Henry ( pt, Henrique ; 31 January 1512 — 31 January 1580), dubbed the Chaste ( pt, o Casto, links=no) and the Cardinal-King ( pt, o Cardeal-Rei, links=no), was

king of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the n ...

and a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church, who ruled Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal between 1578 and 1580. As a clergyman, he was bound to chastity, and as such, had no children to succeed him, and thus put an end to the reigning House of Aviz. His death led to the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 and ultimately to the 60-year Iberian Union that saw Portugal share a monarch with that of Habsburg Spain. The next independent monarch of Portugal would be John IV of Portugal, John IV, who Portuguese Restoration War, restored the throne after 60 years of Spanish rule.

Life

Born in Lisbon, Henry was the fifth son of Manuel I of Portugal, King Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon (1482-1517), Maria of Aragon.

Cardinal

As the younger brother of John III of Portugal, King John III of Portugal and a younger son in the Royal Family, Henry was not expected to succeed to the Portuguese throne. Early in his life, Henry took Holy Orders (Catholic Church), Holy Orders to promote Portuguese interests within the Catholic Church, then dominated by Spain. He rose rapidly through the Church hierarchy, becoming in quick succession Archbishop of Braga, Archbishop of Évora, and Grand Inquisitor before being made a cardinal in 1545,Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Enrique de Portugal
Henry's brother Alonso had also been made a cardinal, in 1517 at the age of eight.

. with the title of Santi Quattro Coronati. From 1564 to 1570 he was Patriarchate of Lisbon, Patriarch of Lisbon. Henry, more than anyone, endeavoured to bring the Society of Jesus, Jesuits to Portugal to encourage their activity in the Portuguese Empire, colonial empire.

Reign

Henry served as regent for his great-nephew Sebastian of Portugal, King Sebastian, replacing his sister-in-law and Sebastian's grandmother Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen dowager Catherine, following her resignation from the role in 1562.Disney, p. 174. King Sebastian died without an heir in the disastrous Battle of Alcácer Quibir that took place in 1578, and the elderly cardinal was proclaimed king soon after. Henry sought to be released from his ecclesiastical vows so he could take a bride and pursue the continuation of the House of Aviz, Aviz dynasty, but Pope Gregory XIII, not wanting to antagonize Philip II of Spain, did not grant him that release.MacKay, p. 44.Disney, p. 176.

Death and succession

The Cardinal-King died in Almeirim, on his 68th birthday, without having appointed a successor, leaving only a regency to care for the kingdom. One of the closest dynastic claimants was King Philip II of Spain who, in November 1580, sent the Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, Duke of Alba to claim Portugal by force. Lisbon soon fell, and Philip was elected king of Portugal at the Portuguese Cortes of Tomar in 1581—on the condition that the kingdom and its overseas territories would not become Spanish provinces.

Ancestry

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry of Portugal 1512 births 1580 deaths 16th-century Portuguese cardinals 16th-century Portuguese monarchs Archbishops of Lisbon Bishops of Évora House of Aviz Portuguese infantes Regents of Portugal Roman Catholic archbishops of Braga