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Miguel II, Duke of Braganza
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Miguel II of Braganza (pronounced [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.
Biography
Miguel was born in Kleinheubach Castle near Miltenberg, Bavaria, during the exile in Germany of his father, former King Miguel I of Portugal. His mother was Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.
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 Josef of Austria and took part in the occupation of Bosnia. It is said that the emperor liked Miguel immensely and granted him the privilege of extra-territoriality that allowed him to remain Portuguese, despite the rejection of Portugal.
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 II abdicated 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 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-Rosenborg (1870-1935). They had eight children.
- Princess Isabel Maria of Braganza (1894-1970), married Prince Franz of Thurn and Taxis
- Princess Maria Benedita of Braganza (1896-1971)
- Princess Mafalda of Braganza (1898-1918)
- Princess Maria Ana of Braganza (1899-1971), married Prince Karl of Thurn and Taxis
- Princess Maria Antónia of Braganza (1903-1973), married Sidney Ashley Chanler
- Princess Filippa Maria of Braganza (1905-1990)
- Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza (1907-1976)
- Princess Maria Adelaide of Braganza (born 1912), married Nicolaas Johannes Maria van Uden
Honours
Miguel was a knight of the Bavarian Order of St. Hubert and of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece.
External links
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