Miguel, Duke of Braganza

Miguel Januário
Duke of Braganza Miguelist
Pretence	14 November 1866 – 31 July 1920
Predecessor	Miguel
Successor	Duarte Nuno
Born	(1853-09-19)19 September 1853 Kleinheubach, Bavaria
Died	11 October 1927(1927-10-11) (aged 74) Seebenstein, Austria
Spouse	Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
Issue	Miguel, Duke of Viseu Prince Francisco José Maria Teresa, Princess Karl Ludwig of Thurn and Taxis Isabel Maria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis Infanta Maria Benedita Infanta Mafalda Maria Ana, Princess Karl August of Thurn and Taxis Infanta Maria Antónia Infanta Filipa Infante Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza Infanta Maria Adelaide
House	Braganza
Father	Miguel I of Portugal
Mother	Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

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

Life

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 and the Algarves. His mother was Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. He was a grandson of King John VI of Portugal and the Algarves and his wife, Queen Carlota Joaquina.

By the Portuguese law of banishment of 1834 and the constitution of 1838, King Miguel was forbidden to enter Portugal. Therefore, he was educated in Germany and Austria. He was a member of the staff of Kaiser 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 renounced 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 was first married to Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis (May 28, 1860 – February 7, 1881), the niece of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, on 17 October, 1877 in Regensburg. They had three children:

• Dom Miguel, Duke of Viseu (1878–1923), married Anita Stewart and had issue
• Dom Francisco José 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 to his first cousin Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1870–1935), on 8 November 1893 at Kleinheubach. 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 Ana of Braganza (1899–1971), married the future 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 Filipa 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 (1912–2012), married Nicolaas van Uden and had issue

Honours

• Grand Master of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing
• Knight of the Bavarian Order of St. Hubert
• Knight of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece.

See also

• Descendants of Miguel I of Portugal

Ancestry

External links

• The Royal Family of Portugal – House Bragança at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2009)