Miguel, Duke of Braganza

Miguel Januário
Duke of Braganza
Miguelist
Pretence 14 November 1866 – 31 July 1920
Predecessor Miguel
Successor Duarte Nuno
Born (1853-09-19)September 19, 1853
Kleinheubach, Bavaria
Died October 11, 1927(1927-10-11) (aged 74)
Seebenstein, Austria
Spouse Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis
Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
House Braganza
Father Miguel I of Portugal
Mother Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
Religion Roman Catholicism
Signature

Miguel of Braganza (Portuguese pronunciation: [miˈɣɛɫ]; full name Miguel Maria Carlos Egídio Constantino Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga Francisco de Paula e de Assis Januário de Bragança) (September 19, 1853 – October 11, 1927) was the Miguelist claimant to the throne of Portugal from 1866 to 1920. He used the title Duke of Braganza.

Life

Miguel was born in Kleinheubach Castle near Miltenberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, during the exile in Germany of his father, former King Miguel I of Portugal. His mother was Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. He was a grandson of the Portuguese Queen Carlota Joaquina as well as John VI of Portugal.

By the Portuguese law of banishment of 1834 and the constitution of 1838 Miguel was forbidden to enter Portugal. Therefore, he was educated in Germany and Austria. He was a member of the staff of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and took part in the occupation of Bosnia. It is said that the emperor Franz Joseph liked Miguel immensely and granted him the privilege of extraterritoriality that allowed him to remain Portuguese, despite the rejection of Portugal. His second son, Prince Francisco José of Braganza, was named after the Austrian Emperor, who was his godfather.

Miguel held the rank of a colonel in the 7th Austrian Regiment of Hussars. During World War I, he held the rank of Lieutenant General (Feldmarschalleutnant) in the Austrian army. He resigned in 1917 when Portugal entered the conflict on the opposite side, and spent the rest of the war as a civilian in the Order of Malta. After the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Miguel and his family were thrown into relative poverty.

On 31 July 1920, after quarrels with his eldest son (who contracted a controversial marriage to an American heiress), Miguel renounced his claims as king of Portugal in favour of his third son, Duarte Nuno, who was 13 years old at the time.

Miguel died in Seebenstein, on October 11, 1927. He is buried at Kloster Maria Himmelfahrt in Bronnbach.

Marriages and children

Miguel's first marriage, with Austrian Empress Elisabeth's niece Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis (May 28, 1860 – February 7, 1881) took place on October 17, 1877 in Regensburg. They had three children.

After the death of his first wife he married for a second time on 8 November 1893 at Kleinheubach with Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1870–1935), his first cousin. They had eight children.

Honours

See also

Ancestry

Miguel, Duke of Braganza
Cadet branch of the House of Aviz
Born: 19 September 1853 Died: 11 October 1927
Portuguese nobility
Vacant
Title last held by
John VI of Portugal		 Duke of Braganza
1866–1920 		Succeeded by
Duarte Nuno
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Miguel I of Portugal		 — TITULAR —
King of Portugal
Miguelist line
1866–1920		 Succeeded by
Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza
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