Ferdinand II of Portugal
| Ferdinand II | |
|---|---|
 King Ferdinand in 1861 | |
| King of Portugal and the Algarves jure uxoris | |
| Reign |
16 September 1837 – 15 November 1853 |
| Predecessor | Maria II |
| Successor | Pedro V |
| Co-monarch | Maria II |
| Prince consort of Portugal | |
| Tenure | 9 April 1836 – 16 September 1837 |
| Born |
29 October 1816 Vienna, Austria |
| Died |
15 December 1885 (aged 69) Lisbon, Portugal |
| Burial | Pantheon of the Braganzas |
| Spouse |
Maria II of Portugal Elise, Countess von Edla |
| Issue among others... |
Pedro V of Portugal Luís I of Portugal Infante João, Duke of Beja Infanta Maria Ana Infanta Antónia, Princess of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Infante Fernando Infante Augusto, Duke of Coimbra |
| House | House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry |
| Father | Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |
| Mother | Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Dom Ferdinand II (Portuguese: Fernando II) (29 October 1816 – 15 December 1885) was King of Portugal jure uxoris as husband of Queen Maria II from the birth of their son in 1837 to her death in 1853.
In keeping with Portuguese law, only after the birth of his son in 1837 did he acquire the title of king. His reign came to end with the death of his wife in 1853, but he was regent for his son and successor, King Pedro V, to 1855. He was born a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
Early life
Born Ferdinand August Franz Anton, he was the son of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág. Prince Ferdinand grew up in several places: the family's lands in modern-day Slovakia, the imperial court of Austria, and Germany. He was a nephew of King Leopold I of Belgium and a first cousin to Leopold II of Belgium and Empress Carlota of Mexico, as well as Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert.
King of Portugal
According to Portuguese law, the husband of a queen regnant could only be titled king after the birth of a child from that marriage (that was the reason the Queen's first husband, Auguste de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg, never acquired the title of king). After the birth of the future Dom Pedro V of Portugal, Ferdinand was proclaimed King Dom Fernando II.
Although it was Maria II who reigned by right, the royal couple formed an effective team during Maria II's reign. The king reigned by himself during his wife's pregnancies.
Eventually, Maria II died as a result of the birth of their eleventh child. Fernando II's reign ended, but he assumed the regency of Portugal in the years 1853–1855 during the minority of his son King Pedro V.
Later life
In 1869 he rejected an offer to assume the throne of Spain.
Late in his life Fernando II married the opera singer Elisa Hensler.[1]
Fernando ;II was an intelligent and artistically-minded man with modern and liberal ideas. He was adept at etching, pottery and painting aquarelles. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Sciences and the Arts, lord-protector of the university of Coimbra and Grand-Master of the Rosicrucians.
In 1838, Ferdinand II acquired the former Hieronymite monastery of Our Lady of Pena, which had been built by King Manuel I in 1511 on the top of the hill above Sintra and had been left unoccupied since 1834 when the religious orders were suppressed in Portugal. The monastery consisted of the cloister and its outbuildings, the chapel, the sacristy and the bell tower, which today form the northern section of the Pena National Palace, or the Old Palace as it is known.
Ferdinand began by making repairs to the former monastery, which, according to the historical sources of that time, was in very bad condition. He refurbished the whole of the upper floor, replacing the fourteen cells used by the monks with larger-sized rooms and covering them with the vaulted ceilings that can still be seen today. In roughly 1843, the king decided to enlarge the palace by building a new wing (the New Palace) with even larger rooms (the Great Hall is a good example of this), ending in a circular tower next to the new kitchens. The building work was directed by the Baron von Eschwege, a wild architectural fantasy in an eclectic style full of symbolism that could be compared with the castle Neuschwanstein of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The palace was built in such a way as to be visible from any point in the park, which consists of a forest and luxuriant gardens with over five hundred different species of trees originating from the four corners of the earth. He spent his last years in this castle with his second wife, receiving the greatest artists of his time.
Marriages and descendants
Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha married Dona Maria II, Queen-regnant of Portugal, daughter of King Dom Pedro IV (and also Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil). Later in his life, after the death of Maria, he married in Lisbon on 10 June 1869 actress Elisa Hensler[2] (Neuchâtel, 22 May 1836 – Lisbon, Coração de Jesus, 21 May 1929), created Gräfin von Edla, without issue.[3]
He outlived eight of his eleven children.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| By Maria II of Portugal (4 April 1819 – 15 November 1853; married on 9 April 1836) | |||
| Pedro V | 16 September 1837 | 11 November 1861 | Succeeded his mother as Pedro V, the King of Portugal. |
| Luís I | 31 October 1838 | 19 October 1889 | Succeeded his brother Pedro as the King of Portugal. |
| Infanta Maria | 4 October 1840 | 4 October 1840 | |
| Infante João | 16 March 1842 | 27 December 1861 | Duke of Beja. Died of cholera in 1861. |
| Infanta Maria Ana | 21 August 1843 | 5 February 1884 | Married King George of Saxony and was mother of King Frederick August III of Saxony, and grandmother of Charles I, the last Emperor of Austria. |
| Infanta Antónia | 17 February 1845 | 27 December 1913 | Married Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and was the mother of King Ferdinand I of Romania. |
| Infante Fernando | 23 July 1846 | 6 November 1861 | Died of cholera in 1861. |
| Infante Augusto | 4 November 1847 | 26 September 1889 | Duke of Coimbra. |
| Infante Leopoldo | 7 May 1849 | 7 May 1849 | |
| Infanta Maria da Glória | 3 February 1851 | 3 February 1851 | |
| Infante Eugénio | 15 November 1853 | 15 November 1853 | |
Ancestry
| Royal styles of King Fernando II of Portugal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Most Faithful Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Most Faithful Majesty |
| Alternative style | Sire |
Notes
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ferdinand II of Portugal. |
- ↑ Just before the mariage, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a cousin of King Ferdinand and the Head of the House of Saxe-Coburg, granted to Elise the title "Countess von Edla"
- ↑ Daughter of Jean Conrad Hensler (Röschitz, c. 1797 – Vienna, 14 April 1872) and wife Josephe Hechelbacher (Wallerstein, c. 1805 – aft. 1872), paternal grandchildren of Michael Hensler and wife Katharina Prauneis and maternal grandchildren of Karl Hechelnbacher and wife Theresia Schretzmayer.
- ↑ By an unknown father she had a daughter named Alice Hensler (Paris, 25 December 1855 – Lisbon, Benfica, 18 June 1941), who married in Lisbon, Alcântara, on 30 September 1883 a Portuguese Navy officer from Azores, Manuel de Azevedo Gomes (1848 –1907), by whom she had issue.
| Ferdinand II of Portugal Cadet branch of the House of Aviz Born: 13 May 1767 Died: 10 March 1826 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Maria II |
King of Portugal and the Algarves 16 September 1837 – 15 November 1853 with Maria II |
Succeeded by Pedro V |
| Portuguese royalty | ||
| Preceded by Auguste de Beauharnais |
Prince consort of Portugal 9 April 1836 – 16 September 1837 |
Succeeded by Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as queen consort |
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