Isabel Luísa, Princess of Beira

Isabel Luísa
Princess of Beira
Portrait of Infanta Isabel Luísa; Duprà, 1725.
Born	January 6, 1669 Ribeira Palace, Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	October 22, 1690 (aged 21) Palhavã, Kingdom of Portugal
Burial	Royal Pantheon of the Braganza Dynasty
Full name Isabel Luísa Josefa
House	House of Braganza
Father	Peter II of Portugal
Mother	Maria Francisca of Savoy

Infanta Isabel Luísa of Portugal (Lisbon, January 6, 1669 – Palhavã, October 21, 1690) was a Portuguese infanta (princess) and the sole daughter of King Peter II of Portugal and his first wife and former sister-in-law Maria Francisca of Savoy. As such she was styled Princess of Beira. She was the presumptive heir to the throne of Portugal between 1668 and 1689, the year her half-brother John was born.^[1]

Biography

Dona Isabel Luísa was the only child of Peter II of Portugal and his first wife the French born Princes Marie Françoise of Savoy. She was born at the Ribeira Palace in 1669.

Marriage prospects

She was planned to marry Victor Amadeus II of Savoy who was her first cousin by her aunt Marie Jeanne of Savoy, Duchess of Savoy and regent for her son. The marriage was opposed by most of the Savoyard court as it meant that Victor Amadeus would have to live in Portugal and his mother would remain in power (mother and son did not have a close relationship). As such the match was dropped.

Other proposed candidates included Gian Gastone de' Medici (future Grand Duke of Tuscany), le Grand Dauphin son of Louis XIV, Charles II of Spain, the Duke of Parma as well as a Count Palatine of Neuburg.^[2] Nothing came of these plans. For this she was nicknamed Sempre-noiva, "Always-engaged".

Death and burial

She died of smallpox in 1690 when she was just 21 years old. Isabel Luísa is buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon after being moved from the Convent of the Francesinhas.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Isabel Luísa, Princess of Beira

16. John I, 6th Duke of Braganza               8. Teodósio II, 7th Duke of Braganza                       17. Infanta Catherine of Guimarães               4. John IV of Portugal                             18. Juan Fernández de Velasco, 5th Duke of Frías               9. Ana de Velasco y Girón                       19. Maria Tellez-Giron               2. Peter II of Portugal                                   20. Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia               10. Juan Manuel Pérez de Guzmán, 8th Duke of Medina Sidonia                       21. Ana de Sylva y Mendoza               5. Luisa de Guzmán                             22. Francisco Gómez de Sandoval, 1st Duke of Lerma               11. Juana Lourença Gómez de Sandoval y la Cerda                       23. Catalina de la Cerda               1. Isabel Luísa, Princess of Beira                                         24. Jacques of Savoy, Duke of Nemours               12. Henri of Savoy, Duke of Nemours                       25. Anna d'Este               6. Charles Amadeus of Savoy, Duke of Nemours                             26. Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Aumale               13. Anne de Lorraine                       27. Marie de Lorraine               3. Maria Francisca of Savoy                                   28. Henry IV of France               14. César de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, Beaufort and Étampes                       29. Gabrielle d'Estrées               7. Élisabeth de Bourbon                             30. Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur               15. Françoise de Lorraine                       31. Marie de Luxembourg, Duchess of Penthièvre

References

1. "HEIRESSES TO THRONES". www.guide2womenleaders.com. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
2. "Death of Isabel Luísa, Pss of Beira". www.unofficialroyalty.com. Retrieved 1 October 2012.