HRH The Infanta Doña Pilar de Borbón, Duchess of Badajoz , daughter of HH.RR.HH. The
Count and Countess of Barcelona, and the older sister of H.M. the King of Spain, was born in
Cannes (France) in 1936. She also lived in Italy, Switzerland and in Portugal, where she completed her studies and became a qualified nurse.
She speaks six languages: Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, Italian and German.
Widow of the late Don Luis Gómez-Acebo y de Estrada, she lives in Spain. She has four sons and one daughter and seven grand-children.
She is a member of: "the Foundation of the Defence of Life", which cares for the needy, independent of their age; the "‘Foundation Ayuda en Acción", which is dedicated to the help of children and the "Foundation for Cancer Research and Training".
She is Honorary Chairwoman of the Spanish branch of the World Monuments Fund and she is also involved with other organisations of cultural interest, such as "The Friends of the Royal Botanical
Garden of Madrid" and "The Friends of the Opera”. She is also an active member of the Board of
"The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum" in Madrid.
In 1994, HRH The Infanta Doña Pilar was elected President of the International Equestrian
Federation, remaining in that responsibility until April 2006. In that capacity, she was also an elected member of the International Olympic Committee.