Thank you very much, Tatiana. That was very helpful !
I don't understand why D. Luis Alfonso de Borbón would be an
Excmo. Sr. in Spain in 2004. I suppose he would have this style by right today, as his mother, if I am not mistaken, is now a grandee of Spain (having become the 2nd Duchess of Franco) and, as the heir to the dukedom and the grandeeship, he is entitled to the style of
Excelencia, but, again, that wasn't the case yet in 2004
. Since D. Luis is not a knight grand cross of a Spanish order either and, as far as I know, doesn't hold any high public office in Spain, I guess the only explanation for him to be referred to as
Excmo. Sr. at his cousin's wedding must be the fact that his father was an HRH in Spain.
Nevertheless, that is still irregular. The royal decree 1368/1987 deals with two classes of children of HRHs:
- Children of the Prince or Princess of Asturias, who are infantes/infantas of Spain and HRHs themselves.
- Children of infantes/infantas of Spain, who are considered grandees of Spain and, by implication, bear the style of Excmo. Sr. or Excma. Sra. , which is also extended by courtesy to their consorts.
Members of the family of King Juan Carlos who previously held a title of nobility belonging to the Royal House and the style of HRH, as was the case with Luis Alfonso's father, were allowed by the royal decree to keep their titles and styles while they were alive, but those titles and styles were explicitly barred from being extended to their spouses or transmitted to their descendants. Hence, D. Luis is neither an HRH, nor Duke of Cádiz in Spain. He is not a grandee either, as his father's grandeeship was also non-transmissible. And, since his father was not an infante, category 2 above doesn't apply either.
So, the mystery thickens. Any theory to clarify it ?