King Felipe's great-aunt Alicia passes away aged 99

KING Juan Carlos I's aunt, the Infanta Alicia has died aged 99 at her home in Madrid, confirm sources close to the family.

Lady Alicia de Borbón-Parma – pictured here aged 86 – was married to the Infante Alfonso de Borbón-Dos Sicilias, nephew of King Alfonso XIII and brother of Lady María de las Mercedes, Countess of Barcelona and mother of the now-abdicated King Juan Carlos I.

Born in Vienna, Austria on November 13, 1917, the Infanta Alicia – great-aunt of the current reigning monarch, King Felipe VI – has missed her centenary by less than eight months.

She was the daughter of Elias I, Duke of Parma (Italy) and of the Archduchess Marie Anne of Austria, who was niece of the Spanish Queen Consort María Cristina – wife of the then monarch Alfonso XII.

Alicia has been in good health for most of her long life, outliving many of her contemporaries – in 2003, she attended the 10-year anniversary of funeral of her brother-in-law, Count of Barcelona and Juan Carlos I's father at the San Lorenzo monastery in El Escorial.

The above photograph shows her at her great-nephew Felipe VI's wedding to Queen Letizia on May 22, 2004, when the then Prince of Asturias made history by marrying a well-known TV reporter and newsreader with no aristocratic blood.

Lady Alicia has outlived her own son, the Infante Carlos de Borbón-Dos Sicilias, who passed away aged 77 in October 2015.