Auguste de Beauharnais, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg
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Auguste Charles Eugène Napoléon de Beauharnais, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg (9 December 1810 - 28 March 1835) was the first Prince consort of Maria II of Portugal.
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[edit] Family
Born in Milan, Lombardy, he was the eldest son of Eugène de Beauharnais and Princess Augusta Amalia Ludovika Georgia of Bavaria. His maternal grandparents were Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his first wife Marie Wilhelmine Auguste Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt.
His maternal grandmother Marie Wilhelmine Auguste was a daughter of Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt, younger son of Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt.
He was also a brother of Josephine of Leuchtenberg, Queen consort of Oscar I of Sweden and Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress consort of his father-in-law Pedro I of Brazil.
[edit] Duke of Leuchtenberg
His maternal grandfather Maximilian of Bavaria appointed Eugène de Beauharnais, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg on 14 November 1817. The title came with the effective administration of the Principality of Eichstätt. Auguste was named "Prince of Leuchtenburg" and as the eldest son became the heir to his father. Eugène died on 21 February 1824 and Auguste became the second Duke of Leuchtenberg.
On 4 February 1831 Leuchtenberg was one of three candidates for the throne of the newly-independent Belgium. In the election by the Belgian National Congress he came second, after the Louis, Duke of Nemours and ahead of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. Eventually none of these men attained the throne, which went to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg.
[edit] Prince Consort of Portugal
On 26 May 1834, Maria II of Portugal was restored to her throne. She negated her betrothal to her own paternal uncle Miguel of Portugal and sought a more suitable husband. She settled on Auguste.
Auguste and Maria II were married by proxy in Munich on 1 December 1834. The groom was almost twenty-four years old and the bride only fifteen years old. Auguste was named Duke of Santa Cruz on the date of this marriage.
He arrived in Portugal shortly there after and the couple were married in person in a new ceremony. The ceremony took place in Lisbon on 26 January 1835 and Auguste officially became the Prince Consort. However Auguste fell ill and died only two months later.
Auguste was childless at the time of his death. His younger brother became Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg as his successor. A year later Maria II married Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a son of Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 4th Prince of Kohary, who would become her second Prince Consort and later her co-monarch.
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| German nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Eugène de Beauharnais |
Duke of Leuchtenberg 21 February 1824 - 28 March 1835 |
Succeeded by Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg |
| Portuguese royalty | ||
| Preceded by Maria Leopoldina of Austria |
Prince consort of Portugal 26 January - 28 March 1835 |
Succeeded by Ferdinand II of Portugal |
