Line of succession to the former Portuguese throne

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The Portuguese monarchy was abolished on 5 October 1910, when King Manuel II was deposed following a republican revolution. The present head of the House of Braganza, the former ruling house, is Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, a position he has held since the death of his father, Duarte Nuno, in 1976.[1] The succession law for the former Portuguese throne was male-preference cognatic primogeniture.[1][2]

Rules of succession[edit]

Royal Throne of Portugal in the Palace of Ajuda

The 1822, 1826 and 1838 constitutions, as well as the 1842 revival of the 1826 constitutional charter, confirmed cognatic primogeniture among the legitimate issue of the then-reigning monarch and, in case of their extinction, among collateral descendants of the Braganza dynasty.[3] That had been the customary succession in pre-constitutional Portugal.[2]

The 1838 constitution was replaced in 1842 by reviving the 1826 Constitutional Charter of Portugal. Among other things, the 1826 charter stipulated that, should there be no eligible descendants of Maria II of Portugal, the crown would pass to a collateral heir.[2]

Maria II has living legitimate descendants today, but they are not Portuguese citizens and make no claim to represent the royal line of Portugal.

Prince Miguel, Duke of Viseu, the eldest son of Miguel, Duke of Braganza, renounced his succession rights for himself and his descendants on 21 July 1920.

Line of succession in October 1910[edit]

•  Queen Maria II (1819–1853)
  •  King Luís I (1838–1889)
    •  King Carlos I (1863–1908)
      •  King Manuel II (born 1889)
    • (1) Infante Afonso, Prince Royal and Duke of Porto (b. 1865)
  • (2) Infanta Antónia, Princess of Hohenzollern (b. 1845)

Family of the current Miguelist claimant[edit]

The Miguelist claim to the Portuguese throne rests with:

• Head of the Royal House of Portugal: Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza,[1] great-grandson of Miguel I.

The immediate heirs to his claim, in order of succession, are numbered below:[1]

•  King John VI (1767–1826)
  •  King Pedro IV (1798–1834)
    •  Queen Maria II (1819–1853)
      •  King Pedro V (1837–1861)
      •  King Luís I (1838–1889)
        •  King Carlos I (1863–1908)
          •  King Manuel II (1889–1932)
  •  King Miguel I (1802–1866)
    • Infante Miguel, Duke of Braganza (1853–1927)
      • Prince Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza (1907–1976)
        • Prince Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (born 1945)
          • (1) Prince Afonso, Prince of Beira (b. 1996)
          • (2) Infante Dinis, Duke of Porto (b. 1999)
          • (3) Infanta Maria Francisca, Duchess of Coimbra (b. 1997)
        • (4) Infante Miguel, Duke of Viseu (b. 1946)

Notes[edit]

1. ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy (2002). Le Petit Gotha. Paris: Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery. pp. 738–42, 748–49, 756–59 (French) ISBN 2950797431 Search this book on .
2. ↑ Jump up to:2.0 2.1 2.2 Goutant de Saisseval, Guy (1982). La Legitimite Monarchique. Paris: Editions Christian. pp. 190–91. ISBN 2864960184. Search this book on 
3. ↑ "A sucessão da Coroa segue a ordem regular de primogenitura, e representação entre os legítimos descendentes; preferindo sempre a linha anterior às posteriores; na mesma linha, o grau mais próximo ao mais remoto; no mesmo grau, o sexo masculino ao feminino; e no mesmo sexo, a pessoa mais velha à mais nova."