The Marquis of Soveral

Author:

Paulo Lowndes Marques

Report:

36

Page:

101

Year:

2009

Subject Matter:

Diplomatic and General History

Excerpt:

Paulo Lowndes Marques, former Chairman of the BHSP, summarises his biography of the Marquis of Soveral, which was published in 2009. From a diplomatic family, Soveral (1851-1922) was highly intelligent, an able diplomatic, a very sociable individual and a womaniser, who rose through the ranks to become Portugal’s Ambassador to the Court of St James. He became a good friend of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, and was an indispensable guest if people wished to invite Edward to social events. Lowndes Marques’ description of Soveral in London is set against the backdrop of the 1890 “British Ultimatum”, the economic difficulties faced by Portugal at the time and the Portuguese move to Republicanism, with the eventual exile of King Manuel to England.

The scanned article can be downloaded here