He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, and after unsuccessfully contesting Maldon in 1841, sat as Member of Parliament for Lyme Regis from 1847 to 1852.

Educated at Merton College, Oxford, he served as a Justice of the Peace for Essex, and was named High Sheriff of the county in 1884.

He served in the 2nd Life Guards, rising to the rank of captain, and fought in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War.

Two years later, on 10 February 1930, he married Lady Diana Bridgeman (1907–1967), daughter of the 5th Earl of Bradford.

Educated at Eton College, he was a European Representative at the Smithsonian Institution, 1983–1995, serving in 1995 as a member of the National Board.

Sir Valentine married Mathilde Marie Alexe Christianne de la Ferté in 1971, and they had one son, Robert Etienne Eric Abdy, before divorcing in 1982.

[10] As of 2021[update] the baronetcy is listed as Vacant on the Official Roll of the Baronetage, meaning he has yet to prove his claim to the title.