Infante Francisco, Duke of Beja

Infante Francisco
Duke of Beja
Portrait of Infante Francisco, Duke of Beja; Domenico Duprà, 1729-1730.
Born	(1691-05-25)25 May 1691 Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	Óbidos, Kingdom of Portugal
Burial	Royal Pantheon of the Braganza Dynasty
Issue	Pedro of Braganza João da Bemposta
Full name Francisco Xavier José António Bento Urbano
House	House of Braganza
Father	Pedro II of Portugal
Mother	Maria Sofia of the Palatinate
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Infante Francisco, Duke of Beja (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɾɐ̃ˈsiʃku]), (Lisbon, 25 May 1691 - Lisbon, 21 July 1742) was a Portuguese infante (prince) son of Peter II, King of Portugal, and his second wife, Maria Sofia of the Palatinate.

Early Life

Infante Francisco; Jean Ranc, 1729.

Francisco Xavier José António Bento Urbano was born on 25 May 1691 in Lisbon. He was given the Duchy of Beja and was made Grand-Prior of Crato and Lord of the Infantado. Plans for him to marry Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria sister of Queen Maria Anna failed in the early stages.

Career

Responding to a request by Pope Clement XI to aid in the fight against the Turks, in 1716, King John V of Portugal (Infante Francisco's brother) sent an armada of Portuguese ships to aid Venice and Austria in their fights against the Turks, led by the Duke of Beja, and Lopo Furtado de Mendonça, Count of Rio Grande.

Affairs and issue

He died unmarried and without legitimate issue (in spite of two illegitimate children from Mariana da Silveira) on 21 July 1742 at the Quinta das Gaeiras in Óbidos. He is buried at the Royal Pantheon of the Braganza Dynasty in Lisbon.

He had two natural children with Mariana Silveira, a nun, who died during the 1755 Lisbon earthquake:

• Pedro of Braganza (¿? - 1741)
• João da Bemposta (1725-1780) Captain General of the Portuguese Navy and Chief Steward of the Royal Household. Married Maria Margarida de Lorena, 2nd Duchess of Abrantes.

Ancestry

Family of Infante Francisco, Duke of Beja

16. John I, 6th Duke of Braganza               8. Teodósio II, 7th Duke of Braganza                       17. Infanta Catarina of Guimarães               4. John IV of Portugal                             18. Juan Fernández de Velasco, 5th Duke of Frías               9. Ana de Velasco y Girón                       19. Maria Tellez-Giron               2. Peter II of Portugal                                   20. Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia               10. Juan Manuel Pérez de Guzmán, 8th Duke of Medina Sidonia                       21. Ana de Sylva y Mendoza               5. Luisa de Guzmán                             22. Francisco Gómez de Sandoval, 1st Duke of Lerma               11. Juana Lorenza Gómez de Sandoval y la Cerda                       23. Catalina de la Cerda               1. Infante Francis, 7th Duke of Beja                                         24. Philip Louis, Count Palatine of Neuburg               12. Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg                       25. Anna of Cleves               6. Philip William, Elector Palatine                             26. William V, Duke of Bavaria               13. Duchess Magdalene of Bavaria                       27. Duchess Renata of Lorraine               3. Maria Sofia of the Palatinate-Neuburg                                   28. Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt               14. George II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt                       29. Margravine Magdalena of Brandenburg               7. Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt                             30. John George I, Elector of Saxony               15. Princess Sophia Eleonore of Saxony                       31. Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia