Catherine, Duchess of Braganza

Who was Catherine, Duchess of Braganza?

Infanta Catherine of Guimarães, Duchess of Braganza by marriage was a Portuguese infanta claimant to the throne following the death of King Henry of Portugal in 1580.

She was the second daughter of Infante Edward, 4th Duke of Guimarães and Isabella of Braganza, she was married to John, 6th Duke of Braganza, a descendant of earlier Portuguese monarchs, and head of the most important aristocratic House in Portugal. The duchess had several children, of whom Teodósio of Braganza, was her eldest surviving son. When King Henry died, Edward's issue were the only surviving legitimate heirs of any of the sons of King Manuel I of Portugal. As the male line is preferred in Portuguese succession before the female one, descendants of Manuel I's daughters had, in principle, only a weaker claim to the throne than Edward's descendants, to whom Catherine belonged.

Following this principle, the first in line to the throne would have been Catherine's nephew Ranuccio I Farnese of Parma, as that 11-year old Italian boy was the heir of her elder sister Maria of Guimarães. Catherine is said to have been ambitious and participated in intrigues.