[1] The Spanish Cortes appointed him commissary (military attaché) at the British Army Headquarters, and Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, who regarded him with great favour, made him one of his aides-de-camp.

Between 1781 and 1790 he completed his studies at the Vergara Seminary [es], an institution dedicated to the education of sons of noblemen run by the Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País.

In 1785, at age 13, he entered the Infantry Regiment of Seville n. 11 as a cadet, led at the time by his other uncle, José de Álava, reaching the rank of second lieutenant in 1787.

After his time in the infantry, and coinciding with the end of his studies, he entered the Navy in 1790, possibly attracted by the distinguished figure of his uncle, Ignacio Maria de Álava.

He joined different ships from which he participated in multiple military actions by the Spanish navy against France and England: in Ceuta, the Siege of Toulon and in Italy, which, together with his well-connected family, allowed him to rapidly escalate.

When the French invested Cádiz, Álava was commissioned by the Cortes to treat with the Duc d'Angoulême, and the negotiations resulted in the restoration of Ferdinand, who pledged himself to a liberal policy.

After the insurrection of La Granja [es] he refused to sign the Spanish Constitution of 1837, declaring himself tired of taking new oaths, and was consequently obliged to retire to France, where he died at Barèges in 1843.

[3] Both the relationships established with high-ranking military personnel during the Peninsular War and his diplomatic work as ambassador in London and Paris gave Álava access to a wide network of prominent contacts that, in some cases, went beyond the strictly professional sphere.

Thus, in September 1813, William II of the Netherlands, at the time Prince of Orange, with whom he fought during the Napoleonic campaigns, congratulated him on his impending marriage and asked him, in a relaxed tone, to invite him to the ceremony, which Álava happily did.

Frequent and honourable mention of Álava is made in Napier's History of the Peninsular War, and his name is often met both in lives[clarification needed] of the Duke of Wellington and in his correspondence.