The Chamber of Peers of Portugal, alternatively translatable as the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

and formally styled the Chamber of the Most Worthy Peers of the Realm (Portuguese: ''Câmara dos Pares'' or ''Câmara dos Digníssimos Pares do Reino''), was the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of the '' Cortes Gerais'', the legislature of the Kingdom of Portugal during most of the

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

period. Members of the Chamber were

Peers of the Realm A peer of the realm is a member of the highest aristocratic social order outside the ruling dynasty of the kingdom. Notable examples are: * a member of the peerages in the United Kingdom, who is a hereditary peer or a life peer * a member of the ...

, appointed directly at the pleasure of the

Portuguese monarch 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 ...

History

It was established before the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War (), the War of the Two Brothers () or Miguelite War (), was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 18 ...

. The monarch appointed a number of the highest nobility to the Chamber. It was composed of 90 peers who did not have a hereditary right to sit by descent, but were nominated by the monarch. The Chamber existed from 1826-1838 and again from 1842-1910, when it was known as the Chamber of Peers of the Realm (''Câmara dos Pares do Reino''). One of the members was The 1st Duke of Albuquerque (1815-1890). The Chamber met at the

São Bento Palace São Bento Palace ( pt, Palácio de São Bento, italic=no "Saint Benedict's Palace") in Lisbon is the seat of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, the parliament of Portugal. Originally constructed in 1598, São Bento has served as the seat ...

. The successor of the Chamber was the Senate.

References

Defunct upper houses Government of Portugal Portuguese monarchy * Peerage {{Portugal-hist-stub