by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Maria Sophia of Neuburg, Queen of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Sophia Elisabeth of Neuburg, the second wife of Pedro II, King of Portugal, was born on August 6, 1666, at Schloss Benrath in Düsseldorf, Duchy of Berg, now in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. She was the eleventh of the seventeen children and the fourth of the eight daughters of Philipp Wilhelm, Elector of the Palatinate, Count Palatine of Neuburg, Duke of Jülich and Berg and his second wife Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. Maria Sophie’s paternal grandparents were Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg, Duke of Jülich and Berg and Magdalene of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Georg II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Sophia Eleonore of Saxony.

Maria Sophia had sixteen siblings:

• Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg (1655 – 1720), married Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, had ten children
• Maria Adelheid Anna of Neuburg (born and died 1656), died in infancy
• Sophie Elisabeth of Neuburg (1657 – 1658), died in infancy
• Johann Wilhelm, Elector of the Palatinate (1658 – 1716), married (1) Maria Anna Josepha of Austria, two sons who died in infancy (2) Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, no children
• Wolfgang Georg Friedrich of Neuburg, Auxiliary Bishop of Cologne (1659 – 1683)
• Ludwig Anton of Neuburg, Prince-Bishop of Worms (1660 – 1694)
• Karl Philipp, Elector of the Palatinate (1661 – 1742), married (1) Luise Charlotte Radziwill, had three children (2) Princess Theresa Katharina Lubomirska, had two daughters who died in early childhood (3) Countess Violante Maria Theresa von Thurn und Taxis, no children
• Alexander Sigismund of Neuburg, Prince-Bishop of Augsburg (1663 – 1737)
• Franz Ludwig of Neuburg, Archbishop of Trier and Mainz (1664 – 1732)
• Friedrich Wilhelm of Neuburg (1665 – 1689), unmarried, died in battle
• Maria Anna Adelheid of Neuburg (1667 – 1740), married Carlos II, King of Spain, no children
• Philipp Wilhelm August of Neuburg (1668 – 1693), married Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg, had two children
• Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg (1670 – 1748), married (1) Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma, had one son who died in infancy (2) Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma (half-brother of Odoardo), had a son who died in infancy and a daughter Elisabeth who married Felipe V, King of Spain
• Hedwig Elisabeth Amalia of Neuburg (1673 – 1722), married Jakub Ludwik Henryk Sobieski, Prince of Poland, had seven children
• Johann of Neuburg (born and died 1675), died shortly after birth
• Leopoldine Eleonore of Neuburg (1679 – 1693), betrothed to Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria but died before the marriage

Maria Sophia’s mother had 23 pregnancies and 17 live births and the family gained the reputation as a fertile family. In 1676, Maria Sophia’s eldest sister Eleanore Magdalene married Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor due to the fertility of her family and the lack of male heirs from Leopold I’s two marriages. Eleanore Magdalene fulfilled her role and gave birth to ten children including Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI, and Maria Anna who married Maria Sophia’s son João V, King of Portugal.

Portugal had a succession crisis. Isabel Luísa of Braganza, Princess of Beira, the only child and heir presumptive of Pedro II, King of Portugal, was not married. Because of her sickly nature and the Law of the Cortes of Lamego that prevented the marriage of an heiress to a foreign prince, all marriage possibilities failed. 39-year-old Pedro knew he had to marry again to provide for the succession. 21-year-old Marie Sophia was chosen as Pedro’s second wife because of her family’s reputation for producing fertile women.

Pedro II, King of Portugal, Maria Sophia’s husband; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Sophia and Pedro II, King of Portugal were married by proxy on July 2, 1687, in the chapel of her home Heidelberg Castle in Heidelberg, Electorate of the Palatinate, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. At the beginning of August 1687, Maria Sophia left her home, sailing up the Rhine River on her way to Portugal. As she sailed along the Rhine River, Maria Sophia received tributes from the governors and magistrates of the cities and fortresses on both banks of the river, as well as princes and the governments of the surrounding lands. When she reached the mouth of the Rhine River at the North Sea, Maria Sophia embarked on an English ship provided by King James II of England, the brother-in-law of Catherine of Braganza, widow of King Charles II of England and the sister of Maria Sophia’s future husband. The ship was escorted by a flotilla of English ships commanded by Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton, Vice-Admiral of the Narrow Seas an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England.

Maria Sophia arrived in Lisbon, Portugal on August 12, 1687, and was greeted by warships decorated with flags, salvos from castles and fortresses, and church bells. Pedro II came aboard with his entourage and greeted his bride. As they left the ship, they were greeted with salvos from the Portuguese and English fleets. Maria Sophia and Pedro II proceeded to Ribeira Palace where they were married by Luís de Sousa, Archbishop of Lisbon and Royal Chaplain.

Maria Sophia’s and Pedro II’s eldest son João V, King of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

Pedro II and Maria Sophia had eight children so Maria Sophia did her duty by providing heirs. However, only their eldest surviving child João V, King of Portugal married and had children although some of their sons had illegitimate children. Isabel Luísa, Pedro’s daughter by his first wife Maria Francisca of Savoy, was almost the same age as her stepmother and was very fond of her. She remained the heir presumptive to the throne of Portugal until 1689 when her half-brother, the future João V, King of Portugal was born. Sadly, a year later, Isabel Luísa died from smallpox at the age of twenty-one.

Maria Sophia and Pedro’s children:

• Infante João, Prince of Brazil (born and died 1688), died in infancy
• João V, King of Portugal (1689 – 1750), married Maria Anna of Austria, had six children
• Infante Francisco of Portugal, Duke of Beja (1691 – 1742), unmarried
• Infanta Francisca Xaviera of Portugal (born and died 1694), died in infancy
• Infante António of Portugal (1695 – 1757), unmarried
• Infanta Teresa Maria of Portugal (1696 – 1704), died in childhood
• Infante Manuel of Portugal, Count of Ourém (1697 – 1766), unmarried
• Infanta Francisca Josefa of Portugal (1699 – 1736), unmarried

Maria Sophia was a popular queen and was involved with charities that supported widows and orphans. She allowed poor, sick people access to medical care at the royal palace. Maria Sophia had a great affection for Father Bartolomeu de Quental, (link in German) the chaplain of the royal chapel, and the confessor of the royal family, who had the reputation of a saint. After 1693, when her sister-in-law Catherine of Braganza, the widow of King Charles II of England, moved back to Portugal, Maria Sophia and Catherine had disagreements over court etiquette and precedence, serious topics in the 17th century.

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

On August 4, 1699, two days before her thirty-third birthday, Maria Sophia died at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal from erysipelas, a bacterial infection of the skin that can spread to other areas of the body through the bloodstream. She was buried in the habit of a Franciscan nun at the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon. Her husband Pedro II survived her by seven years. On December 5, 1706, he had a seizure that resulted in a stroke, and died on December 9, 1706, aged 58, at Palhavã Palace in Lisbon, Portugal. He was succeeded by his 17-year-old son João V, King of Portugal.

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Works Cited

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• Louda, Jiri and Maclagan, Michael, 2002. Lines of Succession. London: Little, Brown.
• Pt.wikipedia.org. 2022. Maria Sofia Isabel de Neuburgo – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. [online] Available at: <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sofia_Isabel_de_Neuburgo> [Accessed 29 May 2022].
• Pt.wikipedia.org. 2022. Pedro II de Portugal – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. [online] Available at: <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_II_de_Portugal> [Accessed 28 May 2022].