[7] José's mother, María de la Trinidad Mergelina Llorens (1851-1924),[8] was cousin of the Carlist Valencian leader Joaquín Lloréns Fernández[9] and related to a number of noble families.

Following initial home schooling, as an older child he frequented Colegio de San José, a prestigious Valencian institute established in 1870 by Agustin Cabré and run by the Jesuits;[12] he completed the teenage education there in 1900.

[20] Since her father had no male descendants,[21] she had arranged to inherit the marquesado;[22] following the marriage, José Selva was also entitled to the honour as marqués consorte.

With his father vicepresident of the Junta Provincial and his maternal uncle one of the national Carlist leaders, Selva soon grew in the Levantine party structures.

As a rising star of the movement he took part in national Traditionalist gatherings in Bordeaux and Lourdes of the 1910s, where he was personally introduced to the claimant, Don Jaime.

[47] His three years of work were appreciated when in late 1921, following transitional leadership tenures of Pascual Comín Moya and Luis Hernando de Larramendi, Don Jaime had to choose his new political representative.

[60] Possibly as part of this strategy in 1923 for the first time in the 20th century the Carlists abstained from racing to the Cortes;[61] the official reason quoted was disillusionment with “farsa parlamentaria”.

[62] The Carlists received the Primo de Rivera dictatorship warmly,[63] cheerful about the fall of corrupted democracy and considering the coup to be a step towards traditionalist monarchy.

[64] De Villores, in line with instructions from Don Jaime who ordered cautious co-operation with the regime, recommended entering the primoderiverista Somatén militia[65] and joined the formation himself,[66] shifting focus away from the Carlist own paramilitary, Requeté.

[68] Executing the now reversed strategy, Villores kept the party away from Unión Patriótica[69] and expulsed those who accepted invitation to Asamblea Nacional Consultiva;[70] he failed to prevent further defections,[71] though he managed to avert spontaneous insurgency attempts.

[72] The political bewilderment of Dictablanda seemed to offer new opportunities for an increasingly marginalized Carlism and there are some indications that the party considered taking part in “controlled” elections, planned (and eventually abandoned) by general Berenguer.

[74] The final period of de Villores’ leadership term was even more turbulent than the initial one, marked by advent of the Republic and death of Jaime III.

[79] For Villores personally the campaign took a deeply humiliating turn;[80] competing in the urban Valencian district he was trashed by leading candidates and recorded a disastrous result.

[81] Contempt for militantly secular Republic drew three competitive branches of Carlism closer; Villores seemed to support consolidation, as in June 1931 he took part in massive public gatherings calling for unity.

There are streets commemorating “Marqués de Villores” in many Spanish villages and cities (including his native Villena), but none of them indicates which marquis in sequence is meant.