List of Portuguese monarchs

This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution.

Through the nearly 800 years in which Portugal was a monarchy, the kings held various other titles and pretensions. Two kings of Portugal, Ferdinand I and Afonso V, claimed the crown of Castile and waged wars in order to enforce their respective claims. Ferdinand I managed to be recognized as King of Galiza in 1369, although his dominance of the region was short-lived. When the House of Habsburg came into power, the kings of Spain, Naples, and Sicily also became kings of Portugal. The House of Braganza brought numerous titles to the Portuguese Crown – some honorary, such as the attribution of the title of Rex Fidelissimus (His Most Faithful Majesty), and royal titles, such as King of Brazil and then de jure Emperor of Brazil.

Throughout Portugal's history as an independent kingdom, it was ruled by a total of 4 royal houses:

House of Burgundy (or Afonsine Dynasty, 1139–1383) House of Aviz (or Johanine Dynasty, 1385–1580) House of Habsburg (or Philippine Dynasty, 1581–1640) House of Braganza (or Brigantine Dynasty, 1640–1910)

The House of Burgundy actually held the title of Count of Portugal beginning in 1096. However, all but the most comprehensive lists of Portuguese monarchs exclude such pre-independence figures.

House of Burgundy (Afonsine Dynasty, 1139–1383) The Portuguese House of Burgundy () was established in 1093 under Henry, Count of Portugal ruled the feudal County of Portugal, of the Kingdom of Galicia. When Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal by his troops in 1139, he turned the family from a comital house to a royal house which would rule Portugal for over two centuries, establishing the Afonsine Dynasty (). During the Reconquista, the Afonsine Dynasty expanded the country southwards until the definitive conquest of Algarve with Sancho II and the establishment of the Kingdom of Algarve, in 1249, under Afonso III. When Ferdinand I died, an interregnum occurred between 1383 and 1385. Ferdinand's daughter Beatrice of Portugal was proclaimed queen and her husband John I of Castile proclaimed king by the right of his wife. Her legitimacy as a monarch is disputed.David Williamson, «Debrett's Kings and Queens of Europe»,1988, Webb & Bower, Exeter, ; César Olivera Serrano, «Beatriz de Portugal»García de Cortázar, Fernando (1999), Breve historia de España, Alianza Editorial, page 712; Armindo de Sousa, in História de Portugal coordinated by José Mattoso, Editorial Estampa, vol. II, , pages 494/95

House of Aviz (Johanine Dynasty, 1385–1580) The House of Aviz (), succeeded the House of Burgundy as the reigning house of the Kingdom of Portugal. The house was founded by John, Master of Aviz, thus establishing the Johanine Dynasty (). When King John II of Portugal died without an heir, the throne of Portugal passed to his cousin, Manuel, Duke of Beja. When King Sebastian of Portugal died, the throne passed to his Grand-uncle, Henry of Portugal (he might be called Henry II because Henry, Count of Portugal, father of Alphonso I of Portugal, was the first of that name to rule Portugal). When Henry died, a succession crisis occurred and António, Prior of Crato, was proclaimed António of Portugal.

House of Habsburg (Philippine Dynasty, 1581–1640) The House of Habsburg (, ) ruled Portugal from 1581 to 1640. The dynasty began with the acclamation of Philip II of Spain as Philip I of Portugal in 1580, officially recognized in 1581 by the Portuguese Cortes of Tomar. Philip I swore to rule Portugal as a kingdom separate from his Spanish domains, under a personal union known historiographically as the Iberian Union. Following the convention of Portuguese dynasties being named after their first king, this dynasty is named the Philippine Dynasty (), an especially apt name given all Habsburg monarchs of Portugal would bear the name "Philip".

House of Braganza (Brigantine Dynasty, 1640–1910) The House of Braganza () came to power in 1640, when John II, Duke of Braganza, claimed to be the rightful heir of the defunct House of Aviz, as he was the great-great-grandson of King Manuel I. John was proclaimed King John IV, and he deposed the House of Habsburg in 1640 during the Portuguese Restoration War. The Habsburgs continued to claim the throne of Portugal until the end of the war in the Treaty of Lisbon (1668). Unlike other dynasties, it is not dubbed after its founder (as John IV shares a first name with John I), instead being named called the Brigantine Dynasty (, "Brigantine" meaning "from Braganza").

The descendants of Queen Maria II and her consort, King Ferdinand II (a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), came to rule in 1853. Portuguese law and custom treated them as members of the House of Braganza, though they were still Saxe-Coburg and Gotha dynasts. This has led some to classify these last four monarchs of Portugal as members of a new royal family, called the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (), though this view is not widely held.

After the demise of the Portuguese monarchy in the 1910 revolution, monarchists launched a counter-revolution known as the Monarchy of the North, in 1919; the attempted restoration only lasted a month.

Later pretenders Manuel II died in 1932 without issue and without any close legitimate relatives, which left a succession crisis in the monarchist movement. Since then, various pretenders descended from previous monarchs have claimed to be the legitimate heir to the Portuguese throne. These groups are:

Miguelist pretenders: Descendents of Miguel I, who was permanently banned from the line of succession by the Cortes in 1834. Following his exile, Miguel I, and later his descendents, have claimed that the Portuguese throne was rightfully theirs since his defeat in the Liberal Wars. After the fall of the Monarchy in 1910, the Miguelist pretenders attempted to have Manuel II name them their successors, which was refused by the former King. Despite that, in 1932, Duarte Nuno de Bragança, Miguel I's grandson, was acclaimed as the rightfull pretender to the throne by some sectors of the monarchist movement. The banishment of the Miguelists from the line of succession was revoked in 1950 by the National Assembly. Duarte Nuno's son, Duarte Pio, is the current and most recognized pretender to the throne. Descendents of Maria Pia de Saxe-Coburgo e Bragança: Maria Pia, allegedly an illegitimate daughter of King Carlos I, claimed to be his successor to the Portuguese throne after her half-brother's death. Maria Pia, who received some support from monarchist opposed to the Estado Novo, later adopted an Italian businessman, Rosario Poidimani, and abdicated in his favour. Poidimani continues to claim the Portuguese throne, but after Maria Pia's death in 1995 this line has lost most of its supporters. Loulé pretenders: Descendents of Ana de Jesus Maria of Braganza, daughter of King John VI, who married the 1st Duke of Loulé. The Loulé pretenders are supported by the People's Monarchist Party and the current pretender is Pedro José Folque de Mendoça Rolim de Moura Barreto, 6th Duke of Loulé. Descendents of Antónia of Braganza: Antónia of Braganza, daughter of Queen Maria II, did not abdicate for her rights to the Portuguese throne after marrying Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern, being one of the only three people in the line of succession in 1910, as she died in 1913. Despite that, all of her descendents are foreigners, and as such are excluded from the line of succession.

Length of reign NameReignDurationAfonso I25 July 1139 – 6 December 118546 years 4 months 11 daysSancho I6 December 1185 – 26 March 121125 years 3 months 20 daysAfonso II26 March 1211 – 25 March 122311 years 11 months 27 daysSancho II25 March 1223 – 4 December 124724 years 8 months 9 daysAfonso III4 January 1248 – 16 February 127931 years 1 month 12 daysDenis I6 February 1279 – 7 January 132545 years 11 months 1 dayAfonso IV7 January 1325 – 28 May 135732 years 4 months 21 daysPeter I28 May 1357 – 18 January 13679 years 7 months 21 daysFerdinand I18 January 1367 – 22 October 138316 years 9 months 4 daysJohn I6 April 1385 – 14 August 143348 years 4 months 8 daysEdward14 August 1433 – 9 September 14385 years 26 daysAfonso V13 September 1438 – 11 November 1477,15 November 1477 – 28 August 148142 years 11 months 11 days

1st: (39 years 1 month 29 days),2nd: (3 years 9 months 13 days)John II11 November 1477 – 15 November 1477,28 August 1481 – 25 October 149514 years 2 months 1 day

1st: (4 days),2nd: (14 years 1 month 27 days)Manuel I25 October 1495 – 13 December 152126 years 1 month 18 daysJohn III13 December 1521 – 11 June 155735 years 5 months 29 daysSebastian I11 June 1557 – 4 August 157821 years 1 month 24 daysHenry I4 August 1578 – 31 January 15801 year 5 months 27 daysPhilip I12 September 1580 – 13 September 159818 years 1 dayPhilip II13 September 1598 – 31 March 162122 years 6 months 18 daysPhilip III31 March 1621 – 1 December 164019 years 8 months 1 dayJohn IV1 December 1640 – 6 November 165615 years 11 months 5 daysAfonso VI6 November 1656 – 12 September 168326 years 10 months 6 daysPeter II12 September 1683 – 9 December 170623 years 2 months 27 daysJohn V9 December 1706 – 31 July 175043 years 7 months 22 daysJoseph I31 July 1750 – 24 February 177726 years 6 months 24 daysMaria I24 February 1777 – 20 March 181639 years 25 daysPeter III24 February 1777 – 25 May 17869 years 3 months 1 dayJohn VI20 March 1816 – 10 March 18269 years 11 months 18 daysPeter IV10 March 1826 – 2 May 18261 month 22 daysMaria II2 May 1826 – 23 June 1828,26 May 1834 – 15 November 185321 years 7 months 10 days

1st: (2 years 1 month 21 days),2nd: (19 years 5 months 20 days)Miguel I11 July 1828 – 26 May 18345 years 10 months 15 daysFerdinand II16 September 1837 – 15 November 185316 years 1 month 30 daysPeter V15 November 1853 – 11 November 18617 years 11 months 27 daysLuís I11 November 1861 – 19 October 188927 years 11 months 8 daysCarlos I19 October 1889 – 1 February 190818 years 3 months 13 daysManuel II1 February 1908 – 5 October 19102 years 8 months 4 days

List of Portuguese monarchs

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