<human>: Fernando Alvarez de Toledo y Pimentel (29 October 1507 - 11 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba in Spain and the Iron Duke in the Netherlands, was a Spanish noble, general, and diplomat. He was titled the 3rd Duke of Alba de Tormes, 4th Marquis of Coria, 3rd Count of Salvatierra de Tormes, 2nd Count of Piedrahita, 8th Lord of Valdecorneja, Grandee of Spain, and a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. His motto in Latin was Deo patrum Nostrorum, which in English means "To the God of our fathers". He was an adviser of King Charles I of Spain (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor), and his successor, Philip II of Spain, Mayordomo mayor of both, member of their Councils of State and War, governor of the Duchy of Milan (1555-1556), viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples (1556-1558), governor of the Netherlands (1567-1573) and viceroy and constable of the Kingdom of Portugal (1580-1582).

Fernando was born in Piedrahita, Province of Avila, on 29 October 1507. He was the son of Garcia Alvarez de Toledo y Zuniga, heir of Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo and Enriquez de Quinones, II Duke of Alba de Tormes, and of Beatriz Pimentel, daughter of Rodrigo Alonso Pimentel, IV Count - I Duke of Benavente and his wife, Maria Pacheco. Fernando was orphaned at age three when his father, Garcia, died during a campaign on the island of Djerba in Africa in 1510. At the age of six, Fernando accompanied his grandfather, the second duke of Alba on a military mission to capture Navarre.  His youth and education were typical for Castilian nobility of the age. He was educated at the ducal court of the House of Alba, located in the Castle Palace of Alba de Tormes, by two Italian preceptors, Bernardo Gentile - a Sicilian Benedictine - and Severo Marini and by the Spanish Renaissance poet and writer Juan Boscan. He was educated in Roman Catholicism and humanism. He mastered Latin and knew French, English and German.  In 1524, when he was seventeen, he joined the troops of Constable of Castile, Inigo Fernandez de Velasco, II Duke of Frias, during the capture of Fuenterrabia, then occupied by France and Navarre. For his role in the siege, Fernando was appointed governor of Fuenterrabia.  When his grandfather Fadrique died in 1531, the ducal title passed to Fernando as the firstborn son of Garcia. Throughout his adulthood, he served the Spanish monarchs Charles I and his successor Philip II. CANNOTANSWER

Did he have any struggles growing up?
<bot>: At the age of six, Fernando accompanied his grandfather, the second duke of Alba on a military mission to capture Navarre.