Luisa María Francisca de Guzmán y Sandoval ( pt, Luísa Maria Francisca de Gusmão;. 13 October 1613 – 27 February 1666) was a

queen consort of Portugal Portugal had only two queens regnant: Maria I and Maria II (and, arguably, two more: Beatriz for a short period of time in the 14th century; and Teresa, in the 12th century, which technically makes her the first ruler and first queen of Port ...

. She was the spouse of King John IV, the first Braganza ruler, as well as the mother of two kings of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

( Afonso VI and Peter II) and a

queen of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...

(

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to King Charles II, which lasted from 21 May 1662 until his death on 6 February 1685. She ...

). She served as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of Portugal

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...

from 1656 until 1662, and

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

until her death in 1666.

Biography

Early life

Luisa was

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

by birth, the daughter of

Manuel Pérez de Guzmán y Silva, 8th Duke of Medina Sidonia Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

, and Juana Lorenza Gomez de Sandoval y de la Cerda. Her paternal grandfather was Alonso de Guzmán, "El Bueno", while her paternal great-grandmother was

Ana de Mendoza y de Silva, Princess of Éboli Ana de Mendoza de la Cerda y de Silva Cifuentes, Princess of Eboli, Duchess of Pastrana (in full, es, Doña Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda ), (29 June 1540 – 2 February 1592) was a Spanish aristocrat, '' suo jure'' 2nd Princess of Mélito, 2nd ...

. She married a high ranking

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

noble, John, 8th

Duke of Braganza The title Duke of Braganza ( pt, Duque de Bragança) in the House of Braganza is one of the most important titles in the peerage of Portugal. Starting in 1640, when the House of Braganza acceded to the throne of Portugal, the male heir of the P ...

, in 1633, during the period of the

Iberian Union pt, União Ibérica , conventional_long_name =Iberian Union , common_name = , year_start = 1580 , date_start = 25 August , life_span = 1580–1640 , event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession , event_end = Portuguese Restoration War , ...

Restoration War

Despite her Spanish roots, Luisa guided her husband's policies during the Portuguese revolution against Habsburg Spain of 1640. She is considered the main influence behind his acceptance of the Portuguese throne when the Revolution seemed to tend to the Portuguese side. It is said that being warned of the dangers of becoming queen of a country that was to face Spain's might, she pronounced the famous words:

''Antes Rainha um dia que Duquesa toda a vida.'' ''Rather Queen for a day than Duchess all my life.''

In some sources, this is quoted as ''for an hour'' instead of ''for a day''. When she was made aware of a failed attempt to murder the King in 1641, she is said to have been one of the members of the ''Corte'', which supported the execution of nobles like the

Duke of Caminha Duke of Caminha (Portuguese: ''Duque de Caminha'') was a title created by royal decree, dated 14 December 1620, by King Philip III of Portugal (also known as Philip IV of Spain) for ''Dom'' Miguel Luís de Menezes, 6th Marquis of Vila Real and ...

Regency

José de Avelar Rebelo - Retrato da Rainha D

In 1656, she was named Regent of the Kingdom after her husband's death and during the minority of her son Afonso VI. She continued to occupy the post even after Afonso became an adult in 1662, because her son was mentally unstable. She was the target of a failed conspiracy headed by Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, Count of Castelo Melhor. She defended the principles of freedom and independence of Portugal and controlled the government with a strong hand, fearing her eldest son was incapable and hoping that eventually her youngest son would take the crown. Luisa was politically astute and mainly responsible for the diplomatic success of the new alliance with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Her daughter

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

married

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child o ...

. She is also credited with the organization of the armies that in the following years would completely ensure Portuguese independence through the victories in the

Portuguese Restoration War The Portuguese Restoration War ( pt, Guerra da Restauração) was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a formal end to the Iberian Union. The ...

Issue

# Infante Teodósio, Prince of Brazil (8 February 1634 – 13 May 1653) died unmarried. #Ana of Braganza (21 January 1635) died at birth. # Infanta Joana, Princess of Beira (18 September 1635 – 17 November 1653) died unmarried. #

(25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) married

and had no surviving issue. #Manuel of Portugal (6 September 1640) died at birth. #

Afonso VI of Portugal Afonso VI (; 21 August 164312 September 1683), known as "the Victorious" (), was the second king of Portugal of the House of Braganza from 1656 until his death. He was initially under the regency of his mother, Luisa de Guzmán, until 1662, whe ...

(21 August 1643 – 12 September 1683) married

Maria Francisca of Savoy Dona Maria Francisca Isabel of Savoy (french: Marie Françoise Élisabeth; 21 June 1646 – 27 December 1683) was Queen of Portugal during her marriage to King Dom Afonso VI from 2 August 1666 to 24 March 1668 and, as the wife of Afonso's br ...

. #

Pedro II of Portugal '' Dom'' Pedro II (Peter II; 26 April 1648 – 9 December 1706), nicknamed "the Pacific", was King of Portugal from 1683 until his death, previously serving as regent for his brother Afonso VI from 1668 until his own accession. He was the fifth ...

(26 April 1648 – 9 December 1706) married firstly Maria Francisca of Savoy, had issue; married secondly

Maria Sophia of Neuburg pt, Maria Sofia Isabel , succession = Queen consort of Portugal , reign = 11 August 1687 – 4 August 1699 , spouse = , issue = João, Prince of BrazilJohn V of PortugalInfante Francisco, Duke of Beja Infant ...

, had issue.

Ancestry

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman, Luisa de 1613 births 1666 deaths People from Sanlúcar de Barrameda Portuguese queens consort 17th-century Portuguese people 17th-century women rulers Burials at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora House of Medina Sidonia House of Braganza Regents of Portugal

Luisa Luisa (Italian language, Italian and Spanish language, Spanish), Luísa (Portuguese language, Portuguese) or Louise (given name), Louise (French language, French) is a feminine given name; it is the feminine form of the given name Louis (given name) ...

Queen mothers Royal reburials