Daughter of Spanish dictator Franco

Maria del Carmen Franco y Polo, the only child of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, has died in Madrid, according to the family’s foundation. She was 91 and had been suffering from cancer.

Born in Oviedo, Spain, she was the only daughter of Franco and his wife, Maria del Carmen Polo. As honorary chairman of the National Francisco Franco Foundation and Duchess of Franco, she played a role in protecting her father’s legacy followinghis death in 1975.

“She was one of the promoters of the idea that the Franco dictatorship was in some ways a benign and mild affair,” said Giles Tremlett, a historian and journalist. “Let’s just say that there is still lots left to do in working through what happened and how that particular family made its mark on Spain.”

Ms. Carmen Franco, who was known as Carmen, shunned the limelight, but she told the story of her upbringing in a book called “Franco, My Father” cowritten with historians Jesus Palacios and Stanley George Payne, and published in 2008. Her family heritage made her a divisive figure in Spain, where the legacy of the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939 remains deeply contentious.

“In contrast to other children of dictators, in the case of Carmen she has been remarkable for her discretion,” Nieves Herrero, her biographer, said in an interview with Onda Cero radio. “She saw herself as a normal person when in fact there was nothing normal about her.”

Ms. Carmen Franco married Cristobal MartinezBordiu, a heart surgeon from a noble background, in 1950, according to ABC newspaper. They had seven children. Mr. MartinezBordiu died in 1998.