Catherine, Duchess of Braganza
| Catherine | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
18 January 1540 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Died | 15 November 1614 (aged 74) Vila Viçosa, Portugal |
| Spouse | João I, Duke of Braganza |
| House | Aviz |
| Father | Duarte, Duke of Guimarães |
| Mother | Isabel of Braganza |
Infanta Catherine of Guimarães, Duchess of Braganza by marriage (Portuguese: Catarina; Portuguese pronunciation: [kɐtɐˈɾinɐ]; 1540–1614) was a Portuguese infanta (princess) claimant to the throne following the death of King Henry of Portugal in 1580.
She was the second daughter of Infante Edward, 4th Duke of Guimarães (sixth son of Manuel I of Portugal) and Isabella of Braganza, she was married to John, 6th Duke of Braganza, a descendant of earlier Portuguese monarchs, and head of the most important House in Portugal. The duchess had several children, of whom Teodósio of Braganza, was her eldest surviving son. When King Henry died (1580), Edward's issue were the only surviving legitimate heirs of any of the sons of King Manuel I of Portugal. As the male line is preferred in Portuguese succession before the female one, descendants of Manuel I's daughters (such as king Philip II of Spain) had, in principle, only a weaker claim to the throne than Edward's descendants, to whom Catherine belonged.
Following this principle, the first in line to the throne would have been Catherine's nephew Ranuccio I Farnese of Parma, as that 11-year-old Italian boy was the heir of her elder sister Maria of Guimarães. Catherine was an ambitious, cunning and power-hungry woman who participated in court intrigues, hoping to become the ruler of Portugal and reinforce the position of the House of Braganza as the most powerful noble family in the Iberian Peninsula.
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