Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal

Infanta Maria Francisca of Braganza (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈɾiɐ fɾɐ̃ˈsiʃkɐ]; English: Mary Frances); full name: Maria Francisca de Assis da Maternidade Xavier de Paula e de Alcântara Antónia Joaquina Gonzaga Carlota Mónica Senhorinha Sotera e Caia de Bourbon e Bragança; 22 April 1800 – 4 September 1834) was a Portuguese princess (Portuguese: infanta), daughter of King John VI of Portugal and his spouse Carlota Joaquina of Spain.

Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal
Countess of Molina
Consort of the Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne
Pretence29 September 1833 - 4 September 1834
Born(1800-04-22)22 April 1800
Queluz Palace, Kingdom of Portugal
Died4 September 1834(1834-09-04) (aged 34)
Alverstoke, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Spouse
(m. 1816)
Issue
Names
Maria Francisca de Assis da Maternidade Xavier de Paula e de Alcântara Antónia Joaquina Gonzaga Carlota Mónica Senhorinha Sotera e Caia de Bourbon e Bragança
HouseHouse of Braganza
FatherJohn VI of Portugal
MotherCarlota Joaquina of Spain

Biography

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Maria was born in Queluz, Portugal. On 22 September 1816 in Madrid, she married her uncle Infante Carlos Maria Isidro of Spain, "Count of Molina". The couple had three children:

In 1833, Maria Francisca, her husband and children were exiled from Spain because they refused to recognize Isabella II as heiress to the Spanish throne. They went first to Portugal and then to Alverstoke in Hampshire, England. While in Hampshire, Maria became ill and died on 4 September 1834.

A crowd of several thousand was known to have visited the village to pay their respects as her body lay at the rectory of St Mary's Gosport, where her funeral was held and a marble stone honours her memory.[1] Although initially interred in St Mary's Catholic Church Gosport, Maria Francisca's remains were later transferred to Trieste Cathedral in Italy, where the Carlist pretenders and their wives are buried.

Four years after her death, Carlos married Maria Francisca's own sister, Maria Teresa, Princess of Beira.

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ "Carlist Queen Maria Francisca of Spain". St Mary's Catholic Parish. Archived from the original on 2018-04-15. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal
Cadet branch of the House of Aviz
Born: 22 April 1800 Died: 4 September 1834
Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
Queen consort of Spain
29 September 1833 - 4 September 1834
Vacant
Title next held by
Infanta Maria Teresa of Braganza