Although Franco’s heirs have owned the property for more than four decades, the court of La Coruña said that the palace was donated to the state and not the fascist dictator himself.

The judge also ruled the family would not be compensated as Franco claimed the property “in bad faith”.

The palace was the dictator’s summer retreat until his death in 1975.

Franco’s heirs still retain vast amounts of wealth in Spain. Spanish journalist Mariano Sánchez Soler estimates their fortune stands at around €500-600 million.