Luis Maria Augusto Pinto de Soveral, Marquês de Soveral

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(28 May 1851 – 5 October 1922) was a Portuguese diplomat.

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

nicknamed him "the Blue Monkey". He was born at

São João da Pesqueira São João da Pesqueira () is a municipality and municipal seat in the Portuguese district of Viseu. The population of the municipality in 2011 was approximately 7,874 inhabitants, in an area that extends . The present mayor is Manuel Cordeiro, el ...

, son of Eduardo Pinto de Soveral, 1st Viscount of São Luís, and his wife Maria da Piedade Paes de Sande e Castro.Luis Maria Augusto Pinto de Soveral, 1º marquês de Soveral
at geneall.net. Accessed 4 March 2012 Joining the diplomatic service, he was an attaché and Secretary of Legation at Vienna, Berlin, and Madrid. He was First Secretary at the London Embassy in 1885 and advanced to the rank of Minister in 1891. He was a Counsellor of State, and served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 1895 to 1897.‘DE SOVERAL’, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 4 March 2012
/ref> In 1897 he was made an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the British

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

, and later that year was appointed

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to the

Court of St James's The Court of St James's serves as the official royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The court formally receives all ambassadors accredited to the United Kingdom. Likewise, ambassadors representing the United Kingdom are formally ...

. Soveral was a friend of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and a prominent member of the "

Marlborough House Marlborough House, a Grade I listed mansion on The Mall in St James's, City of Westminster, London, is the headquarters of the Commonwealth of Nations and the seat of the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is adjacent to St James's Palace. The ...

set", Jane Ridley, ‘Marlborough House set (act. 1870s–1901)’, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', Oxford University Press
accessed 4 March 2012
/ref> the group of aristocratic and other friends of Edward when Prince of Wales who were regarded as leading fashionable society, at a time when the royal court of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

was sober and domestic in tone. He was Ambassador Extraordinary for Edward VII's coronation and was made an Honorary Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in 1902. He was Ambassador Extraordinary to the Second Hague Conference in 1907. His tenure as Portuguese Minister in London ended in 1910, when the Revolution of 5 October overthrew the Portuguese monarchy. Soveral was created a

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

by King Carlos I of Portugal in 1900, and was a Grand Cross of the

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. He died at Paris. On his death, his title became extinct. He is buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery (Division 20), in Paris. He was the subject of a biography by Paulo Lowndes Marques, entitled ''O Marquês de Soveral, Seu Tempo e Seu Modo'' (''The Marquis of Soveral: his time and his manner'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soveral, Luis Pinto de 1851 births 1922 deaths Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword Portugal–United Kingdom relations Portuguese nobility People from Viseu District