 Alicia attended the "Lycée Français" and University Complutense of Madrid.In 1962, her father died in a horse-riding accident and her mother enlisted Ramón Areces, a close friend of her father and the president of El Corte Inglés S.A., the largest department store chain in Europe, to run CYCSA for her and her daughters' benefit.In 1968, Alicia's mother died of cancer.