House of Medina Sidonia

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House of Medina Sedonia
Parent family	House of Guzmán House of Álvarez de Toledo González de Gregorio
Founder	Guzmán el Bueno
Current head	Leoncio Alonso González de Gregorio y Álvarez de Toledo
Titles	Lordship of Sanlucar (1297) County of Niebla (1369) Duke of Medina Sidonia (1445) Marquisate of Gibraltar (1488-1501) Marquisate of Cazaza (1497) County of Saltés (1612) Marquisate of Valverde (1640)
Connected families	House of Olivares
Motto	Praeferre patriam liberis parentem decet (A father must put the fatherland before the children)

The House of Medina Sidonia (Spanish: Casa de Medina Sidonia) is a Spanish noble house originating from the crown of Castile, whose name comes from the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a hereditary noble title that John II of Castile granted to Juan Alonso Perez de Guzman, 3rd Count of Niebla, on February 17, 1445, as a reward for his services to the crown. The Dukedom of Medina Sidonia is the oldest hereditary dukedom in the kingdom of Spain.

The founder of the House of Medina Sidonia was Guzmán el Bueno, since he was the one who laid the foundations on which the house would be built. His descendants accumulated possessions and titles that increased the power of the lineage, which received the definitive backing in 1445 with the concession of the Dukedom of Medina Sidonia, which in 1520 was granted the original Grandee of Spain. In addition, the house gathered and gathered other titles, such as the Lordship of Sanlúcar, the County of Niebla, the Marquisate of Gibraltar, the Marquisate of Cazaza and the Marquisate of Valverde.

The House of Medina Sidonia was from its very beginning in the hands of the Pérez de Guzmán family, commonly known as the Guzmanes, until in 1779 it passed to the Álvarez de Toledo, when upon the death without descendants of Pedro de Alcántara Pérez de Guzmán y Pacheco, 14th Duke of Medina Sidonia, it was inherited by his cousin José Álvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga, XI Marquis of Villafranca del Bierzo, who also died without descendants, passing the barony of the House of Medina Sidonia to his brother Francisco de Borja Álvarez de Toledo y Gonzaga. Leoncio Alonso González de Gregorio y Álvarez de Toledo is the current Duke of Medina Sidonia, being the twenty-second person who has carried this title.