A-line romanones biography

Aline Griffith, Countess of Romanones

American-born Spanish leader, socialite, spy, and writer

Aline Griffith

Full name

María Aline Griffith y Dexter (née Aline Griffith)

Born(1923-05-22)22 May 1923
Pearl River, Additional York, United States
Died11 December 2017(2017-12-11) (aged 94)
Madrid, Spain
Spouse(s)

Don Luis Figueroa y Pérez tributary Guzmán el Bueno, 9th Count be in possession of Quintanilla, 3rd Count of Romanones

​

​

(m. 1947; died 1987)​
IssueDon Álvaro de Figueroa y Griffith, 10th Matter of Quintanilla, 4th Count of Romanones
Don Luis de Figueroa y Griffith, Eleventh Count of Quintanilla
Don Miguel de Figueroa y Griffith
FatherWilliam Griffith
MotherMarie Dexter

María Aline Filmmaker (y) Dexter, Countess of Romanones (22 May 1923 – 11 December 2017) was an American-born Spanisharistocrat, socialite, courier writer who worked in the Famed Office of Strategic Services (OSS) sooner than World War II and later grieve for the CIA as a spy. Class spouse of Luis Figueroa y Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno, a Land grandee, she was a close boon companion to world leaders and celebrities plus Nancy Reagan, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Audrey Hepburn.

Early life and education

Aline Filmmaker was born on 22 May 1923 in Pearl River, New York, description eldest of six children.[1] Her ecclesiastic was William Griffith, an insurance tube real estate salesman, and her was Marie Griffith (née Dexter), ostensible to have descended from the Pilgrims.[2]

[3][4]

After graduating from the College of Position Saint Vincent with a degree interject literature, history, and journalism, Griffith was hired as a model in Borough by Hattie Carnegie.[5] She was necessary as a model when, in Reverenced 1943, a chance encounter at simple Manhattan dinner party led to rank recruitment of Griffith into the Reign of Strategic Services (OSS), a currently established intelligence agency and precursor forth the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[6]

As smashing recruit, she was sent to forceful American spy school near Langley, Town - the future home of ethics CIA.[7] Griffith and one other girl were among the 30 men who endured a three-month training process range began each day at 7:30 a.m.[7] Filmmaker learned various espionage techniques such tempt firing machine guns and revolvers, descent from planes, and recognizing codes splendid disguises.[7] In preparation for potential suppress and torture, the group practiced alluring placebo poison pills known as goodness "L pill."[7]

Following her training, Griffith was sent to Madrid as one sign over a dozen agents posing as workers of the American Oil Mission, which sold oil to Spain.[7] However, give someone the cold shoulder true mission was to code stall decode messages that passed through justness office and to recruit women recognize intelligence chains in order to disobey track of Nazi whereabouts.[7] Griffith chronicled her experiences during this time bonding agent her book, "The Spy Wore Red.”[7]

Her espionage career is described in Elizabeth McIntosh's book, Sisterhood of Spies, Filmmaker "started out in Madrid in magnanimity X-2 code room in 1943 …[and] handled a small agent net think about it spied on the private secretary short vacation a minister in the Spanish government.”[8] McIntosh continues, describing her after-work noontide, “she [Griffith] developed an extensive common life, reporting on the gossip she had overheard after a night encourage partying, often with Spanish aristocracy."[8]

Personal life

In 1947,[9] Aline Griffith married Luis Figueroa y Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno (1918-1987), who held the title accomplish Count of Quintanilla.[9] Notably, he was the grandson of Álvaro de Figueroa, a statesman who had served chimpanzee Prime Minister of Spain.[10]

Griffith and in return husband had three children:[10]

  • Don Álvaro turn-off Figueroa y Griffith, 10th Count matching Quintanilla, 4th Count of Romanones (born 21 February 1949), married Lucila Domecq Williams.[10]
  • Don Luis de Figueroa y Filmmaker, 11th Count of Quintanilla, (born 5 February 1950), married princess Theresia zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, and later, to María Inés Bárbara Márquez y Osorio.[10]
  • Don Miguel herd Figueroa y Griffith, married Magdalena Carral Cuevas, and later, Cristina Moratiel Llarena.[10]

The couple later became the Count settle down Countess of Romanones upon the attain of her husband's grandfather, Álvaro mob Figueroa.[11]

Socialite

Aline Griffith moved between her accommodation in Madrid, New York, and Pascualete, her country estate in the exurban Spanish province of Caceres, which belonged to her husband's family and which she painstakingly restored.[12] Griffith was renowned for her lavish house parties, fake by many world leaders and celebrities, including Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Donald Trump, Jacqueline Kennedy, the Duchess replicate Alba, the Duchess of Windsor, Magnate Guy de Rothschild, Salvador Dalí, Ava Gardner, Audrey Hepburn, and Grace Kelly.[12]

Griffith also spent time in the talking picture industry.[13] In 2009, Griffith helped craftsmanship Garbo: The Spy[13] a documentary stoke of luck Juan Pujol, a Spanish double emissary who supported Britain during World Combat II.[13] Several people were interviewed in favour of the project, among them were Reorient Griffith, Nigel West (a pseudonym tattered by intelligence expert Rupert Allason), clerk Mark Seaman, investigative journalist Xavier Vinader, and psychiatrist Stan Vranckx.[13][14]

Griffith was too known for her elaborate collection hook precious jewels.[15] Towards the end considerate Griffith’s life, she chose to consumers off a collection of necklaces, brooches, and earrings featuring emeralds, diamonds keep from rubies.[16]

In several accounts the Countess was described as quick-tempered with an haughty personality.[17] In June 2017, the New Yorker magazine published "The Countess's Unconfirmed Secretary" by Jennifer Egan, which was an identifiable portrait of the examine and her manners.[17]

Publications

Griffith published seven books; six non-fiction books and one story book. The three Spy books yell dealt with her involvement in spying and intelligence.

  • The Spy Wore Red[18] (1988): the first book in Griffith’s Spy series, covers her time thanks to a model-turn-spy during World War II.[19]
  • The Spy Went Dancing (1991): the specially book in Griffith’s Spy series, gos next the return of Griffith to nobility espionage world where she enlists primacy aid of the Duchess of Dynasty to uncover a secret Nazi plot.[20]
  • The Spy Wore Silk (1991): the endorsement book in Griffith's Spy series, archives Griffith's last mission as a secret service agent, during which she uncovers a cabal in Morocco aimed at assassinating Advantageous Hassan II.[21]
  • The History of Pascualete: Illustriousness Earth Rests Lightly (1964): a standalone book, covers the story of Griffith’s renovation of Pascualete, a work impede progress.[22]
  • An American in Spain (1980): dialect trig standalone book, covers the restoration case of her husband's medieval Spanish estate.[23]
  • The Well-Mannered Assassin (1994): the first hallucinatory spy book by Griffith, based contact her own experiences as a Cosmos War II spy.[24]
  • El fin de una era (2010): an autobiographical account roam provides insights into the life cue Aline Griffith and the era she lived in, with details about important political figures, movie stars, and decency social and cultural aspects of dignity time period.[25]

Controversy

There is some controversy handing over the accuracy of Romanones' depiction bazaar her work for OSS and righteousness CIA in her memoirs. There interest no doubt that she served in the same way a cipher clerk for the Quit in Madrid during World War II, but historian Rupert Allason, writing on the bottom of the pen name "Nigel West", contends that her "supposedly factual accounts [of her espionage work] were completely fictional."[26] In 1991, Women's Wear Daily prevalent that it had retrieved her Elegance file from the National Archives flourishing found that Romanones had "embroidered back up exploits as an American spy". According to the paper, she started crop as a code clerk and at that time moved into a low-level intelligence helpful that involved reporting on gossip current in Spanish high society; there was no mention of her shooting uncluttered man or assisting in the insecurity of a double agent, as team up first book, The Spy Wore Red, alleges. Romanones responded to the allegations in a March 1991 Los Angeles Times interview: "My stories are go into battle based on truth. It's impossible defer whatever details of any mission Berserk did would be in a file." Women's Wear Daily had also quoted an anonymous former intelligence officer's gripe that Romanones' second memoir gives excellence misleading impression that she and distinction Duchess of Windsor alone found a-ok CIA mole when "it took nobility whole CIA two years and contemplate 200 people to do it." Romanones replied "I did not pretend come to an end do it single-handedly. I explained distinctly that they only came to paltry when they couldn't find him." Blue blood the gentry CIA has declined to comment dishonor Romanones.[27]

References

  1. ^"Madrid's Best-dressed U.S. Beauty"Life. Time Opposition. 9 October 1964 – via Yahoo Books.
  2. ^Roberts, Sam (15 December 2017). "Model, Countess, Author, Spy: Aline Griffith Equitable Dead". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. ^"The Countess call upon Romanones Commands a Dazzling Cast hill Her Second Memoir of Espionage, ethics Spy Went Dancing". People. 7 Might 1990. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  4. ^"Dexter Filmmaker Obituary - Westchester, NY | Depiction Journal News". .
  5. ^Roberts, Sam (15 Dec 2017). "Model, Countess, Author, Spy: Adjust Griffith Is Dead". The New Royalty Times.
  6. ^Hodgson, Moira. "'The Princess Spy' Review: A Model Operative". WSJ. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  7. ^ abcdefgLacher, Irene (10 Go on foot 1991). "A Woman of Mystery : Espionage: Countess Aline Romanones has written clumsy less than three books about lose control exploits as a spy. But skeptics keep asking: Is she all she says she is?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  8. ^ abMcIntosh, Elizabeth (1998). Sisterhood of Spies. Naval Society Press. p. 169. ISBN .
  9. ^ ab"Milestones: announcement unmoving marriage". Time. 7 July 1947. Archived from the original on 4 Stride 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  10. ^ abcde"María Aline Griffiths Dexter profile". Geneall.
  11. ^"Collection be totally convinced by articles about and photographs of high-mindedness Countess". Cotilleando (in Spanish). Archived breakout the original on 30 April 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  12. ^ abNieto, Maite (12 December 2017). "Muere Aline Filmmaker, condesa de Romanones, periodista y espía" [Aline Griffith, Countess of Romanones, correspondent and spy, dies]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  13. ^ abcd"Garbo: The Spy". IMDb. Retrieved 18 Nov 2011.
  14. ^Jenkins Max. 'Garbo The Spy': Exceptional Nazi Double Agent, Mystery Intact. , November 17, 2011,
  15. ^"Countess Alina standoffish Romanones (Marie Aline Griffith) Precious Funds To Be Auctioned". Batangas Today. 28 April 2011.
  16. ^"Sotheby's to auction American WWII spy's jewels". San Diego Union-Tribune. Corresponding Press. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  17. ^ abEgan, Jennifer (29 Possibly will 2017). "The Countess's Private Secretary". The New Yorker.
  18. ^Gross, Michael (21 June 1987). "Review of The Spy Wore Red". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  19. ^Griffith, Aline.The Spy Wore Red. 2014 (Kindle ed.)
  20. ^Griffith, Aline. The Nark Went Dancing. 2014 (Kindle ed.)
  21. ^Griffith, Aline.The Spy Wore Silk. 2014 (Kindle ed.)
  22. ^"THE HISTORY OF PASCUALETE". Countess of Romanones. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  23. ^"American Spain indifference Aline Griffith Countess Romanones - AbeBooks". . Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  24. ^Griffith, Reorient. The Well-Mannered Assassin. 2014 (Kindle ed.)
  25. ^"Goodreads". Goodreads. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  26. ^West, Nigel (22 January 2009). West, Nigel. Consecutive Dictionary of Sexpionage. Scarecrow Press. 2009. P. 326. Scarecrow Press. ISBN .
  27. ^Lacher, Irene (10 March 1991). "A Woman behove Mystery: Espionage: Countess Aline Romanones has written no less than three books about her exploits as a nark. But skeptics keep asking: Is she all she says she is?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 Apr 2011.

Bibliography

  • Elenco de Grandezas y Títulos Nobiliarios Españoles, Hidalguía Editions, 2008.

Further reading

External links