Maria Manuela, Princess of Portugal

Dona Maria Manuela (15 October 1527 – 12 July 1545[1]) was the eldest daughter and second child of King John III of Portugal and his wife Catherine of Austria. She was Princess of Asturias and Duchess of Milan as the first wife of the future Philip II of Spain, and Princess of Portugal as heir presumptive to the Portuguese throne between 1527 and 1535.

Maria Manuela
Princess of Portugal, Princess of Asturias, Duchess of Milan
Portrait by Antonis Mor
Born	15 October 1527 Coimbra
Died	12 July 1545(1545-07-12) (aged 17) Valladolid
Burial	El Escorial
Spouse	Philip, Prince of Asturias ​ ( m. 1543)
Issue	Carlos, Prince of Asturias
House	Aviz
Father	John III of Portugal
Mother	Catherine of Austria
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Early life

Maria was born in Coimbra on 15 October 1527 and was one of the few children of John III to survive childhood. In her youth, Maria received a humanistic education that was considered typical for a princess of her time.[2]

Marriage and later life

She married her cousin Philip II of Spain on 12 November 1543 at Salamanca.[3] As she was to be married to the Prince of Asturias, heir apparent to the Spanish crown, and being an Infanta of Portugal, their wedding became one of the most remarkable in the history of Spain due to its opulence. Contemporary writers have left detailed descriptions of the journey from Madrid to Badajoz to Salamanca to receive the princess and of the luxuries she was given by the Duke of Medina Sidonia in Badajoz.

She gave birth to their son Carlos on 8 July 1545 in Valladolid, but died four days later due to a haemorrhage.[4] She was initially buried in the Royal Chapel of Granada on 30 March 1549 but was later transferred to Royal Crypt of the Monastery of El Escorial.

Ancestry

Coat of arms of Maria Manuela of Portugal as Princess of Asturias

Ancestors of Maria Manuela of Portugal

8. Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu[5] 4. Manuel I of Portugal[5] 9. Beatrice of Portugal[5] 2. John III of Portugal 10. Ferdinand II of Aragon[6] 5. Maria of Aragon[5] 11. Isabella I of Castile[6] 1. Maria Manuela of Portugal 12. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor[7] 6. Philip I of Castile[8] 13. Mary, Duchess of Burgundy[7] 3. Catherine of Austria 14. Ferdinand II of Aragon[9] (= 10) 7. Joanna I of Castile[8] 15. Isabella I of Castile[9] (= 11)

Notes

1. Kamen p. 20
2. Delbrugge, Laura (2015). Self-Fashioning and Assumptions of Identity in Medieval and Early Modern Iberia. Netherlands: Brill. p. 230. ISBN 9789004250482.
3. Kamen p. 12
4. Kamen p. 20
5. Stephens, Henry Morse (1903). The Story of Portugal. G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 139, 279. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
6. Liss, Peggy K. (10 November 2015). Isabel the Queen: Life and Times. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 11. ISBN 9780812293203.
7. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Philipp I. der Schöne von Oesterreich" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 112 – via Wikisource.
8. Jordan, Annemarie (1994). The Development of Catherine of Austria's Collection in the Queen's Household: Its Character and Cost. Providence, R. I.: Brown University. p. 700.
9. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Joanna" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

References

• Kamen, Henry: Philip of Spain. Yale University Press. 1998. ISBN 978-0-300-07800-8.

Maria Manuela, Princess of Portugal House of Aviz Cadet branch of the House of Burgundy Born: 15 October 1527 Died: 12 August 1545
Preceded by Afonso	Princess of Portugal 1527–1535	Succeeded by Manuel