Maria Francisca of Nemours

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Maria Francisca of Savoy Queen consort of Portugal Titles Princess of Nemours Born June 21, 1646 (1646-06-21) Birthplace Paris Died December 27, 1683 (aged 37) Place of death Lisbon Consort 1666 – 1668 1683 Consort to Afonso VI (annulled) Peter II Issue Isabel Luísa of Braganza Royal House Savoy Father Charles Amédée of Savoy, 6th Duke of Nemours Mother Elisabeth of Bourbon-Vendôme

Marie Françoise Élisabeth (Portuguese: Maria Francisca Isabel) (June 21, 1646 – December 27, 1683) was Queen of Portugal from 1666 to 1668 due to her marriage to King Afonso VI, and again in 1683 due to her marriage to Afonso's brother, King Peter II. She was born a Princess of Nemours as the daughter of the 6th Duke of Nemours and his wife, Elisabeth de Bourbon-Vendôme.

[edit] First marriage

In need of support from Portugal against their mutual enemy Spain, the King of France, Louis XIV, arranged a marriage between Marie Françoise, an important member of the French nobility, and the recently crowned Portuguese king, Afonso VI, an ill young man who was paralyzed on his left side and mentally unstable.

Marie Françoise departed from La Rochelle aboard the Vendôme. When in Lisbon she was deeply disappointed by her fate. She fomented a palace coup that ended the government of Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor.

As the Portuguese Restoration of Independence War continued, the incapable King Afonso VI's rule was influenced by ambitious members of the nobility. Queen Marie Françoise jointly with his younger brother Infante Peter conducted a revolt forcing the King to abdicate his powers and consent to a practical exile in Terceira in the Azores. She was revolted at her impotent and fat husband King Afonso, and after 16 months of an unconsummated marriage, had it annulled.

[edit] Second marriage

Months afterward she married Prince Peter, now the Prince Regent. In 1669 she gave birth to a daughter, Isabel Luísa Josefa of Braganza, Princess of Beira. The Braganza dynasty was at the brink of extinction, and Peter needed heirs, yet Marie Françoise was unable to produce further issue.

When Afonso died in 1683, Peter succeeded him as Peter II of Portugal and Marie Françoise became Queen again — and died in December of the same year.

She was first buried at the Convent of the Francesinhas, and then moved in 1912 to the Braganza's (or National) Pantheon at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora.

Preceded by Luisa of Medina-Sidonia	Queen Consort of Portugal 1 December 1666 - 1668	Succeeded by herself in her second marriage
Preceded by herself in her first marriage	Queen Consort of Portugal 12 September - 27 December 1683	Succeeded by Maria Sofia of the Palatinate