Duarte II, 5th Duke of Guimarães

The Infante Duarte II, 5th Duke of Guimarães (pron. IPA2|du'aɾt(ɨ); English: "Edward") (Almeirim, March 1541 - Évora, November 28th 1576) was a Portuguese infante, son of Duarte I, 4th Duke of Guimarães and his wife, Isabel of Braganza.

Through his father, he was a grandson of King Manuel I of Portugal; through his mother, he was a grandson of James, 4th Duke of Braganza.

He was born posthumous and he inherited his father’s titles and estates: the Dukedom of Guimarães. He was one of the most influent nobles during the reigns of Kings John III and Sebastian I.

As member of the State Council he voted, in 1569, for the marriage of King Sebastian to Marguerite de Valois (who late became Henry IV fist wife) and, in 1574, he escorted King Sebastian in his first trip to Tangiers, in north Africa.

In 1557, when King John III died, Duarte was one of the three legitimate surviving male descendants of King Manuel I of Portugal (together with King Sebastian and Cardinal-Infante Henry).

King Sebastian was jealous of this and, for several times, disrespected Duarte’s rank. When the King didn’t invite Duarte to a royal bull-fighting, in Xabregas (Lisbon), Duarte was quite upset and, finally, he retired to Évora where, some months later, he died single and without issue.

Duarte II had two sisters, both married to remarkable Renaissance princes:
*Infanta Maria of Guimarães (1538-1577), also known as Maria de Portugal, married to the Italian prince Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza;
*Infanta Catherine of Guimarães (1540-1614), also known as Catarina de Portugal, married to the Portuguese prince John, 6th Duke of Braganza.

Once she was married to a Portuguese, Infanta Catherine of Guimarães inherited his brother estates and rights to the Dukedom of Guimarães. During the 1580 Portuguese succession crisis, Catherine and her husband, John I of Braganza, were important claimants to the Portuguese throne.

ee Also

*Duke of Guimarães
*List of Portuguese Dukedoms

External Links

[http://www.geneall.net/P/per_page.php?id=8137 Genealogy of Infante Duarte II, 5th Duke of Guimarães, in Portuguese]

Bibliography

”Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil” – Vol. II, page 651. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989.