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 the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

, 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 the ...

'' (princess) and fourth daughter of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

John VI of Portugal '' Dom'' John VI (; 13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826), known as "the Clement" (), was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1816 to 1825, and after the recognition of Brazil's independence, titular Emperor of Brazil ...

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 of the Kingdom for her brother Pedro IV and for her niece Maria II from 1826 to 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 a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

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

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Regency

Because Prince Pedro, who was heir to the throne, was already Emperor in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, his brother Prince Miguel was exiled in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, their mother Queen

Carlota Joaquina Don (honorific), Doña Carlota Joaquina Teresa Cayetana of Spain (25 April 1775 – 7 January 1830) was List of Portuguese royal consorts, Queen of Portugal and List of Brazilian royal consorts, Brazil as the wife of King Dom John VI of Portuga ...

was exiled in Queluz and Isabel's older sisters ( Maria Teresa and Maria Francisca of Assisi) had married to Spanish ''

infante 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 the ...

s'' (princes), Isabel Maria was chosen to be Regent of the Kingdom until

Pedro I of Brazil ''Don (honorific), Dom'' Pedro I (12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), known in Brazil and in Portugal as "the Liberator" () or "the Soldier King" () in Portugal, was the founder and List of monarchs of Brazil, first ruler of the Empire of ...

returned to claim the Portuguese throne as Pedro IV of Portugal. Pedro IV, however, immediately abdicated in favour of his daughter Maria da Glória (who became Maria II of Portugal), with the condition that she should marry her uncle Miguel. Pedro and Maria remained in Brazil and Isabel Maria continued as regent until 1828, when a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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 policies.J ...

started between absolutists, 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 ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

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 '' Dona'' Maria I (Maria Francisca Isabel Josefa Antónia Gertrudes Rita Joana; 17 December 1734 – 20 March 1816) also known as Maria the Pious in Portugal and Maria the Mad in Brazil, was Queen of Portugal from 24 February 1777 until her de ...

. She is buried in the

Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza The Pantheon of the House of Braganza (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Panteão da Dinastia de Bragança''), also known as the Pantheon of the Braganzas (''Panteão dos Bragança''), is the final resting place for many of the members of the Ho ...

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 Nobility from Lisbon 19th-century Portuguese people 19th-century women regents 19th-century regents Daughters of kings