Count Rudi, a key figure in luxury tourism in Marbella, dies, aged 94

The mayor of the town, Ángeles Muñoz, expressed her sorrow upon hearing the news with a heartfelt message on her social media: “Today we bid a fond farewell to Count Rudi, a much-loved figure who has left an indelible mark on Marbella.”

In the mayor’s words, “his name is part of our history and that of Puerto Banús, and his legacy will live on in the memories of those who were lucky enough to know him”.

Via her Facebook profile, Muñoz also wished to convey her condolences to his loved ones: “My love and deepest sympathies go out to his family and all his loved ones. Rest in peace, dear Count Rudi.”

Count Rudi began his career at the Marbella Club in 1957 (having arrived in the town in late 1956), shortly after graduating from the prestigious hotel management school in Lausanne (Switzerland).

His arrival was facilitated by Alfonso de Hohenlohe, who had come up with the idea of transforming a coastal estate into an exclusive motel (the precursor to the current Marbella Club), at a time when the Malaga coastline was not even marketed under the Costa del Sol brand.

The son of a German father and a Polish mother, Rudi von Schönburg grew up in Saxony. After completing his studies and taking his first professional steps in St Moritz, he set off for Marbella at the invitation of Hohenlohe.

Years later, a trip to Somalia with one of the hotel’s first clients led to a chance encounter with the woman who would become his wife, Princess Marie Louise of Prussia, a cousin of Spain's Queen Sofía.

She was in the African country working as a volunteer paediatric nurse, a humanitarian vocation that has remained with her throughout her life, particularly in fundraising to combat diseases such as Aids. They had two children, Sophie and Friedrich von Schönburg.

Count Rudi played a key role in the rise and establishment of the Marbella Club, where he personally took charge of organising events and celebrations for a select clientele who often extended their stays for weeks on end.

“We had to come up with activities to entertain the guests; in the 1960s, there wasn’t the vast array of leisure and entertainment options that characterise Marbella and the whole of the Costa del Sol today,” he recalled of those early golden years.