by Emily McMahon © Unofficial Royalty 2013
Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg; Credit – Wikipedia
Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg was the wife of deposed King Miguel I of Portugal. She was born April 3, 1831, in Kleinheubach, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany, to Hereditary Prince Constantine of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg and Princess Agnes of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. She had one younger sibling:
- Charles, 6th Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1834 – 1921) – married Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein, had issue
Following the deaths of both of her parents by the time she was seven years old, Adelaide and her brother were raised by their paternal grandparents, Karl Thomas, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, and Princess Sophie of Windisch-Graetz.
Wedding of Adelaide and Miguel, watercolor by William Peoples. source: Wikipedia
On September 24, 1851, at Schloss Löwenstein in Kleinheubach, 20-year-old Adelaide married 49-year-old Miguel, who had been deposed as King of Portugal in 1834. The couple met in the Grand Duchy of Baden where Miguel lived in exile. Following the wedding, the couple lived in Bronnbach, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, at Schloss Bronnbach, a former monastery owned by the Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg family.
They had seven children:
- Infanta Maria das Neves (1852 – 1941), married Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime, Carlist claimant to the throne of Spain, no issue
- Infante Miguel, Duke of Braganza (1853 – 1927) married (1) Princess Elisabeth of Thurn and Taxis, three children; (2) Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, eight children
- Infanta Maria Theresa (1855 – 1944), third wife of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, two daughters
- Infanta Maria Josepha (1857 – 1943), second wife of Karl Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, five children
- Infanta Adelgundes (1858 – 1946), married Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, no issue
- Infanta Maria Ana (1861 – 1942), married Guillaume, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, had six daughters
- Infanta Maria Antónia (1862 – 1959), the second wife of Robert I, Duke of Parma, had twelve children
Adelaide with her husband and two eldest children. source: Wikipedia
Miguel died on November 14, 1866, leaving Adelaide a widow with seven young children. She spent the next several decades arranging prominent marriages for her children. Because of these marriages, Adelaide is the ancestor of the current royal families of Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and the former royal families of Austria, Bavaria, Portugal, and Romania.
Adelaide as a nun; Credit – Wikipedia
In 1895, Adelaide retired to the Abbey of Sainte-Cécile in Solesmes, France and two years later, on June 12, 1897, she professed as a nun. The cloister later moved to the Isle of Wight in England, first in Cowes and then settling at what is now Saint Cecilia’s Abbey in Ryde. It was there, on December 16, 1909, that Adelaide died at the age of 78. Initially buried at the Abbey, in 1967, her remains along with those of her husband were moved to the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, in Lisbon, Portugal.
Portugal Resources at Unofficial Royalty
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