Catherine of Braganza

Catherine of Braganza (Catarina de Bragança, in Portuguese) (25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was a Portuguese Infanta and the queen consort of Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Infanta Catarina of Portugal (or of Braganza) was born in Vila Viçosa as the second surviving daughter of John IV of Portugal (at the time Duke of Braganza) and his wife, Luisa de Guzmán, a daughter of the duke of Medina-Sidonia. Through her mother, Catheri... more

Catherine of Braganza (Catarina de Bragança, in Portuguese) (25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was a Portuguese Infanta and the queen consort of Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Infanta Catarina of Portugal (or of Braganza) was born in Vila Viçosa as the second surviving daughter of John IV of Portugal (at the time Duke of Braganza) and his wife, Luisa de Guzmán, a daughter of the duke of Medina-Sidonia. Through her mother, Catherine was a 3rd great granddaughter of Saint Francis Borgia. Although she was raised in a convent, Catherine's upbringing and education were closely supervised by her mother. Following the restoration of a Portuguese Royal House, and her father's accession to the throne on 1 December 1640, she was proposed as a bride for John of Austria, Francois de Vendome, duc de Beaufort, Louis XIV and Charles II. She was seen as a useful conduit for contracting an alliance between Portugal and England, after the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 in which... less