There were bitter attacks against Mercedes's marriage in the newspapers and protest on the streets in Madrid, Seville and Granada. The Archbishop of Valladolid, one of Spain’s most prominent prelates, wrote a letter to the Queen warning her against the dire consequences if the marriage would take place. The Queen wrote him back: " Monsignor, dedicate yourself to direct your diocese and praying, which are your main obligations, perhaps this way none of the catastrophe you predict will happen". Mercedes herself expressed her frustration to the strong opposition to her choice of groom in a letter to her aunt Paz: "I am happy to marry him, but I am also upset at those who have created such a fuss and made mother suffer for this... all because his father fought alongside don Carlos. Is this fair?"