Maria II of Portugal

Maria II
Queen of Portugal and the Algarves
Reign 26 May 1834 – 15 November 1853
Acclamation 20 September 1834
Predecessor Miguel I
Successor Pedro V
Co-monarch Ferdinand II
Regent Pedro IV (1834)
Prime Ministers
Reign 2 May 1826 – 23 June 1828
Predecessor Pedro IV
Successor Miguel I
Regents
Born (1819-04-04)4 April 1819
Paço de São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Kingdom of Brazil
Died 15 November 1853(1853-11-15) (aged 34)
Necessidades Palace, Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Burial Pantheon of the Braganzas, Lisbon, Portugal
Spouses
Issue
among others...
Full name
Portuguese: Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga
House Braganza
Father Emperor Pedro I of Brazil
Mother Archduchess Marie Leopoldine of Austria
Religion Roman Catholicism
Signature

Dona Maria II (4 April 1819 – 15 November 1853) "the Educator" (Portuguese: "a Educadora") or "the Good Mother" (Portuguese: "a Boa Mãe"), was Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves from 1826 to 1828, and again from 1834 to 1853. She was a member of the House of Braganza.

Early life

Born Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga[1] in Rio de Janeiro, she was the eldest daughter of the future King of Portugal and first Emperor of Brazil, Pedro IV and I, and his first wife Maria Leopoldina, Archduchess of Austria, herself a daughter of Emperor Francis II. Born in Brazil, Maria was the only European monarch to have been born outside of Europe, though she was still born in Portuguese territory.

Succession crisis

Maria II at age 10, 1829

The death of Maria's grandfather, King João VI, in March 1826 sparked a succession crisis in Portugal. The king had a male heir, Pedro, but Pedro had proclaimed the independence of Brazil in 1822 with himself as Emperor. The late king also had a younger son, Miguel, but he was exiled to Austria after leading a number of revolutions against his father and his liberal regime.

Maria II around age 14, c.1833

Before his death, the king had nominated his favourite daughter, Isabel Maria, to serve as regent until "the legitimate heir returned to the kingdom" — but he had failed to specify which of his sons was the legitimate heir: Pedro, the liberal Emperor of Brazil, or Miguel, the absolutist exiled prince.

Most people considered Pedro to be the legitimate heir, but Brazil did not want him to unite Portugal and Brazil's thrones again. Aware that his brother's supporters were ready to bring Miguel back and put him on the throne, Pedro decided for a more consensual option: he would renounce his claim to the Portuguese throne in favour of his daughter Maria (who was only seven years old), and that she was to marry her uncle Miguel, who would accept the liberal constitution and act as a regent until his niece reached majority.

Miguel pretended to accept, but upon his arrival in Portugal he immediately deposed Maria and proclaimed himself king, abrogating the liberal constitution in the process. During his reign of terror, Maria traveled to many European courts, including her maternal grandfather's in Vienna, as well as London and Paris.

Pedro abdicated the Brazilian throne in 1831 in favour of his son, Maria's younger brother Pedro II, and joined the forces loyal to Maria in the Azores in their war against Miguel, forcing him to abdicate in 1834. Maria was thereupon restored to the throne, and obtained an annulment of her betrothal.

On 7 February 1833, in order to protect the Queen, the 2nd Lancers Regiment was created, first known as the Regimento de Lanceiros da Rainha (Queen's Lancers Regiment), with the motto Morte ou Glória, "Death or Glory" (the same as the 17th Lancers, since Lt. Col. Sir Anthony Bacon was its first commander), a fortunate coincidence since the queen's name was Maria da Glória.

Maria II was heir presumptive to her brother Pedro II as Princess Imperial, until her exclusion from the Brazilian line of succession by law no. 91 of 30 October 1835.

Reign

Queen Maria II, around age 33, one year before her death, c. 1852. Painting by Sir William Charles Ross.
Effigy of Maria II, 1849

Maria married Auguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg, son of Eugène de Beauharnais, and grandson of Empress Josephine on 26 January 1835, at the age of fifteen. However, he died only two months later, on 28 March 1835.

On 1 January 1836, she married the cultured and able Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In accordance with Portuguese law, Ferdinand received the title of king upon the birth of their first child and heir, Peter.

In 1842, Pope Gregory XVI presented Maria with a Golden Rose.

Maria's reign saw a revolutionary insurrection on 16 May 1846, but this was crushed by royalist troops on 22 February 1847, and Portugal otherwise avoided the European Revolution of 1848. Maria's reign was also notable for a public health act aimed at curbing the spread of cholera throughout the country. She also pursued policies aimed at raising the levels of education throughout the country.

After constant pregnancies and births, doctors warned Maria of the dangers of giving birth nearly every year. However, she ignored the risks that had killed her mother, who had died of complications following a miscarriage after multiple births; "If I die," she said, "I die at my post". In 1853 she died in Lisbon giving birth to her eleventh child, Infante Eugénio, who himself died not long after.

Queen Maria II is remembered as a good mother and a kind person who always acted according to her convictions in her attempt to help her country. She was later given the nickname "The Good Mother."

Marriages and issue

Maria first married Auguste Charles, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg, son of Eugène de Beauharnais, grandson of Empress Josephine, who died soon after arriving in Portugal. She then married Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son of Prince Ferdinand Georg August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág.

Name Birth Death Notes
Auguste de Beauharnais (9 December 1810 – 28 March 1835; married on 1 December 1834)
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (29 October 1816 – 15 December 1885; married on 9 April 1836)
Pedro V 16 December 1837 11 November 1861 Succeeded his mother as Peter V, 31st (or, according to some, 32nd) King of Portugal.
Luís I 31 October 1838 19 October 1889 Succeeded his brother, Pedro, as 32nd (or, according to some, 33rd) King of Portugal.
Infanta Maria 4 October 1840 Stillborn daughter.
Infante João 16 March 1842 27 December 1861 Duke of Beja
Infanta Maria Ana 21 August 1843 5 February 1884 Married King George of Saxony and was the mother of King Frederick August III of Saxony.
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 of Portugal 23 July 1846 6 November 1861 Died of cholera at age 15.
Infante Augusto 4 November 1847 26 September 1889 Duke of Coimbra
Infante Leopoldo 7 May 1849 Stillborn son.
Infanta Maria da Glória 3 February 1851 Died some hours after her birth.
Infante Eugénio 15 November 1853 Died some hours after the death of his mother.

Titles, styles and honours

Royal styles of
Queen Maria II of Portugal
Reference style Her Most Faithful Majesty
Spoken style Your Most Faithful Majesty
Alternative style Ma'am

Titles and styles

Honours

National honours

Foreign

Ancestry

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Sousa 1972a, p. 112.

References

Maria II of Portugal
Cadet branch of the House of Aviz
Born: 4 April 1819 Died: 15 November 1853
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Pedro IV		 Queen of Portugal and the Algarves
1826–1828 		Succeeded by
Miguel
as usurper
Preceded by
Miguel
as usurper		 Queen of Portugal and the Algarves
1834–1853
with Ferdinand II (1836–1853) 		Succeeded by
Pedro V
Brazilian royalty
New title Princess Imperial of Brazil
12 October 1822 – 2 December 1825 		Succeeded by
Pedro
Princess of Grão-Pará
2 December 1825 – 2 May 1826 		Vacant
Title next held by
Pedro de Alcântara
Preceded by
Prince Pedro		 Princess Imperial of Brazil
7 April 1831 – 30 October 1835 		Succeeded by
Januária Maria
Portuguese royalty
Preceded by
Pedro		 Duchess of Braganza
12 October 1822 – 2 May 1826 		Vacant
Title next held by
Pedro
New title Duchess of Porto
4 April 1833 – 31 October 1838 		Succeeded by
Luís
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