 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) |
| Barbara of Portugal | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort of Spain | |
 |
|
| María Bárbara of Bragança | |
| Consort | 1746 - 1758 |
| Spouse | Ferdinand VI of Spain |
| Full name | |
| Maria Madalena Josefa Teresa Bárbara | |
| House | House of Bourbon House of Braganza |
| Father | John V of Portugal |
| Mother | Maria Anna of Austria |
| Born | 4 December 1711 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Died | 27 August 1758 (aged 46) Aranjuez, Spain |
Barbara of Portugal (4 December 1711 – 27 August 1758) was a Portuguese infanta and later Queen Consort of Spain.
Contents |
Early life
She was the eldest daughter of King John V of Portugal and his wife, Maria Anna, Archduchess of Austria, a daughter of Emperor Leopold I.
Her parents were married in 1708, but for nearly three years the queen did not give birth to any children. The King then made a promise to God that if an heir to the throne was born, a great convent would be built to thank Him. On 4 December 1711, an Infanta was born, and the Convent of Mafra was built.
Princess of Brazil
She was born as heiress-presumptive to the Portuguese throne, but her status as heiress lapsed when the Queen gave birth to a son, Pedro, two years later. Her title while she was heir to the throne was Princess of Brazil or Princesa do Brasil in its Portuguese form. Pedro died at the age of two, but another son, Joseph, had been born before Pedro's death. Though Barbara was never heiress-presumptive again, she was second-in-line to the throne throughout much of her life.
The Princess was baptized Maria Madalena Bárbara Xavier Leonor Teresa Antónia Josefa (English: Mary Magdalene Barbara Xavier Eleanor Theresa Antonia Josepha), her names honouring a number of saints and relatives. She was usually referred to as Bárbara or Maria Bárbara, a name never before used among Portuguese royals, in honour of St. Barbara, the saint of her birthday.
She had a fine education and loved music. An accomplished keyboard player, she was a student of Domenico Scarlatti, the famous harpsichordist and composer, from age 9 or 10 until age 14.
Marriage
In 1729 at age 18, she married the future Ferdinand VI of Spain, two years her junior. Her brother Joseph married Ferdinand's half-sister, the Spanish Infanta Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain. Scarlatti followed her to Madrid on her marriage and remained with her, composing hundreds of harpsichord sonatas for her. During her reign, Barbara presided over magnificent parties and concerts at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, which was her favourite retreat.
Although Barbara was not beautiful — her homely looks were thought by observers to cause the prince a visible shock when he was first presented to her — 'Ferdinand the Learned' (as he was called) became deeply attached to her, sharing her passion for music. Her death was said to have broken his heart. They had no children.
Death
Barbara suffered from severe asthma for most of her life. Although a beauty in her youth, she became quite overweight later in life. She died at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain in 1758.
Ancestors
| Barbara of Portugal | Father: John V of Portugal |
Father's father: Peter II of Portugal |
Father's father's father: John IV of Portugal |
| Father's father's mother: Luisa of Medina-Sidonia (Luisa de Guzmán) |
|||
| Father's mother: Maria Sophia of Neuburg |
Father's mother's father: Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine |
||
| Father's mother's mother: Elizabeth Amalia of Hesse-Darmstadt |
|||
| Mother: Maria Anna of Austria |
Mother's father: Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor |
Mother's father's father: Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor |
|
| Mother's father's mother: Maria Anna of Spain |
|||
| Mother's mother: Eleonore-Magdalena of Pfalz-Neuburg |
Mother's mother's father: Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine |
||
| Mother's mother's mother: Elizabeth Amalia of Hesse-Darmstadt |
|
Barbara of Portugal
Born: 4 December 1711 Died: 27 August 1758 |
||
| Spanish royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Elisabeth of Parma |
Queen Consort of Spain 1746-1758 |
Succeeded by Maria Amalia of Saxony |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
