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Mencia de la Cueva y Mendoza (1572-1665) was a Spanish noblewoman. She was a sister of Alfonso, Marquis of Bedmar. Aside from these bare-bones facts, very little information about her appears to be available in English.
Mencia de la Cueva y Mendoza in 1632[]
Note: Flint and DeMarce refer to her as Mencia de Mendoza.
Doña Mencia de Mendoza had come from Spain in 1630, as part of the entourage of the Infanta Mariana, wife of Ferdinand III. Mencia de Mendoza and Maria Anna, Archduchess of Austria took a liking to each other and Doña Mencia transferred to Maria Anna's household. There, she became both the chief personal attendant to, and a close confidante of, Maria Anna.
She accompanied Maria Anna to Munich, where she played a key role in organizing and enabling Maria Anna's escape.
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