- Maria Sofia of Neuburg
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Maria Sofia of Neuburg Queen consort of Portugal Tenure 11 August 1687 – 4 August 1699 Spouse Peter II Issue John V
Francisco, Duke of Beja
António
Manuel
FranciscaHouse Wittelsbach Father Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine Mother Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt Born 6 August 1666
GermanyDied 4 August 1699 (aged 32)
LisbonReligion Roman Catholicism Countess Palatine Maria Sophia Elisabeth of Neuburg (6 August 1666 – 4 August 1699) was Queen of Portugal as the second wife of Peter II from 1687 until her death in 1699. She was the eleventh child of Philip William, Elector Palatine, and Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Contents
Family
As a daughter of Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, and Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, she was born into a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. She had sixteen brothers and sisters, amongst whom were:
- Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine;
- Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine;
- Eleonore Magdalena, wife of Kaiser Leopold I;
- Queen Maria Anna, wife of Charles II of Spain.
Queen of Portugal
In 1687 she married the widowed king Peter II of Portugal, four years after the death of his first wife, Maria Francisca of Savoy, and became thus queen consort of Portugal without any right on regency. Supposedly Louis XIV was "greatly chagrined" by Peter's decision to marry a daughter of the Elector Palatine and not another French princess, as he had hoped.[1]
They had seven children:
- John (1688-1688), Prince of Brazil; died young
- John (1689–1750), King of Portugal (as John V)
- Francis (1691–1742), Duke of Beja
- Anthony (1695–1757)
- Teresa (1696–1704), died young
- Manuel (1697–1736), Count of Ourém
- Francisca (1699–1736)
Maria Sofia was described as gentle and Peter reportedly treated her with respect. While she clashed with her widowed sister-in-law Catherine of Braganza on matters of etiquette, Maria Sofia became friends with her stepdaughter Infanta Isabel Luísa, who would have married a Neuburg prince had she not died in 1690, aged 22.[2]
Queen Maria Sofia was involved in charities supporting widows and orphans, and allowed poor patients access to medical care at the royal palace. She had a very intimate friendship with Bartolomeu do Quental, who died with the reputation of a saint. In Beja, she financed the foundation of a Franciscan school.
She died in Lisbon of fever, possibly a symptom of erysipelas, on 4 August 1699, two days before her thirty-third birthday.
Ancestry
References
Sources
- This page is a translation of its Portuguese equivalent.
- Stephens, Henry Morse. Portugal. Putnam, 1903. The Story of the Nations. Google Books. Web. 27 May 2010. <http://books.google.com/books?id=uAQqAAAAYAAJ>.
- Thomson, Mark Alméras., Ragnhild Marie Hatton, and J. S. Bromley. William III and Louis XIV: Essays 1680-1720. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1968. Google Books. Web.
Portuguese royalty Preceded by
Maria Francisca of NemoursQueen consort of Portugal
1687–1699Succeeded by
Mary Anne of AustriaPortuguese royal consorts Maud of Savoy (1146-1157) · Dulce of Aragon (1185-1198) · Urraca of Castile (1211-1220) · Mécia Lopes de Haro (1246–1248) · Matilda of Boulogne (1248–1253) · Beatrice of Castile (1253-1279) · Elizabeth of Aragon (1282-1325) · Beatrice of Castile (1225-1257) · Inês de Castro (1360) · Leonor Telles de Menezes (1372-1383) · Philippa of Lancaster (1387-1415) · Eleanor of Aragon (1433-1438) · Isabella of Coimbra (1447-1455) · Joanna of Castile (1475–1479) · Eleanor of Viseu (1481-1495) · Isabella of Aragon (1497-1498) · Maria of Aragon (1500 -1517) · Archduchess Eleanor of Austria (1518-1521) · Archduchess Catherine of Austria (1525-1557) · Archduchess Anna of Austria (1580) · Archduchess Margaret of Austria (1598–1611) · Princess Élisabeth of France (1621-1640) · Luisa of Guzman (1640-1656) · Princess Marie Françoise of Savoy (1666-1668) & (1683) · Countess Palatine Maria Sophia of Neuburg (1687-1699) · Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1708-1750) · Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain (1750-1777) · Infanta Carlota of Spain (1816-1826) · Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria (1826) · Auguste de Beauharnais (1835) · Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1836-1837) · Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1858-1859) · Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1862-1889) · Princess Amélie of Orléans (1889-1908)Categories:- 1666 births
- 1699 deaths
- Burials at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora
- House of Braganza
- Countesses Palatine of Neuburg
- German nobility
- House of Wittelsbach
- Portuguese queens consort
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