Infanta Isabel Maria of Braganza (); Queluz, 4 July 1801 – Benfica, then

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in ...

, 22 April 1876 was a Portuguese ''

infanta ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

'' (princess) and fourth daughter of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

John VI of Portugal , house = Braganza , father = Peter III of Portugal , mother = Maria I of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal , death_date = , death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portuga ...

and his wife

Carlota Joaquina of Spain Doña Carlota Joaquina Teresa Cayetana of Spain (25 April 1775 – 7 January 1830) was Queen of Portugal and Brazil as the wife of King Dom John VI. She was the daughter of King Don Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. ...

. She acted as regent for her brother Pedro IV and for her niece Maria II in 1826-1828.

Early life

Her full name was Isabel Maria da Conceição Joana Gualberta Ana Francisca de Assis Xavier de Paula de Alcântara Antónia Rafaela Micaela Gabriela Joaquina Gonzaga de Bragança e Bourbon. She was a titular of the Great-Cross of the Order of Our Lady of Conception;

Dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

of the orders of Saint Isabel and of the Noble Dames of Mary Louise and awarded with the Starry Cross of

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Regency

Because Prince Pedro, who was heir to the throne, had just proclaimed the independence of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Prince Miguel was in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Queen

Carlota Joaquina Doña Carlota Joaquina Teresa Cayetana of Spain (25 April 1775 – 7 January 1830) was Queen of Portugal and Brazil as the wife of King Dom John VI. She was the daughter of King Don Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. ...

was exiled in Queluz and Isabel's older sisters (

Maria Teresa Maria Teresa (born María Teresa Mestre y Batista; 22 March 1956) is the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife of Grand Duke Henri, who acceded to the throne in 2000. Early life and education Maria Teresa was born on 22 March 1956 in Maria ...

and Maria Francisca of Assisi) had married to Spanish '' infantes'' (princes), Isabel Maria was chosen to be Regent of the Kingdom until the recently crowned Emperor of Brazil (

Pedro I of Brazil Dom Pedro I (English: Peter I; 12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), nicknamed "the Liberator", was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. As King Dom Pedro IV, he reigned briefly over Portugal, where he also becam ...

and future Pedro IV of Portugal) returned. Pedro IV, however, immediately abdicated in favour of his daughter Maria da Glória (who became Maria II of Portugal), who was in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, with the condition that she should marry her uncle Miguel. Isabella Maria continued as regent until 1828, when a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

started between

absolutists Moral absolutism is an ethical view that some (potentially all) actions are intrinsically right or wrong. Stealing, for instance, might be considered to be always immoral, even if done for the well-being of others (e.g., stealing food to feed a ...

, supporting Miguel, and liberals, supporting Maria II (called the Liberal War) that would end with a liberal victory and defeat and consequent exile of Miguel.

Later life

Isabel Maria retired from politics and turned her life to religion. She died unmarried in Benfica (at the time not a neighbourhood of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

but a near town in Belém municipality) on 22 April 1876. She was the last surviving child of

and the last grandchild of Maria I of Portugal. She is buried in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza.

Ancestry

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Isabel Maria of Braganza, Infanta 1801 births 1876 deaths Regents of Portugal Portuguese infantas House of Braganza Burials at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel People from Lisbon 19th-century Portuguese people 19th-century women rulers Daughters of kings