Feria, was to choose, or have chosen for him, the opposite course of action, one which concurrently brought the family to its zenith and precipitated its decline. The second son's military career ended when he inherited the Feria title and estates following his brother's death.

Less than three years after returning to Spain to set his family affairs in order, he was sent to England to participate in the negotiations that resulted in the future Philip II's marriage to Queen Mary Tudor. He remained in England as captain of the Spanish guard during his prince's stay and was sent to the Low Countries, where he fought in the Battle of St. Quentin. Following his appointment as ambassador to the Court of St. James, he spent the next few years in London where he invested a large portion of his fortunes in diplomatic duties. The pious, albeit intransigent, Count resigned his post early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He spent the remainder of his life in the Spanish court as royal chamberlain and was elevated to a dukedom by Philip.

Because of the family's unbending aversion to compromise, Feria's son, Don Lorenzo, who became Viceroy of Naples, was also a less than successful ambassador to the Low Countries. His son, Don Gomez, became governor of Milan. A generation later, the direct Suarez de Figueroa line having no issue, the Feria title passed on to the Friego descendants.

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From his Spanish Wikipedia page:

Gómez III Suárez de Figueroa y Córdoba (Zafra, 1523 – El Escorial, 1571), V Conde (1552–1567) y I Duque de Feria (1567–1571), era hermano de Pedro I Fernández de Córdoba y Figueroa, al que sucedió al morir éste sin descendencia masculina y no poder heredar su hija, Catalina Fernández de Córdoba-Figueroa, el título de Condesa de Feria dada la agnación rigurosa del mismo. A su vez era el segundo hijo de Lorenzo III Suárez de Figueroa, III Conde de Feria y II Marqués de Priego (consorte). Nació en Zafra (Badajoz). (He was the brother of Pedro I Fernández de Córdoba y Figueroa, from whom he succeeded when Pedro died without male descendants, and when he failed to pass along his title to his daughter, whose attempt at assent to the Duchess of Feria raised strong objections. He was the second son of Lorenzo III Suárez de Figueroa, III Conde de Feria y II Marqués de Priego (consorte). Born in Zafra, Badajoz.)

Como segundón que era, se dedicó a la milicia en la que llegó al alcanzar el grado de Capitán de la Guardia del entonces príncipe Felipe de Austria. Pero el fallecimiento de su hermano en 1552 le posibilitó ser V Conde de Feria. Soltero en esa fecha, se le intentó casar con su sobrina Catalina, hija de Pedro I, para así asegurar la unión de las casas de Feria y Priego. (Being second son, he was committed to a military career and became Captain of the Guard for Prince Felipe of Austria. At the death of his brother in 1552, he became the fifth Count of Feria. Being single, he at first tried several times to secure the marriage of his niece Catalina, daughter of Peter I, in order to ensure a union of the Houses of Feria and Priego.)

Firmado el compromiso, hubo que esperar hasta la edad núbil de Catalina, lo que unido a las largas estancias en el extranjero del V Conde al servicio de la Corona, propiciaron que se enamorara de la inglesa Jane Dormer, dama de honor de María Tudor, reina de Inglaterra, y que rompiera el compromiso con su sobrina. Se casa con Jane en 1558. (Although they signed a contract for marriage, the pair had to wait until Catalina became of age, during which time the Fifth Count served a number of positions overseas, and finally fell in love with Englishwoman Jane Dormer, Maid of Honor to Maria Tudor, Queen of England, at which point he broke off the engagement.)

Muy cercano al príncipe Felipe, antes de ser cabeza de su Casa recibió la Encomienda de Beas que permutó posteriormente por la más rica de Segura. Cortesano que no conocía la envidia, acompañó a Felipe en su periplo inglés como Capitán de su Guardia Española y fue posteriormente embajador en la Corte de Isabel I. También le acompañó durante la estancia del ya Felipe II en Flandes. (He was very close with Prince Felipe, and before his marriage he received the Encomienda de Beas, which he later exchanged for the richest Encomienda in Segura. He was a courtier who knew no envy, and accompanied Prince Felipe as Captain of the Spanish Guard in his tour of England, and later served as Ambassador to the Court of Elizabeth I. He also accompanied Felipe in his tour of Flanders.)

Fue Gobernador de Milán entre 1554 y 1555. En agosto de 1561 se retira a su señorío decayendo su actividad político-diplomática hasta que, nombrado miembro del Consejo de Estado y Guerra, recibió en el último tramo de su vida la dignidad ducal y la Grandeza de España (1567). Tras su ascenso al ducado, le vemos de nuevo en la Corte de Madrid. (He was Governor of Milan between 1554 and 1555. In August 1561, he retired to his lands briefly before becoming member of the Council of State and War, receiving in the latter part of his life the dignity of a duke in the Grandness of Spain in 1567. After his elevation to duke, he next appeared in the Court of Madrid.)

Cuando en 1571, residiendo en El Escorial junto al monarca, se preparaba para la gobernación de los Países Bajos, cayó repentinamente enfermo y le sorprende la muerte. Le sucedió su hijo Lorenzo IV Suárez de Figueroa y Córdoba. Fue sepultado en Zafra, en el Convento de Santa Clara, fundado en 1428 por el I Señor de Feria, Gómez I Suárez de Figueroa. (In 1571, while residing in El Escorial near the monarch in a period of preparation to become Governor of the Netherlands, he suddenly became ill and died. He was succeeded by his son Lorenzo IV Suárez de Figueroa y Córdoba. He was buried in Zafra, at the Convento de Santa Clara, which was founded in 1428 by the First Lord of Feria, Gómez I Suárez de Figueroa.)

Véase también

• Casa de Feria

Bibliografía

• Rubio Masa, Juan Carlos (2001). El mecenazgo artístico de la casa Ducal de Feria. Editora Regional de Extremadura. ISBN 84-7671-605-2.

Gobernador del estado de Milán 1554 – 1555

• Predecesor: Ferrante I Gonzaga
• Sucesor: Álvaro de Luna

Embajador de España en el Reino Unido 1558 - 1559

• Predecesor: Simon Renard
• Sucesor: Álvaro de la Quadra

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From his English Wikipedia page:

Gómez Suárez de Figueroa y Córdoba, 1st Duke of Feria (1520?–1571) was a Spanish nobleman and diplomat, and close advisor of Philip II.

Probably born in Zafra, Extremadura, he was the second son of Lorenzo Suárez de Figueroa, 3rd Count of Feria, and his wife, Catalina Fernandez de Córdoba. He became 5th Count of Feria upon the death of his elder brother Pedro in 1551, and in 1554 travelled with Philip of Spain to England for the king's marriage to Queen Mary I. He was regarded as only second to Ruy Gómez in the king's confidence. After the accession of Elizabeth I he served as Philip's ambassador until he was succeeded by Bishop Alvarez de Quadra in May 1559.

On 29 December 1558 Feria married Mary I's former maid-of-honour, Jane Dormer, a match resisted by both their families. Feria and his wife maintained a strong interest in the protection of English Catholic exiles, and the former ambassador also supported the Ridolfi Plot of 1571. In 1567 Philip II created the count 1st Duke of Feria. He was buried in Zafra, in the Convent of Santa Clara.

References

Loades, David (2008): "Suárez de Figueroa, Gómez, first duke of Feria in the Spanish nobility (1520?–1571)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. online edn. Oct 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2010. (subscription required)