Diego IV Fernández de la Cueva, I Vizconde de Huelma

Diego IV Fernández de la Cueva (Úbeda, c. 1410-after November 26, 1473) was a Castilian nobleman, Lord of the Casa de la Cueva and 1st Viscount of Huelma. He actively participated in the battle of las Vacas and in the reconquest of the Andalusian square of Huéscar. He was the father, among others, of Beltrán de la Cueva a 'favorite' of Henry IV of Castile and 1st Duke of Alburquerque; of Juan de la Cueva 1st Lord of Solera; and of Gutierre de la Cueva the Bishop of Palencia and 1st Count of Pernía. He was born in Úbeda, Kingdom of Jaén, being the only son of Gil Martínez de la Cueva Lord of the Casa de la Cueva a knight and commander of the Order of Santiago and Alderman of Úbeda, and his wife Blanca Fernández de la Cueva (his second cousin) daughter of another Gil Martínez de la Cueva Lord of Villarejo and his wife Blanca Fernández de Biedma. ​ He is first mentioned in the chronicles in 1422, the year in which he actively participated in the Battle of the Cows, a conflict between Muslims and Christians that occurred in the vicinity of Úbeda. In 1434, under the command of Rodrigo Manrique Lord of Paredes de Nava, he was part of the reconquest of Huéscar, at his expense, with soldiers on horseback. He married Mayor Alfonso de Mercado, daughter of Juan Alfonso de Mercado Lord of the Tower of Pero Gil and of the Casa de Mercado, and of María Sánchez de Molina. The following children were born from this marriage:

-Juan de la Cueva, who succeeded his parents in the House. He was first lord of the state of Solera, of the Tower of Garci Fernández, and of the Lordship of the Tower of Pero Gil. -Gutierre de la Cueva, who followed an ecclesiastical career, being Bishop of Palencia and therefore also Count of Pernía. -Beltrán de la Cueva, great Farorite (possibly lover) of King Henry IV, becoming 1st Duke of Alburquerque, 1st Count of Huelma and Ledesma, Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. -Leonor de la Cueva, who married Esteban Díaz de Villacreces, was warden of Jimena de la Frontera, Jerez de la Frontera & Burgos & Gibraltar, and Veinticuatro de Jerez. -Isabel de la Cueva, who married Juan Manrique a Knight of the Order of Santiago and Commander of Montemolín (the son of Gabriel Fernández Manrique 1st Count of Osorno & Duke of Galisteo). -María o Mayor de la Cueva, married to Diego Sánchez de Carvajal 3rd Lord of Tobaruela & Villarín & Bélmez,1st Lord of Jódar, Conqueror of Málaga and Granada.

In the spring of 1456 King Henry IV of Castile visited Úbeda after a trip he made through Andalusia, and was accommodated in his home. There is no agreement among the chroniclers of the events that occurred during the monarch's stay in the family home, arguing two possibilities. While some maintain that the knight took advantage of the occasion and offered him a thousand folds of gold and asked him to take one of his sons as a page, others claim that it was the king himself, possibly for developing romantic reasons, who offered the father this opportunity for the treatment received. The son chosen was Beltrán de la Cueva, who soon entered as a page of spear of the king, and a year later obtained from it the Lordship of the town of Jimena de la Frontera, thus beginning his ascent in the Castilian court, until becoming the great favorite of the king and titled Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. On June 15, 1464,Henry IV granted in Madrid a Royal Decree by which he granted the Viscounty of Huelma, making him Mercy of the town of Huelma with its castle and fortress, so that after he died he would pass in the form of a mayorazgo to his son Don Beltrán. From then on the Viscount contributed greatly with his power and authority to keep the Kingdom of Jaén at the side of the monarch, a fact referred to in the chronicle of the constable Don Miguel Lucas de Iranzo. He held the positions of Warden of the Royal Alcazars of Huelma & of Alcalá la Real & Lorca & Cartagena, Corregidor and Chief Justice of Úbeda, and Commander of Reina & Albánchez, in addition to being a Knight of the Order of Santiago and the Royal Council of Henry IV. He obtained Royal Faculty to found mayorazgo with his wife by a charter of 10 June 1472, linking the main family assets, calling to succeed his son John. He died shortly after granting codicil in Jaén at the end of 1473, and was buried in the family chapel of the church of Santa María de los Reales Alcázares de Úbeda.

• http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p3388.htm#...
  
• Fernández de Béthencourt, Francisco (1920). Genealogical and heraldic history of the Spanish monarchy royal and great house of Spain 10. Madrid: Ratés. OCLC 843481071
  
• http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_IV_Fernández_de_la_Cueva

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Diego IV Fernández de la Cueva (Úbeda, c. 1410 – después de 26 de noviembre de 1473) fue un noble castellano, señor de la Casa de la Cueva y primer Vizconde de Huelma. Participó activamente en la batalla de las Vacas y en la reconquista de la plaza andaluza de Huéscar. Fue padre, entre otros, de Beltrán de la Cueva, privado de Enrique IV de Castilla y primer duque de Alburquerque, de Juan de la Cueva, primer señor de Solera, y de Gutierre de la Cueva, obispo de Palencia y conde de Pernía. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_IV_Fernández_de_la_Cueva