Raimundo of Lencastre, 4th Duke of Aveiro

"Dom" Raimundo of Lencastre ( ? – Cadiz, 1666) was the older son of George of Lencastre, 1st Duke of Torres Novas, and grandson of Álvaro and Juliana of Lencastre, 3rd Dukes of Aveiro.

Once his father died before his grandmother, in 1632, he succeed him as heir of the House of Aveiro, as 4th Marquis of Torres Novas and 2nd Duke of Torres Novas. He also became 4th Duke of Aveiro when his grand-mother, the 3rd Duchess, died in 1636.

When the Braganzas expelled the Habsburgs from the Portuguese throne, in 1640, he was nominee member of the Portugueses State Council. However, after 1659, he fled to Brest, in Brittany, and from there he travelled to Spain, once he supported the Spanish Habsburgs rights to the throne of Portugal.

He was quite welcomed in Madrid by King Philip IV of Spain, who granted him the new Spanish title of Duke of Ciudad Real, but, in spite his mother and sister also lived in Madrid, he didn’t feel comfortable among the conservative Spanish nobility.

Meanwhile, in Portugal, "Dom" Raimundo of Lencastre was condemn for treason (in 1663) and the King of Portugal, John IV, confiscated the Dukedom and granted it to Raimundo’s uncle, Peter of Lencastre, a Braganza supporter, who was recognised as 5th Duke of Aveiro and 5th Marquis of Torres Novas.

In 1665, the Spanish tried a last effort to conquered Portugal and "Dom" Raimundo advised a simultaneous naval expedition, leaving from Cadiz, against the Portuguese cost, which he leaded. The expedition was not successful and Raimundo died in Cadiz in 1666.

He had married Louise Claire of Ligne (1640-1684), daughter of Claude-Lamoral, 3rd Prince of Ligne. They had no issue.

Raimundo had two natural children:
*Pedro of Lencastre, who died fighting in Sicily;
*Genebra Simões, with issue known today in Portugal (family Meireles Garrido).

Titles

*In Portugal – Marquis of Torres Novas (1632-1636), Duke of Torres Novas (1632-1636), Duke of Aveiro (1636-1663).
*In Spain – Duke of Ciudad Real, Duke of Maqueda, Marquis of Montemayor, Marquis of Elche, Captain-General of the Ocean Armada and Mayor of the city of Toledo.

ee Also

*Duke of Aveiro
*Duke of Torres Novas
*Marquis of Torres Novas

External Links

[http://www.geneall.net/P/per_page.php?id=3933 Genealogy of Raimundo of Lencastre, 4th Duke of Aveiro, in Portuguese]

Bibliography

”Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil” – Vol. II, pages 344 and 345; Vol. III, pages 446 and 447. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989.