Aline, Countess of Romanones
Encyclopedia
Doña María Aline Griffith Dexter, Countess of Romanones, Grandee of Spain
(born New York
, 1923) is a Spanish
-American
aristocrat
, socialite
, and writer who started at the US Office of Strategic Services
(OSS) as a cipher
clerk during World War II
. She has been a member of the International Best Dressed List
since 1962.
She married Luis Figueroa y Perez de Guzmán el Bueno, Count of Quintanilla
, in 1947; they had three children:
The couple later became the Count and Countess of Romanones, at the death of her husband's grandfather, Alvaro Figueroa. She lives at her homes in Madrid and Pascualete, a country estate of her husband's family, which she has painstakingly restored.
Romanones wrote six books, The Spy Wore Red, The Spy Went Dancing, The Spy Wore Silk, all sold as non fiction, about her involvement in espionage and intelligence, and The Well-Mannered Assassin, her first fiction, based in part on Carlos The Jackal. In 2010, she wrote El fin de una era, published in Spain. She also wrote The Earth Rests Lightly, which tells the story of her renovation of Pascualete, a work in progress.
In 2009, she appeared in "Garbo: The Spy", a documentary about Juan Pujol, a Spanish double agent who supported Britain during World War II.
, writing under the pen name "Nigel West", contends that her "supposedly factual accounts [of her espionage work] were completely fictional." In 1991 Women's Wear Daily
reported that it had retrieved her OSS file from the National Archives
and found that Romanones had "embroidered her exploits as an American spy". According to the paper, she started out as a code clerk and then moved into a low-level intelligence job that involved reporting on gossip circulating in Spanish high society; there was no mention of her shooting a man or assisting in the exposure of a double agent, as her first book, "The Spy Wore Red," alleges. Romanones responded to the allegations in a March 1991 Los Angeles Times
interview: "My stories are all based on truth. It's impossible that whatever details of any mission I did would be in a file." Women's Wear Daily had also quoted an anonymous former intelligence officer's complaint that Romanones' later memoir gives the misleading impression that she and the Duchess of Windsor alone found a CIA mole when "it took the whole CIA two years and about 200 people to do it." Romanones replied "I did not pretend to do it single-handedly. I explained clearly that they only came to us when they couldn't find him." The CIA has declined comment on Romanones.
Grandee
Grandee is the word used to render in English the Iberic high aristocratic title Grande , used by the Spanish nobility; Portuguese nobility, and Brazilian nobility....
(born New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 1923) is a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
-American
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
aristocrat
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
, socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
, and writer who started at the US Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS) as a cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
clerk during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She has been a member of the International Best Dressed List
International Best Dressed List
The International Best Dressed List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time.People who have been on the list include from A to Z:-The International Hall of Fame: Women:...
since 1962.
Biography
Miss Griffith (as she then was) was working as a model when she was recruited to the OSS and sent to Spain, where she later met and married her late husband. According to Elizabeth McIntosh's book "she started out in Madrid in the X-2 code room in 1943, on call night and day to encipher messages. She also handled a small agent net that spied on the private secretary of a minister in the Spanish government. Most of her exciting work was done after hours when she developed an extensive social life, reporting on the gossip she had overheard after a night of partying, often with Spanish aristocracy."She married Luis Figueroa y Perez de Guzmán el Bueno, Count of Quintanilla
Quintanilla
There are a number of people with the Spanish surname Quintanilla:*Antonio de Quintanilla, last governor of Chiloé*Selena Quintanilla-Perez, Grammy-Award winning singer**Abraham Quintanilla III, brother and song-writer of Selena Quintanilla-Perez...
, in 1947; they had three children:
- Álvaro de Figueroa y Griffith, 10. count of Quintanilla, 3. count of Romanones, (born 21.02.1949), married Lucila Domecq Williams.
- Luis de Figueroa y Griffith, 11. count of Quintanilla, (born 1950), married HSH princess Theresia zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, and later with María Inés Bárbara Márquez y Osorio
- Miguel de Figueroa y Griffith
The couple later became the Count and Countess of Romanones, at the death of her husband's grandfather, Alvaro Figueroa. She lives at her homes in Madrid and Pascualete, a country estate of her husband's family, which she has painstakingly restored.
Romanones wrote six books, The Spy Wore Red, The Spy Went Dancing, The Spy Wore Silk, all sold as non fiction, about her involvement in espionage and intelligence, and The Well-Mannered Assassin, her first fiction, based in part on Carlos The Jackal. In 2010, she wrote El fin de una era, published in Spain. She also wrote The Earth Rests Lightly, which tells the story of her renovation of Pascualete, a work in progress.
In 2009, she appeared in "Garbo: The Spy", a documentary about Juan Pujol, a Spanish double agent who supported Britain during World War II.
Controversy
There is some controversy over the accuracy of Romanones' depiction of her work for OSS and the CIA in her memoirs. There is no doubt that she served as a cipher clerk for the OSS in Madrid during World War II, but historian Rupert AllasonRupert Allason
Rupert William Simon Allason is a military historian and former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament for Torbay in Devon, from 1987 to 1997...
, writing under the pen name "Nigel West", contends that her "supposedly factual accounts [of her espionage work] were completely fictional." In 1991 Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal sometimes called "the bible of fashion." WWD delivers information and intelligence on changing trends and breaking news in the fashion, beauty and retail industries with a readership composed largely of retailers, designers, manufacturers,...
reported that it had retrieved her OSS file from the National Archives
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
and found that Romanones had "embroidered her exploits as an American spy". According to the paper, she started out as a code clerk and then moved into a low-level intelligence job that involved reporting on gossip circulating in Spanish high society; there was no mention of her shooting a man or assisting in the exposure of a double agent, as her first book, "The Spy Wore Red," alleges. Romanones responded to the allegations in a March 1991 Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
interview: "My stories are all based on truth. It's impossible that whatever details of any mission I did would be in a file." Women's Wear Daily had also quoted an anonymous former intelligence officer's complaint that Romanones' later memoir gives the misleading impression that she and the Duchess of Windsor alone found a CIA mole when "it took the whole CIA two years and about 200 people to do it." Romanones replied "I did not pretend to do it single-handedly. I explained clearly that they only came to us when they couldn't find him." The CIA has declined comment on Romanones.
Titles and styles
- Miss Griffith (1923–1947)
- Señorita María Aline Griffiths y Dexter (in Spain, 1923–1947)
- The Most ExcellentThe Most ExcellentThe Most Excellent is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in Spain and certain Spanish-speaking countries...
The Countess of Quintanilla (1947–1963) - The Most Excellent The Countess of Romanones (1963–1988)
- The Most Excellent The Dowager Countess of Romanones (1988–)
- Elected, The International Hall of Fame, Vanity Fair: The International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame (1962)