Ana de Jesus de Bragança
From Freepedia
Ana de Jesus Maria of Braganza (Mafra, October 23 1806-Rome, June 22 1857) was a Portuguese infanta and last daughter of King John VI of Portugal and his wife Carlota Joaquina of Borbón.
She married on December 5 1827 to Nuno José Severo de Mendonça Rolim de Moura Barreto, then Marquis of Loulé and Count of Vale de Reis (future Duke of Loulé, many times Prime Minister of Portugal). The wedding was celebrated in a private ceremony in the chapel of the Royal Palace of Ajuda and was considered at the time as a scandal. Although Loulé was a descendant of the Royal Family, Ana de Jesus was the first Princess of Portugal since Middle Ages to marry outside royalty, which was considered as a demeanor by the conservative faction. The reasons of this peculiar marriage were probably not political, considering that the first child of the couple was born in December 27 1827, that is, 22 days after the ceremony. With the restoration of absolutism in Portugal the couple exhiled and bean an extended trip through Europe and had several other children. The marriage ended with a de facto separation in 1835.
Despite the scandalous nature of their matrimony, Ana de Jesus and the Duke of Loulé have a place in contemporaneous monarchic discussions in Portugal. After the ban and exile of her brother King Miguel of Portugal, his descendents were banned from the succession line. Nevertheless, the present heir to the throne of Portugal is Duarte Pio, Duke of Bragança, a great-grandson of Miguel. There has been debate on wether or not Duarte Pio has the right of being the presumptive heir to the throne of Portugal and therefor Duke of Bragança due to the exclusion of his line cited above. If this exclusion holds, then the succession falls upon the issue of Ana de Jesus. The head of this line his her great-great-great-grandson Pedro de Moura Barreto, 6th Duke of Loulé.
