Royalty. He was the illegitimate son of Infante Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja and Violante Gomes and a grandson of King Manuel I. There is not much known about him before 1578. He was destined for a clerical career. Educated at Coimbra he later joined the Hospitaller Order of Saint John and became Prior of Crato. After the death of Henry I he proclaimed himself King of Portugal, but only reigned for twenty days. He fled to France where Catherine de Medici saw him as a useful tool to further her own interests against Philipp II of Spain. He tried several times to reconquer Portugal, but failed each time. He spent his last years in Paris, where he lived from a small pension which Henri IV had granted him. His heart was buried at the Couvent de l'Ave Maria.
Royalty. He was the illegitimate son of Infante Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja and Violante Gomes and a grandson of King Manuel I. There is not much known about him before 1578. He was destined for a clerical career. Educated at Coimbra he later joined the Hospitaller Order of Saint John and became Prior of Crato. After the death of Henry I he proclaimed himself King of Portugal, but only reigned for twenty days. He fled to France where Catherine de Medici saw him as a useful tool to further her own interests against Philipp II of Spain. He tried several times to reconquer Portugal, but failed each time. He spent his last years in Paris, where he lived from a small pension which Henri IV had granted him. His heart was buried at the Couvent de l'Ave Maria.
Bio by: Lutetia
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