Ferdinand II

king consort of Portugal
Also known as: Ferdinand August Franz Anton, Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha
Quick Facts
Original name:
Ferdinand August Franz Anton, Prince (prinz) von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha
Born:
Oct. 29, 1816, Vienna, Austria
Died:
Dec. 15, 1885, Lisbon, Port. (aged 69)
Notable Family Members:
spouse Maria II
son Peter V
son Louis

Ferdinand II (born Oct. 29, 1816, Vienna, Austria—died Dec. 15, 1885, Lisbon, Port.) was the second husband of Queen Maria II of Portugal, who proclaimed him king consort with the title of Ferdinand II upon the birth of their first son (the future Peter V) in 1837.

The son of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (and cousin of Prince Albert of Great Britain), he was married to Maria in January 1836, only 10 months after the sudden death of her first husband after two months of marriage. When Maria died in 1853, in childbirth, Ferdinand acted as regent for two years until Peter V came of age.

Well educated and versed in music and the arts, Ferdinand did much to foster the arts in his adopted country and tried to give a rigorous but broad education to all his children.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Quick Facts
In full:
Maria Da Glória
Born:
April 4, 1819, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Died:
Nov. 15, 1853, Lisbon, Port. (aged 34)
House / Dynasty:
House of Bragança
Notable Family Members:
spouse Ferdinand II
father Pedro I
son Peter V
son Louis

Maria II (born April 4, 1819, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—died Nov. 15, 1853, Lisbon, Port.) was the queen of Portugal (1834–53).

Maria was the daughter of Peter I of Brazil, IV of Portugal, who, on inheriting both countries from his father, entered a conditional abdication of Portugal in her favour (1826). His plan was that she should marry his younger brother Michael, who would accept and apply Peter’s constitution, the Charter. But Michael seized power, declaring himself king; and only upon abdicating the Brazilian empire (1831) was Peter able to proceed to Europe, occupy the island of Terceira in the Azores, and launch an expedition to conquer the mainland in Maria’s name. He seized Porto (Oporto) and took Lisbon in 1834, when Michael went into exile. Peter died (September 1834), and Maria was declared of age at 14. She was married and widowed almost at once; with her second husband, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, she had 11 children.

Maria regarded her father’s Charter as the guarantee of her throne and depended on the Charter’s champion, the duque de Saldanha. Her reign was marked by struggles between moderates and conservatives on the one hand, who supported the principle of constitutional monarchy established by the Charter, and democratic and radical elements on the other hand, who sought to reinstate an earlier, more democratic constitution. The conflict was not resolved until Saldanha, at the head of the reform movement known as the Regeneration, modified the Charter with the Additional Act (1852). This remained the Portuguese constitution until 1910.

Maria died in childbirth, leaving the throne to her eldest son, Peter V, to whose education she had devoted much care.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.