ONE OF THE richest women in Spain has overcome her children’s moves to block her marriage to a minor civil servant by giving away her immense fortune.

The 85-year-old duchess wishes to marry her long-time friend, Alfonso Diez, who is 24 years her junior. However, until now her six children have objected to the union, the BBC reports.

She may not need any more names – as she currently goes by the appellation Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva – but the duchess is nevertheless determined to marry Diez.

While her would-be-husband has already signed a legal document renouncing any claim to the duchess’ fortune, she has decided to settle the matter once and for all by simply giving her children their inheritances in advance, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Her personal wealth is estimated to be between €600 million and €3.5billion – although the duchess herself seems nonchalant about her fortune, pointing out: “I have a lot of artworks, but I can’t eat them, can I?”