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Maria Sofia of the Palatinate-Neuburg

Maria Sophia of Neuburg
Mariasofianeuburgo.gif
Portrait of D. Maria Sophia; António de Oliveira de Louredo, c. 1687-1699.
Queen consort of Portugal
Tenure 11 August 1687 – 4 August 1699
Born (1666-08-06)6 August 1666
Schloss Benrath, Düsseldorf
Died 4 August 1699(1699-08-04) (aged 32)
Ribeira Palace, Lisbon, Portugal
Burial São Vicente de Fora, Lisbon, Portugal
Spouse Peter II
Issue John V of Portugal
Infante Francisco, Duke of Beja
Infante António
Infante Manuel, Count of Ourém
Infanta Francisca Josefa
Full name
German: Marie Sophie Elisabeth
Portuguese: Maria Sofia Isabel
House Wittelsbach
Father Philip William, Elector Palatine
Mother Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Religion Roman Catholicism
Full name
German: Marie Sophie Elisabeth
Portuguese: Maria Sofia Isabel

Maria Sophia Elisabeth of Neuburg (6 August 1666 – 4 August 1699) was queen of Portugal as the wife of King Peter II from 1687 until her death in 1699. A popular queen, she was noted for her extraordinary generosity and for being the mother of the famously extravagant John V of Portugal.

Maria Sophia was born at the Schloss Benrath outside Düsseldorf in what is now Germany. Her father Philip William was the reigning Count Palatine of Neuburg. In 1685 he became Elector Palatine following the death of his cousin Charles II, an inheritance that greatly increased the family's status within Europe. In December 1676, Maria Sophia's sister Eleonore Magdalene was married to Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I owing to the family's reputation as producing fertile women. After two marriages, Leopold had no living male heirs. The new Empress Eleonore Magdalene fulfilled her function and quickly mothered two future Holy Roman Emperors (Joseph I and Charles VI).

A similar succession crisis was occurring in Portugal. Isabel Luísa, Princess of Beira, heiress to the throne and only daughter of King Peter II, was childless and had been refused by most European sovereigns due to her sickly nature and strict Portuguese succession rights. As a result, the Portuguese ambassador Manuel da Silva Teles was sent to Heidelberg to ask for the hand of Maria Sophia, with the encouragement of Empress Eleonore Magdalene. The embassy left Lisbon on 8 December 1686 and the marriage contract was signed on 22 May 1687. A dowry of 100,000 florins was agreed on.


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