Miguel, Duke of Braganza

Miguel II of Braganza (Portuguese pronunciation: [miˈɣɛɫ]; full name Miguel Maria Carlos Egídio Constantino Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga Francisco de Paula e de Assis Januário de Bragança) (September 19, 1853 – October 11, 1927) was the Miguelist claimant to the throne of Portugal from 1866 to 1920. He used the title Duke of Braganza.

Biography

Miguel was born in Kleinheubach Castle near Miltenberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, during the exile in Germany of his father, former King Miguel I of Portugal. His mother was Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. He was a grandson of the famous Portuguese Queen Carlota Joaquina as well as John VI of Portugal.

By the Portuguese law of banishment of 1834 and the constitution of 1838 Miguel was forbidden to enter Portugal. Therefore, he was educated in Germany and Austria. He was a member of the staff of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and took part in the occupation of Bosnia. It is said that the emperor Franz Joseph liked Miguel immensely and granted him the privilege of extraterritoriality that allowed him to remain Portuguese, despite the rejection of Portugal. His second son, Prince Francisco José of Braganza, was named after the Austrian Emperor, who was his godfather.

Miguel held the rank of a colonel in the 7th Austrian Regiment of Hussars. During World War I, he held the rank of Lieutenant General (Feldmarschalleutnant) in the Austrian army. He resigned in 1917 when Portugal entered the conflict on the opposite side, and spent the rest of the war as a civilian in the Order of Malta. After the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Miguel and his family were thrown into relative poverty.

On 31 July 1920, after quarrels with his eldest son (who contracted a controversial marriage to an American heiress), Miguel II abdicated his claims as king of Portugal in favour of his third son, Duarte Nuno, who was 13 years old at the time.

Miguel died in Seebenstein, on October 11, 1927. He is buried at Kloster Maria Himmelfahrt in Bronnbach.

Marriages and children

Miguel's first marriage, with Austrian Empress Elisabeth's niece Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis (May 28, 1860 - February 7, 1881) took place on October 17, 1877 in Regensburg. They had three children.

• Dom Miguel of Braganza, Infante of Portugal and Duke of Viseu (1878–1923), married Anita Stewart and had issue
• Dom Francis Joseph of Braganza (1879–1919), died unmarried and without issue
• Dona Maria Teresa of Braganza (1881–1945) married Prince Karl Ludwig of Thurn und Taxis and had issue

After the death of his first wife he married for a second time on 8 November 1893 at Kleinheubach with Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1870–1935), his first cousin. They had eight children.

• Dona Isabel Maria of Braganza (1894–1970), married Franz Joseph, 9th Prince of Thurn and Taxis and had issue
• Dona Maria Benedita of Braganza (1896–1971), died unmarried and without issue
• Dona Mafalda of Braganza (1898–1918), died unmarried and without issue
• Dona Maria Anna of Braganza (1899–1971), married Karl August, 10th Prince of Thurn and Taxis and had issue
• Dona Maria Antónia of Braganza (1903–1973), married Sidney Ashley Chanler (son of William Astor Chanler) and had issue
• Dona Filippa Maria of Braganza (1905–1990), died unmarried and without issue
• Dom Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza (1907–1976), married Princess Maria Francisca of Orléans-Braganza and had issue
• Dona Maria Adelaide of Braganza (born Saint-Jean-de-Luz, January 31, 1912), married in Vienna on November 13, 1945 Dutch Nicolaas Johannes Maria van Uden (Venlo, March 5, 1921 – Lisbon, February 5, 1991), a Medical Doctor, son of Adrian van Uden (Gerwen, May 7, 1893 – December 24, 1959) and wife Cornelia Antonia Baaijeens (Gorinchem, September 7, 1897 – June 15, 1979), daughter of Nicolaas Baaijeens (son of Johannes Baaijeens and wife) and wife Helena Dam, and had issue

Honours

Miguel was a knight of the Bavarian Order of St. Hubert and of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece.

Ancestry

External links

• The Royal Family of Portugal - House Bragança