Image published in Daisy of Pless: The Happy Years

Frances Dimond & Roger Taylor, Crown & Camera: The Royal Family and Photography, 1842-1910, London, 1897

[p 205] Lois Augusto Pinto de Soveral was born In Portugal in I850. He was educated at the Royal Naval Academy and later at the Universities of Oporto and Louvain before following his father's profession as a diplomat. He was posted as attaché to Madrid, Vienna, Berlin and Rome before coming to London in 1890. At that time relations between Britain and Portugal were strained. Soveral showed great skill in drafting an agreement between the two countries, which was signed the following year, and he was consequently appointed Portuguese Minister at the Court of St James's. He became a close friend of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and of the Royal Family. This privileged position was largely due to Soveral's impeccable manners and remarkable tact, equal to the Prince's own.

In 1895 King Carlos of Portugal instigated Soveral's appointment as Foreign Minister: his friendship with both the Prince of Wales and the King cast a benign influence over relations between Britain and Portugal, which continued when he was again appointed Minister to London in 1898. Soveral was a great supporter of the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France, and accompanied King Edward on his first official visit to Paris as a member of his suite.

For some years, Soveral was a well-known and popular figure in society. He was honoured by several foreign governments as well as his own, and became a 'Fidalgo' (nobleman) of the Royal House. His friendship with the British Royal Family continued after Portugal became a republic, and when he died in Paris in 1922, the deposed King Manuel and his mother, Queen Amelia, were with him during his last moments.