Infanta Maria Ana Vitória of Portugal

Mariana Victoria of Portugal (or of Braganza; alternatively Maria Ana Vitória; full name: Maria Ana Vitória Josefa of Braganza; Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐɾiˈɐnɐ] or [mɐˈɾiɐ ˈɐnɐ viˈtɔɾiɐ ʒuˈzɛfɐ]; 15 December 1768 – 2 November 1788) was a Portuguese Infanta (princess), the third child and eldest daughter of Queen Maria I of Portugal and King Peter III of Portugal.

Biography

Mariana Victoria was born at the Royal Palace of Queluz, in the town of Queluz near Lisbon. She was named after her maternal grandmother, Mariana Victoria of Spain, Infanta of Spain and eldest daughter of Philip V of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese.

The fifth child of her parents, she was their eldest and only surviving daughter, her younger sisters Maria Clementina and Maria Isabel died in infancy. Her grandmother Mariana went to Spain in 1777 to discuss an alliance with her brother Charles III of Spain. During her stay there, she helped to bring about the marriage of her grand daughter Mariana Victoria and the favourite son of the King of Spain.

She married Infante Gabriel of Spain, her mother's first cousin. They married by proxy on 12 April 1785 at the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa. The couple met for the first time at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez on 23 May and had an official ceremony.

The royal couple had three children, of whom two died young. At the birth of her last child, Infante Carlos, she and her husband were in residence at Gabriel's private residence, the Casita del Infante at El Escorial. While there, Gabriel caught Smallpox and died at the Casita aged only 36. His wife also succumbed to the illness and died on 2 November; Infante Carlos himself died a week after his mother.

Upon her early death, her children (effectively the survivor, her son Infante Pedro Carlos of Spain and Portugal) was recognized by their Portuguese grandmother as Infante of Portugal, in addition to that of Spain from their paternal side. The same took place with Pedro Carlos' only son Infante don Sebastian of Portugal and Spain.

Mariana died in at the Casita del Infante at the age of 19. She and her husband were the founders of the House of Bourbon-Braganza which is among the Spanish nobility represented by the Dukes of Marchena, of Durcal, of Hernani and Ansola.

Mariana Victoria was buried at the Royal Monastery of El Escorial with her husband and her two young children.

Issue

• Infante Pedro Carlos Antonio Rafael Jose Javier Francisco Juan Nepomuceno Tomas de Villanueva Marcos Marcelino Vicente Ferrer Raymundo of Spain (Royal Palace of Aranjuez, 18 June 1786 – Rio de Janeiro, 4 July 1812), married Infanta Teresa, Princess of Beira; had issue;
• Infanta Maria Carlota Josefa Joaquina Ana Rafaela Antonieta Francisca de Asis Agustina Madalena Francisca de Paula Clotilde Lutgarda Te of Spain (Casita del Infante, 4 November – Casita del Infante, 11 November 1787).
• Infante Carlos José Antonio of Spain (Casita del Infante, 28 October – Casita del Infante 9 November 1788).

Ancestry

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 15 December 1768 – 12 April 1785 Her Royal Highness Infanta Mariana Victoria of Portugal
• 12 April 1785 – 2 November 1788 Her Royal Highness Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain

See also