Departures of note

Rudolf Schönburg-Glauchau, known as Count Rudi, was a German aristocrat born into a Catholic noble family that governed in Saxony until the Weimar Republic. After training in hospitality in Lausanne and working at a hotel in Hamburg, he arrived in Málaga on 28 December 1956 at the invitation of his cousin by marriage, Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe, the visionary who recognised the Costa del Sol's tourist potential. Before turning 30 he became director of the Marbella Club, the coastal estate Hohenlohe transformed into an exclusive luxury hotel that became the preferred holiday destination of European nobility. In May 1971 he married Princess María Luisa of Prussia, great-granddaughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II and cousin of Queen Sofía of Spain. Count Rudi became one of the great references of Marbella's golden years, a witness to the history of the jet-set capital and a symbol of the hospitality and elegance that marked the era, with his name linked to the town and to Puerto Banús. He died at 94 in Marbella, the city he considered paradise, where the mayor led tributes to a beloved figure who left an indelible mark on the town.