Rafael Carlos Merry del Val

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Rafael Carlos Merry del Val (4 November 1831 – 29 August 1917) was a Spanish nobleman and diplomat.

Early life

Merry del Val was born in Seville on 4 November 1831. He was a son of Rafael Merry y Gayté and María de la Trinidad del Val y Gómez. His family were descendants of a noble Irish family, originally from County Waterford, that settled in Seville in the 18th century.^[1]

Career

A career diplomat, Merry del Val had missions at the courts of the Kings of Belgium and Great Britain; serving as the Spanish Ambassador to Belgium and to the Holy See and Minister at the Imperial Court of Vienna, and Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II and Kings Alfonso XII and Alfonso XII.^[1]

Personal life

Merry del Val was married to Sofía Josefa de Zulueta (1839–1925), eldest daughter of Pedro José de Zulueta, 2nd Count of Torre Díaz, and the former Sophie Anne Willcox (daughter of Brodie McGhie Willcox, MP for Southampton). Together, they were the parents of four sons, all of whom were born in London:^[1]

Alfonso Merry del Val, 1st Marquess of Merry del Val (1864–1943), the Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom.^[2]
Rafael Merry del Val y de Zulueta (1865–1930), the Cardinal Secretary of State to Pope Pius X.^[3]^[4]
Pedro Merry del Val y Zulueta (1867–1958), who married Dolores García-Zapata.^[5]
Domingo Merry del Val y Zulueta (1870–1935), who married Emma Ramila Rojas in Santiago, Chile in 1899.^[6]

Merry del Val died on 29 August 1917 in San Sebastián.^[7]

Honours

1878: Grand Cordon in the Order of Leopold.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c del Campo, Luis G. Martínez (24 November 2015). Cultural Diplomacy: A Hundred Years of the British-Spanish Society. Liverpool University Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-78138-436-7. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
^ "A. MERRY DEL VAL, 79, SPANISH DIPLOMAT; Marquis Served as Ambassador to London for Thirteen Years". The New York Times. 28 May 1943. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
^ "The Pope's Secretary of State: An Account of Cardinal Raphael Merry Del Val". World's Work. W. Heinemann: 238. 1904. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
^ "Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930), Roman Catholic Cardinal". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
^ Anuario español del gran mundo (in Spanish). 1951. p. 467. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
^ "MINISTERIO DE HACIENDA | ESTATUTOS DE LA SOCIEDAD ESTANIFERA MOROCOLA". Diario oficial de la República de Chile (in Spanish). Oficina de la Impr. nacional.: 2360 1924. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
^ The New York Times, 31 August 1917, RAFAEL MERRY DEL VAL DIES; Once Eminent Spanish Diplomatist Was Father of the Cardinal.pdf
^ Handelsblad (Het) 28-08-1878

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