Diego López de Haro y Sotomayor



Diego López de Haro y Sotomayor or Diego de Haro y Portocarrero (died 1582) was a Spanish noble holding the titles of Señor Lubrín y Sorbas, Almería and 10th Señor del Carpio, a title which was elevated to 1st Marques del Carpio in 1559 by Philip II of Spain.

Family Origins
A member of the House of Haro, Diego López was the son of Luis Méndez de Haro y Sotomayor, 9th Señor del Carpio and Señor de Sorbas and Lubrín and his wife, Beatriz Portocarrero Cárdenas. His paternal grandfather was Diego López de Haro 8th Señor del Carpio, and Señor of Busto, Revilla, Sorbas and Lubrín and governor of Galicia, from whom his father inherited the title of Señorio del Carpio and the Señorios of Lubrín and Sorbas, and his paternal grandmother was Beatriz de Sotomayor, daughter of Luis Méndez de Sotomayor, 7th Señor del Carpio.

Biography
Diego López was the title holder of the Señorio del Carpio, being the 10th Señor when King Philip II of Spain elevated the Señorio to a Marquesado on 20 January 1559 a title which was also granted Grandeeship of Spain. Later in 1559, King Phillip II of Spain granted Diego López the Villa de Carboneras and in 1565, the king charged Diego López with building the Caballerizas Reales de Córdoba.

Diego López was the Caballerizo of Córdoba between 1567 and 1599 and is credited with the official creation Andalusian Spanish horse breed. On 28 November 1567, the Spanish Horse breed was made official with standard breeding practices.

Marriage and descendants
Diego López married María Angela de Velasco de la Cueva, daughter of Cristóbal de la Cueva y Velasco, Señor de Roa and the couple had 2 children:
 * María López de Haro - II Marquesa del Carpio, Señora de Las Villas de Adamuz, Morente y Pedro Abad, and Málaga, who married Francisco Fernández de Córdoba
 * Beatriz López de Haro Sotomayor - who married her paternal uncle, Luis Méndez de Haro Portocarrero

Death and Legacy
Diego López died in 1582 or 1599, his descendants would go on to perfect the Andalusian horse breed.