Miguel da Paz, Prince of Portugal

Who was Miguel da Paz, Prince of Portugal?

Miguel da Paz, Prince of Portugal and Prince of Asturias was a Portuguese royal infante, son of King Manuel I of Portugal and his first wife Isabella of Asturias. He was recognised as heir both to his father's kingdom of Portugal, and to his grandparents' kingdoms of Castile, León and Aragon. As such, he was styled Prince of Portugal, Prince of Asturias and Prince of Girona.

He was born in Zaragoza, Spain on August 23, 1498 and his mother died during childbirth. For the next two years he was the heir to the throne of both Portugal and Spain.

One of Miguel's maternal aunts, Maria of Aragon, then married his father and gave birth to eight children.

He died young in Granada on July 19, 1500 and is buried in the Capilla Real, in Granada.

Hopes to unite all Iberian kingdoms vanished at Miguel's death. After his demise, Joanna became the heiress of Spain, eventually bringing those kingdoms to the Habsburgs. However, the Iberian Union, although short-lived, took place about eighty years later, in 1580 until 1640, when the Habsburg king, Philip II of Spain, Miguel's half-nephew, and grandson of both Joanna and Manuel of Portugal, acquired Portugal and its dominions.