SPAIN:It is now over 30 years since Gen Francisco Franco died in 1975. Since then his family's appearances have been restricted, in the main, to the pages of gossip magazines, who published highly paid exclusives as they married, divorced, changed lovers or appeared on TV reality shows - even had the odd brush with the law - with such alarming regularity that the old dictator must be spinning in his granite tomb
But if they have been less than discreet in their private lives, they have been much more so, some would say secretive, over the wealth which enables them to live millionaire lifestyles. No one knows how much there is or where it came from - although many can guess.
They are known to have made enormous sums from property, often acquired as gifts to the generalísimo. Some investigations have shown that they, or their representatives, took part in discreet but lucrative business deals and investments, many of which took place behind the back of the dictator.
The first hints of these hidden riches came as long ago as 1978, when Franco's daughter Carmen was arrested at Madrid airport as she was boarding a flight to Switzerland carrying a case packed with gold medals and decorations, encrusted with precious stones, all presented to her father during his 40-year dictatorship.
This week the family became embroiled in an undignified row over the future of the 19th century Pazo de Meiras, a turreted manor house in Galicia which was "donated" to Gen Franco - himself a native-born Galician - by his compatriots during the civil war. Few of the donors had any say in their gift, and many had land, and even their homes, expropriated to make up the 10 hectare estate surrounded by high walls with wrought iron gates.
The manor, once home of one of Galicia's most revered writers, Emilia Pardo Bazán, was Franco's favourite summer residence, where he stayed with his family and a very few honoured guests.
His wife was a regular visitor to the nearby shops. It is said that local jewellers trembled as she approached, and some are even rumoured to have shut their stores during the dictator's summer holidays since they were rarely paid for the pricey baubles, particularly pearls, which caught her fancy.
The Galician government is not yet threatening to confiscate the Pazo - which the Francos rarely use - but they want to visit a building they consider part of their historic and cultural heritage.
No one outside the family circle has been inside the building or its grounds for decades, and local officials want to inspect it to see if they could open parts of it to the public.
So far the Franco family have entrenched themselves inside the estate and refused to let anyone in or to comment on the row. There were undignified scenes last week as the inspectors approached the iron gates only to find them firmly locked with chains and huge padlocks.
The case is now in the hands of the courts, who must rule as to whether the gates should be opened and the inspectors allowed in.
But the Pazo de Meiras case has opened another door, one which has been kept discreetly closed for more than thirty years. People want to know how much do the Franco family own, and where did it come from? The answers to that will take much more than turning a key in any rusty lock.