Dukes of Braganza

Original Coat of Arms of the Dukes of Braganza (before 1481).

The Coat of Arms of the Dukes of Braganza (after 1481).

The Coat of Arms of Jaime, 4th Duke of Braganza, sworn heir to the throne when King Manuel I of Portugal travelled to Castile and was yet childless.

See also: Duchess of Braganza

The title Duke of Braganza (Portuguese: Duque de Bragança) in the House of Braganza is one of the most important titles in the peerage of Portugal, as the ancient Duchy of Braganza (Bragança), is one of the oldest and most important dukedoms in Portugal. Since the House of Braganza acceded to the throne of Portugal in 1640, the male heir of the Portuguese Crown has been known as the Duke of Braganza together with the title Prince of Brazil (until 1822), or sometimes also by Prince of Beira. The tradition of the heir to the throne being titled Duke of Braganza was revived by various pretenders after the foundation of the Republic on October 5, 1910, to signify their claims to the throne.

History of Dukedom

Feudal dukes

The Duke of Braganza holds one of the most important dukedoms in Portugal, see Duchy of Braganza. Created in 1442 by King Afonso V of Portugal for his uncle Afonso, Count of Barcelos (natural son of John I of Portugal), it is one of the oldest fiefdoms in Portugal.

By 1640, Portugal was on the verge of rebellion and a new Portuguese king had to be found. The choice fell upon the eighth duke, João II of Braganza, who had a claim both through his grandmother, Infanta Catherine of Guimarães, a legitimate granddaughter of king Manuel I, and through his great-great-grandfather, the 4th duke of Braganza, a nephew of King Manuel I. Duke John II was a modest man without particular ambitions to the Crown. Legend says that his wife, Leonor of Guzman, daughter of the duke of Medina-Sidónia, urged him to accept the offer saying, I'd rather be Queen for one day than duchess for a lifetime. He accepted the leadership of the rebellion, which was successful, and was acclaimed John IV of Portugal on December 1, 1640.

Dukedom in the Braganza monarchy

After the accession of the House of Braganza to the Portuguese throne in 1640, following the Philippine Dynasty of Spanish Habsburgs, the Dukedom became linked to the Crown and later the Duke of Braganza became the traditional title of the heir to the Portuguese Crown, together with, or alternate to Prince of Beira, much as Prince of Wales is in the United Kingdom. When the 8th Duke had ascended the royal throne, and elevated his son and heir Teodosio as the first Prince of Brazil, he granted the Duchy of Braganza to his brother infante dom Duarte de Portugal-Bragança e de Fernandez de Velasco de Frias. He died in 1649, in Spanish incarceration. Then it was granted to king's second son, the future Afonso VI of Portugal.

From this onwards, the Duke of Braganza was kept for the heir apparent of the throne – in its strictest sense. Although the other title for an unavoidable heir, that of Prince of Brazil, was from time to time granted even to female heirs, the Duke of Braganza was always only for the male heir except for two extraordinary creations, in 1683 and 1711 (these two creations are deemed invalid by some legalists, who accordingly number the dukes in a way that the last of them during the monarchy, Luiz Filipe, was 21st Duke).

When Emperor Pedro I of Brazil abdicated his Brazilian throne in 1831, he took his already invested title Duke of Braganza. After his 1834 death, it was (possibly erroneously^{[weasel words]}) regarded to have reverted to the Portuguese crown and for the next time, passed to his grandson Pedro of Coburg, upon his birth in 1837. However, in 1889 Pedro I's son and heir, the then deposed emperor Pedro II of Brazil, took the use of this ducal title^{[citation needed]}. At that point, for two subsequent years, there were two dukes^{[citation needed]}: the deposed emperor Pedro II who lived in France, and the very young Luiz Filippe (1887–1908), crown prince of Portugal, in Lisbon.

On February 1, 1908, king Carlos I of Portugal was murdered with his eldest son and heir, Luis Filipe, 23rd duke of Braganza, who was the last individual during the monarchy to have that title. He was succeeded by Manuel II of Portugal but for a short time: on October 5, 1910, a republic was instituted and the king was exiled. King Manuel II settled in England.

Dukes in the post-monarchy era

After the foundation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910, the tradition of the heir to the throne being titled Duke of Braganza was revived by various pretenders to signify their claims to the throne.

In the last years of the deposed king Manuel II of Portugal, the dukedom of Bragança allegedly passed to Miguel II, son of the exiled king Miguel I of Portugal, who was living in the Austrian Empire. His branch of the Braganza family allegedly became heirs to the crown in 1932 when Manuel II died without children. These Braganzas were officially allowed to return to the country in 1950 and have lived there ever since.

Presently, the commonly acknowledged duke of Braganza and Portuguese heir is Duarte Pio of Braganza (born 1945). Unlike some European countries like Greece, which continues to forbid the presence of the heirs of former royal houses in their lands, republican Portugal and its claimants to the throne have long been reconciled, a fact shown when among the guests at his wedding was the Portuguese President of the Republic and the country's prime minister.

List of the Dukes of Braganza

Note: The blue shade means that the person was not officially created Duke of Braganza, the person only claimed the title.

As title of nobility

No.	Name	Picture	Birth	Became Duke	Ceased to be Duke	Death	Other titles	Marriages
1.	Afonso I, 1st Duke of Braganza		4 August 1377 Illegitimate son of King John I	1443	15 December 1461		8th Count of Barcelos, 2nd Count of Neiva	Beatriz Pereira de Alvim Constance de Noronha
2.	Fernando I, 2nd Duke of Braganza		4 August 1403 Second son of Duke Afonso I	15 December 1461	1 April 1478		1st Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 5th Count of Ourém, 9th Count of Barcelos, 3rd Count of Arraiolos, 3rd Count of Neiva	Joana de Castro
3.	Fernando II, 3rd Duke of Braganza		1430 Eldest son of Duke Fernando I	1 April 1478	1483		1st Duke of Guimarães, 2nd Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 10th Count of Barcelos, 6th Count of Ourém, 4th Count of Arraiolos, 4th Count of Neiva, 1st Count of Guimarães	Doña Leonor de Menezes Infanta Isabella of Viseu
4.	James, 4th Duke of Braganza (also known as Jaime)		1479 Eldest son of Duke Fernando II	1483	20 September 1532		Prince of Portugal, 2nd Duke of Guimarães, 3rd Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 11th Count of Barcelos, 8th Count of Ourém, 5th Count of Arraiolos, 5th Count of Neiva	Eleonor of Mendoza Joana of Mendoza
5.	Teodósio I, 5th Duke of Braganza		1510 Eldest son of Duke James I	20 September 1532	22 September 1563		3rd Duke of Guimarães, 4th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 12th Count of Barcelos, 6th Count of Arraiolos, 9th Count of Ourém, 6th Count of Neiva	Isabel of Lencastre Beatriz of Lencastre
6.	John I, 6th Duke of Braganza (also known as João I)		1543 Eldest son of Duke Teodósio I	22 September 1563	1583		1st Duke of Barcelos, 5th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 13th Count of Barcelos, 10th Count of Ourém, 7th Count of Arraiolos, 7th Count of Neiva	Infanta Catherine of Guimarães
7.	Teodósio II, 7th Duke of Braganza		28 April 1568 Eldest son of Duke John I	1583	29 November 1630		2nd Duke of Barcelos, 6th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 14th Count of Barcelos, 11th Count of Ourém, 8th Count of Arraiolos, 8th Count of Neiva	Ana de Velasco y Girón
8.	John IV of Portugal (João II as Duke)		18 March 1603 Eldest son of Duke Teodósio II	29 November 1630	1 December 1640 became King	6 November 1656	21st King of Portugal and the Algarves, 6th Duke of Guimarães, 3rd Duke of Barcelos, 7th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 15th Count of Barcelos, 12th Count of Ourém, 9th Count of Arraiolos, 9th Count of Neiva	Luisa of Medina-Sidonia

As heir apparent

No.	Name	Picture	Birth	Became Duke	Ceased to be Duke	Death	Other titles	Marriages
9.	Teodósio III, Prince of Brazil		8 February 1634 Eldest son of King John IV	1 December 1640	13 May 1653		Prince of Portugal, Prince of Brazil, 4th Duke of Barcelos, 8th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 16th Count of Barcelos, 13th Count of Ourém, 10th Count of Arraiolos, 10th Count of Neiva	none
10.	Afonso VI of Portugal (Afonso II as Duke)		21 August 1643 3rd son of King John IV	13 May 1653	6 November 1656 became King	12 September 1683	22nd King of Portugal and the Algarves, Prince of Brazil, 5th Duke of Barcelos, 9th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 17th Count of Barcelos, 14th Count of Ourém, 11th Count of Arraiolos, 11th Count of Neiva	Maria Francisca of Savoy
11.	John V of Portugal (João III as Duke)		22 October 1689 2nd son of King Peter II		9 December 1706 became King	31 July 1750	24th King of Portugal and the Algarves, Prince of Brazil, 10th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 18th Count of Barcelos, 15th Count of Ourém, 12th Count of Arraiolos, 12th Count of Neiva	Maria Anna of Austria
12.	Joseph I of Portugal (also known as José I)		6 June 1714 eldest son of King Peter II	29 October 1714	31 July 1750 became King	24 February 1777	25th King of Portugal and the Algarves, Prince of Brazil, 6th Duke of Barcelos, 11th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 19th Count of Barcelos, 16th Count of Ourém, 13th Count of Arraiolos, 13th Count of Neiva	Mariana Victoria of Spain
13.	Maria I of Portugal		17 December 1734 eldest child of King Joseph I	31 July 1750	24 February 1777 became Queen	20 March 1816	26th Queen of Portugal and the Algarves, Princess of Brazil, Princess of Beira, 7th Duchess of Barcelos, 12th Marchioness of Vila Viçosa, 20th Countess of Barcelos, 17th Countess of Ourém, 14th Countess of Arraiolos, 14th Countess of Neiva	Pedro III of Portugal
14.	Joseph, Prince of Brazil (also known as José)		20 August 1761 eldest son of Queen Maria I	24 February 1777	11 September 1788		Prince of Brazil, Prince of Beira, 8th Duke of Barcelos, 13th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 21st Count of Barcelos, 18th Count of Ourém, 15th Count of Arraiolos, 15th Count of Neiva	Infanta Benedita of Portugal
15.	John VI of Portugal (also known as João VI)		13 May 1767 youngest son of Queen Maria I	11 September 1788	20 March 1816 became King	10 March 1826	27th King of Portugal and the Algarves, Prince of Brazil, 14th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 22nd Count of Barcelos, 19th Count of Ourém, 16th Count of Arraiolos, 16th Count of Neiva	Charlotte of Spain
16.	Pedro I of Brazil (Pedro IV of Portugal)		12 October 1798 2nd son of King John VI	20 March 1816	October 12, 1822 became Emperor		1st Emperor of Brazil, 28th King of Portugal and the Algarves, Prince Royal of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, Prince of Beira, 9th Duke of Barcelos, 15th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 23rd Count of Barcelos, 20th Count of Ourém, 17th Count of Arraiolos, 17th Count of Neiva	Maria Leopoldina of Austria Amélia of Leuchtenberg
				7 April 1831 after abdication used as style	24 September 1834
	Miguel I of Portugal		26 October 1802 youngest son of King John VI	6 May 1834 never created duke, used as style during his exile	14 November 1866		29th King of Portugal and the Algarves, Duke of Beja	Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
18.	Maria II of Portugal		4 April 1819 eldest child of Emperor Pedro I	24 September 1834	28 May 1826 became Queen	15 November 1853	30th Queen of Portugal and the Algarves, Princess of Grão-Pará, Princess Imperial of Brazil, Princes of Beira, Princess of Eichstätt, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 1st Duchess of Porto, Duchess of Leuchtenberg, Duchess of Santa Cruz, 10th Duchess of Barcelos, 17th Marchioness of Vila Viçosa, 25th Countess of Barcelos, 22nd Countess of Ourém, 19th Countess of Arraiolos, 19th Countess of Neiva	Auguste, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg Ferdinand II of Portugal
19.	Pedro V of Portugal		16 December 1837 eldest son of Queen Maria II		15 November 1853 became King	11 November 1861	31st King of Portugal and the Algarves, Prince Royal of Portugal, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 10th Duke of Barcelos, 18th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 26th Count of Barcelos, 23rd Count of Ourém, 21st Count of Arraiolos, 20th Count of Neiva	Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
20.	Carlos I of Portugal		28 September 1863 eldest son of King Louis I		19 October 1889 became King	1 February 1908 assassinated	33rd King of Portugal and the Algarves, Prince Royal of Portugal, 12th Duke of Barcelos, 19th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 27th Count of Barcelos, 24th Count of Ourém, 22nd Count of Arraiolos, 21st Count of Neiva	Amélie of Orléans
21.	Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal		21 March 1887 eldest son of King Carlos I	19 October 1889	1 February 1908 assassinated		Prince Royal of Portugal, Prince of Beira, 14th Duke of Barcelos, 25th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 28th Count of Barcelos, 25th Count of Ourém, 23rd Count of Arraiolos, 22nd Count of Neiva	none

Post-monarchy use and as claimant to the throne of Portugal

No.	Name	Picture	Birth	Claimed title	Ceased to be Duke	Death	Other titles claimed	Marriages
	Miguel, Duke of Braganza		19 September 1853 eldest son of King Miguel I, general of the Austrian Empire	4 October 1910 or 14 November 1866	31 July 1920	11 October 1927	Duke of Barcelos, Marquis of Vila Viçosa, Count of Barcelos, Count of Ourém, Count of Arraiolos, Count of Neiva	Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
	Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza		19 September 1853 3rd son of Miguel	31 July 1920 or 2 July 1932	24 December 1976		Duke of Barcelos, Marquis of Vila Viçosa, Count of Barcelos, Count of Ourém, Count of Arraiolos, Count of Neiva	Princess Francisca of Orléans-Braganza
	Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza		15 May 1945 eldest son of Duarte Nuno	24 December 1976	Incumbent		Prince of Beira, Duke of Barcelos, Duke of Guimarães, Marquis of Vila Viçosa, Count of Barcelos, Count of Ourém, Count of Arraiolos, Count of Neiva	Isabel de Herédia

The heir apparent is Afonso de Santa Maria, Prince of Beira (b. 1996)

For alternative or self-appointed claimants see the articles Maria Pia de Saxe-Coburgo e Bragança and Duke of Loulé.

See also

• Duke of Barcelos
• Duke of Guimarães
• List of Portuguese monarchs
• List of Portuguese Dukedoms
• Kings of Portugal family tree
• House of Burgundy
• House of Aviz
• Philippine Dynasty
• House of Braganza
• Timeline of Portuguese history

External links

• Genealogy of the Dukes of Braganza in Portuguese

Bibliography

• "Nobreza de Portugal e Brasil", Vol. II, pages 433/449. Published by Zairol Lda., 1989, Lisbon.