Duarte, Duke of Guimarães (1541–1576)

Duarte, Duke of Guimarães (March 1541, in Almeirim – 28 November 1576, in Évora) was a Portuguese infante (prince), son of Duarte of Portugal, 4th Duke of Guimarães and his wife, Isabel of Braganza. He served as Constable of the Kingdom, the highest military authority in the Portuguese Empire, second only to the monarch.

Duarte
Duke of Guimarães, Constable of Portugal
Unidentified portrait considered to possibly depict the 5th Duke of Guimarães.
5th Duke of Guimarães
Tenure	1541 - 1576
Predecessor	Duarte of Portugal
Successor	Title abolished later John IV of Portugal
Born	March 1541 Almeirim
Died	28 November 1576(1576-11-28) (aged 35) Évora
House	Aviz
Father	Duarte of Portugal, 4th Duke of Guimarães
Mother	Isabel of Braganza, Duchess of Guimarães

Early life

Arms used by the Duke of Guimarães.

Through his father, he was a grandson of King Manuel I of Portugal; through his mother, he was a grandson of James, 4th Duke of Braganza.

He was born posthumously and he inherited his father's titles and estates: the Dukedom of Guimarães. He was one of the most influential nobles during the reigns of Kings John III and Sebastian.

Political career

As member of the State Council he voted, in 1569, for the marriage of King Sebastian to Margaret of Valois (who later became Henry IV's first wife) and, in 1574, he escorted King Sebastian in his first trip to Tangiers, in north Africa.

In 1557, when King John III died, Duarte was one of the three legitimate surviving male descendants of King Manuel I of Portugal (together with King Sebastian and Cardinal-Infante Henry).

Personal life

King Sebastian was jealous of this and several times showed disrespect for Duarte's rank. When the King didn't invite Duarte to a royal bullfight, in Xabregas (Lisbon), Duarte was quite upset and, finally, he retired to Évora where, some months later, he died single and without issue.

Duarte had two sisters, both married to remarkable Renaissance princes:

• Infanta Maria of Guimarães (1538–1577), also known as Maria de Portugal, married to the Italian prince Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza;
• Infanta Catherine of Guimarães (1540–1614), also known as Catarina de Portugal, married to the Portuguese prince John, 6th Duke of Braganza.

Once she was married to a Portuguese, Infanta Catherine of Guimarães inherited her brother estates and rights to the Dukedom of Guimarães. During the 1580 Portuguese succession crisis, Catherine and her husband, John I of Braganza, were important claimants to the Portuguese throne.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Duarte, Duke of Guimarães (1541–1576)

8. Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu 4. Manuel I of Portugal 9. Beatrice of Portugal 2. Duarte, Duke of Guimarães 10. Ferdinand II of Aragon 5. Maria of Aragon 11. Isabella I of Castile 1. Duarte, Duke of Guimarães 12. Fernando II, Duke of Braganza 6. Jaime I, Duke of Braganza 13. Isabel of Viseu 3. Isabel of Braganza 14. Juan Alonso de Guzmán y Ribera, 3rd Duke of Medina Sidonia 7. Leonor de Guzmán y Velasco 15. Isabel de Velasco y Mendoza

See also

• Duke of Guimarães
• Dukedoms in Portugal

External links

• Genealogy of Infante Duarte II, 5th Duke of Guimarães, in Portuguese

Bibliography

"Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil" – Vol. II, page 651. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989.