by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Maria Francisca of Savoy, Queen of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Francisca of Savoy was Queen of Portugal twice, once as the wife of Afonso VI, King of Portugal, and then as the wife of his brother Pedro II, King of Portugal. Born Marie Françoise Élisabeth of Savoy, on June 21, 1646, at the Hôtel de Nemours in Paris, France, she was the second of the five children and the second of the two daughters of Charles Amadeus of Savoy, Duke of Nemours and Élisabeth de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Vendôme. Maria Francisca’s paternal grandparents were Henri of Savoy, Duke of Nemours and Anne of Lorraine, Duchess of Aumale in her own right. Her maternal grandparents were César de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme (the legitimized son of King Henri IV of France and his mistress Gabrielle d’Estrées) and Françoise of Lorraine. Maria Francisca was a first cousin once removed of Louis XIV, King of France.

Maria Francisca had only one surviving sibling. Her three younger brothers all died in infancy.

• Marie Jeanne of Savoy, Mademoiselle de Nemours (1644 – 1724), married Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy, had one son Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia
• Joseph of Savoy (born and died 1649)
• François of Savoy (born and died 1650)
• Charles Amadeus of Savoy (born and died 1651)

Maria Francisca’s father Charles Amadeus of Savoy, Duke of Nemours was a French military leader. On July 30, 1652, Charles Amadeus was killed, aged twenty-eight, in a duel by his brother-in-law François de Vendôme, Duke of Beaufort. The two men disagreed about Charles Amadeus’ mistress Élisabeth-Angélique de Coligny, Duchess of Châtillon (link in French). Maria Francisca was only six years old when her father was killed. Her widowed mother devoted herself to the education of her two daughters, supported by her own mother.

Afonso VI, King of Portugal, Maria Francisca’s first husband; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1666, in Portugal, 23-year-old King Afonso VI sat upon the throne. Debilitated mentally and physically due to the effects of a disease he contracted in childhood, he was controlled by his favorite Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor who had manipulated himself into a position that gave him the power of a prime minister. The Portuguese government was split between a pro-French faction led by Castelo Melhor, and a pro-English faction led by Afonso’s brother Pedro. In 1662, Afonso’s sister Catherine of Braganza married King Charles II of England. Castelo Melhor and King Louis XIV of France saw a French marriage for Afonso as a way to offset his sister’s English marriage with Marie Françoise of Savoy being chosen as the bride.

Marie Françoise of Savoy arrived in Portugal on August 2, 1666. The wedding took place the same day and Marie Françoise became known as Maria Francisca. Problems with the marriage began to occur immediately after the wedding ceremony. Afonso left the wedding celebrations early and showed no interest in consummating the marriage. Maria Francisca was intelligent and wanted to serve the French interests but she also wanted power. She soon discovered Afonso was controlled by Castelo Melhor who had no intention of sharing power. This caused her to cooperate with her brother-in-law Pedro and his pro-English faction and then she began an affair with him. Maria Francisca persuaded her first cousin once removed King Louis XIV of France that supporting Pedro was a better way to further French interests.

Afonso VI’s brother, the future Pedro II, King of Portugal, and Maria Francisca’s second husband; Credit – Wikipedia

Soon Luís de Vasconcelos e Sousa, 3rd Count of Castelo Melhor and his pro-France faction were losing ground to Pedro, Maria Francisca, and their pro-English faction. After a palace coup led by Pedro and Maria Francisca, Afonso VI was forced to dismiss Castelo Melhor who went into exile and was not permitted to return to Portugal until 1685. Pedro assumed the role of Prince Regent in 1668. While Pedro never formally usurped the throne, Afonso was king in name only for the rest of his life. Maria Francisca retired temporarily to a convent and asked the Roman Catholic Church to annul her marriage on the grounds of non-consummation. This was approved by her uncle Louis de Bourbon, Cardinal Vendôme. Maria Francisca and Pedro were married on April 2, 1668, after receiving a papal bull authorizing the marriage.

Maria Francisca and Pedro II’s daughter Isabel Luísa of Braganza, Princess of Beira; Credit – Wikipedia

Pedro II needed heirs but Maria Francisca was able to produce only one daughter Isabel Luísa. She was the heir presumptive to the throne of Portugal, from her birth in 1669 until 1689 when her half-brother, the future João V, King of Portugal, the son of Pedro II’s second wife Maria Sophia of Neuburg, was born. Although Isabel Luísa had several prospective grooms, no marriage materialized. She died from smallpox at the age of twenty-one.

• Isabel Luísa of Braganza, Princess of Beira (1669 – 1690), unmarried

As for Afonso VI, he was exiled to Terceira Island in the Azores. In 1673, a conspiracy to restore Afonso to the throne was discovered and squelched. A decision was made to return Afonso to Lisbon where he could be better monitored. Afonso arrived in Lisbon on September 14, 1674, and was taken to the Palace of Sintra in Lisbon, where he lived for the rest of his life, under guard and shut up in his quarters. On September 12, 1683, 40-year-old Afonso suffered a stroke and died later the same day.

Maria Francisca as the founder of the Convent of the Francesinhas, by António de Oliveira de Louredo, 1703: Credit – Wikipedia

Afonso’s brother succeeded him as Pedro II, King of Portugal, and Maria Francisca was Queen of Portugal for a second time. However, her second time as Queen of Portugal would be short. Maria Francisca was seriously ill with dropsy, now called edema, the build-up of fluid in the body’s tissue. There are many underlying causes of dropsy including heart failure, kidney problems, low protein levels, liver problems, deep vein thrombosis, and infections. On December 27, 1683, 37-year-old Maria Francisca died at Palhavã Palace in Lisbon, Portugal, just three months after the death of her first husband Afonso. Maria Francisca was initially buried in the Convento das Francesinhas (Convent of the Little French Nuns) in Lisbon, Portugal, which she had founded in 1667. In 1912, her remains were transferred to the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon.

The Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza, the burial site for members of the House of Braganza, at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora. The four tombs against the wall on the right under the window are the tombs of (top, left to right) Pedro II and Afonso VI (bottom, left to right) Maria Sophia of Neuburg and Maria Francisca of Savoy; Credit – Por Alegna13 – Obra do próprio, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16664413

Four years after Maria Francisca’s death, Pedro II, King of Portugal married Maria Sophia of Neuburg. The couple had eight children including Pedro II’s successor João V, King of Portugal. Pedro II survived Maria Francisca by twenty-three years, dying on December 9, 1706, at Palhavã Palace in Lisbon, Portugal at the age of fifty-eight.

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Works Cited

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