Queen of Hearts

The name Larissa Swirski (Odessa,1910 - Sevilla,1977), is little known, as is that of so many women who have played crucial parts in history. However, this young aristocrat - related to the Romanov family and settled in the province of Cadiz - played a key part in the web of espionage that was woven in Gibraltar during the Second World War and which was christened Spy Row by MI5. Initially as a spy for the Nazis and later, as she became aware of the genocide taking place, as a counter intelligence agent for the Allies, this glamorous female, who spoke 6 languages, was the inspiration for Ian Fleming to create the first Bond-girl in the film Casino Royale. Married to a military officer, a friend of General Francisco Franco's younger brother, Larissa obtained a pass issued by Eleuterio Sánchez Rubio, a lieutenant colonel in the Spanish government's 'Straits of Gibraltar Information Service', to cross into Gibraltar. There, she carried out numerous reconnaissance missions, accompanied at times by her daughter Liana. Although a mother and her daughter tended not to raise suspicion, on more than one occasion, she was almost discovered. Liana - now aged 88 - helps us to get to know Larissa and to give her the place in history that she rightly merits.