Mariana Victoria of Spain
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Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain, Queen Consort of Portugal and the Algarves (Portuguese: Mariana Vitória) (March 31, 1718 – January 15, 1781) was Queen Consort of Portugal and the Algarves due to her marriage to Joseph I. She also acted as Queen Regent of Portugal. She has descendants ranging from the present King of Spain, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Parma (the Parma line was founded by her second surviving brother Philip) and French Pretenders, the Count of Paris.
[edit] BiographyBorn Infanta Maríana Victoria de España at the Real Alcázar de Madrid, Madrid, she was the eldest daughter of Philip V of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth of Parma. One of 7 children, her siblings were:
Her father, Philip V also had children from a previous marriage; his double-second cousin Princess Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (1688-1714) on 3 November 1701[1] and they had four sons:
At the time of her birth, Mariana Victoria was fourth in line to the throne of Spain; in Spain it was possible for women to inherit the throne whereas France followed the Salic law which forbade females ruling as Queen Regnant.
[edit] FranceAs of 1721, the Infanta was engaged to her first cousin Louis XV of France, but went back to Spain to continue her education. The couple were to have their first meeting at the Île des Faisans ("Isle of Pheasents") where there identical ancestors, Louis XIV of France and Maria Teresa of Spain had met in 1660. It was at the isle that she had to leave her Spanish retinue behind; Mariana Victoria arrived in Paris on March 2 1721 amongst much celebration. During her time in Paris, she lived with Louis at the Palais du Louvre The young princess was said to have been in awe of her husband to be and even followed him around Versailles where she was transported and lived for a time. Known as l'infante Reine (Queen-Infanta) while in France, she was placed in the care of the old Dowager Princess of Conti - the eldest illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV and Louise de La Vallière. The marriage proposal was part of a wider set of engagements which included the proposal (and marriage) of Philip V's eldest son Louis I of Spain to Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans and another proposal of Philippine Élisabeth d'Orléans to the young Infante Carlos of Spain. Philippine Élisabeth and Louise Élisabeth were both daughters of the, Duke of Orléans, Régent de France. The latter marriage never occured and like Mariana Victoria, Philippine was sent back home. The Regent who had worked to secure the marriage Mariana Victoria was sent back to Spain in 1725 after it became clear that the young Louis XV was never going to be interested in what he called the young doll, her arrival in Spain was not taken well by the Spanish; her younger sister Infanta Maria Teresa was married to the eldest son of Louis XV Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765).
[edit] Marriage
In 1724 her father abdicated the throne in favour for her half brother, Louis; he was king for just nine months and died in August. As such her father became king again; due to her mother having given birth to the future Duke of Parma, Mariana Victoria was still able to inherit as she had not yet married Louis XV; She remained fourth in line for some time. The engagement was later broken off; in 1727, the Portuguese Marquis of Abrantes (Portuguese Ambassador) was at the Spanish court and he began arrangements for the betrothal of Mariana and the future Joseph I of Portugal. She married Joseph on January 19, 1729 at Elvas, Portugal. This marriage was once again part of a larger scheme which involved Mariana's half brother, Infante Ferdinand (then the Prince of Asturias) marrying the oldest sister of Joseph, Infanta Barbara of Portugal. Ferdinand and Barbara married the day after Mariana and Joseph. A very serious woman, she had inherited her husbands independence and willpower; her husband was often unfaithful but the proud Mariana Victoria was not afraid to talk about it in open society - something a Queen Consort was never expected to do. Mariana Victoria was a great fan of music and had inherited the Bourbon passion for hunting. During her life in Portugal, she maintained a correspondence with her family in Spain. From her marriage, she was known as the Princess of Brazil as she was the wife of the Prince of Brazil who was the heir to the throne. She was known by this title for some 21 years during which all her children were born. At the death of her father-in-law, John V of Portugal, in 1750 she and her husband became the rulers of the vast Portuguese Empire. During her husbands reign the devastating 1755 Lisbon earthquake of November 1, 1755, in which around 100,000 people lost their lives. The earthquake caused Joseph to develop a severe case of claustrophobia and he was never again comfortable living within a walled building. Consequently, he moved the royal court to an extensive complex of tents in the hills of Ajuda. It was during this time that the famous Marquis of Pombal rose to power in Portugal and was its unofficial ruler. She was also slightly involved with the Távora affair of 1758-9 where an assassination plot against her husband was meant to have been plotted against him by the Távora family; Pombal later ordered the execution of all members but thanks to the intervention of Mariana and her daughter, the then Princess of Brazil, the women and children were spared. Mariana and her daughter were not fans of the Kings fondness for Pombal and he was dismissed in the reign of her daughter. She also saw the enlargement of the stunning Queluz National Palace outside the capital
When her husband was declared incapable of ruling in 1774, she was proclaimed Regent, and acted as the Regent for Portugal in all matters until Joseph's death on February 24, 1777. Upon her husband's death, their eldest daughter Maria became the first queen regnant as Maria I of Portugal. She died at the Palácio de Ajuda, Lisbon, Portugal at the age of 62 having outlived her husband for just under 4 years. She would never see the destruction of France during its revolution. In 1816, her great-grandson Pedro I of Brazil became the first emperor of Brazil; the Brazilian Imperial Family was formed by him and his wife Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria who was a descendant of Mariana's oldest brother, Charles III of Spain. [edit] ChildrenFour daughters by Joseph I of Portugal:
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