Peter III of Portugal

Peter III (Portuguese: Pedro III)[1] (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpedɾu tɨɾ.ˈsej.ɾu]) (5 July 1717 – 25 May 1786), nicknamed the Builder, became King of Portugal jure uxoris by the accession of his wife and niece Queen Maria I in 1777, and co-reigned alongside her until his death.[2]

Peter III
Portrait by Vieira Lusitano, c. 1760-70.
King of Portugal
Reign	24 February 1777 – 25 May 1786
Predecessor	Joseph
Successor	Maria I
Co-monarch	Maria I
Born	5 July 1717 Lisbon, Portugal
Died	25 May 1786 (aged 68) Queluz, Portugal
Burial	Pantheon of the Braganzas
Spouse	Maria I of Portugal (m. 1760)
Issue see details...	Joseph, Prince of Brazil John VI Infanta Mariana Victoria
House	Braganza
Father	John V of Portugal
Mother	Maria Anna of Austria
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Early life

Infante Peter while Lord of the Infantado, 1745.

Pedro was born at 12:00 noon on 5 July 1717 in the Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, Portugal.[3] He was baptized on 29 August and was given the name Pedro Clemente Francisco José António.[4] His parents were King João V and his wife Maria Ana of Austria.[3] Pedro was a younger brother of José I of Portugal. Their maternal grandparents were Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg, sister of Queen Maria Sofia of Portugal.

Reign

Pedro married his niece Maria, Princess of Brazil, in 1760, at which time she was the heiress presumptive to the throne then held by his brother José I. According to custom, Pedro thus became king of Portugal in right of his wife. They had six children, of whom the eldest surviving son succeeded Maria as João VI on her death in 1816.

Pedro made no attempt to participate in government affairs, spending his time hunting or in religious exercises.

He also defended the high nobility of Portugal, and sponsored the petitions of those accused in Távora affair, whose rehabilitation was subject of new lawsuits, in which the heirs demanded the restitution of their confiscated properties.

Peter III was moderately friendly toward the Jesuits, who had been banished from Portugal and its overseas empire in 1759, largely at the behest of the Marquis of Pombal. Peter III had taken some of his early education from the Jesuits, explaining this. His affection had little effect; Pope Clement XIV ordered the Jesuits suppressed across Europe in 1773.

Marriage and issue

The couple married on 6 June 1760. At the time of their marriage, Maria was 25 and Pedro was 42. Despite the age gap, the couple had a happy marriage. Peter automatically became co-monarch (as Pedro III of Portugal) when Maria ascended the throne, as a child had already been born from their marriage. The couple had six children and a stillborn baby.

Royal styles of King Pedro III of Portugal
Reference style	His Most Faithful Majesty
Spoken style	Your Most Faithful Majesty
Alternative style	Sire

Effigy of Maria I and Peter III, 1785

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
José, Prince of Brazil	20 August 1761	11 September 1788	José Francisco Xavier de Paula Domingos António Agostinho Anastácio married Infanta Benedita of Portugal and had no issue. His death lead to his younger brother becoming heir-apparent and later king.
João de Bragança	20 October 1762	20 October 1762	João was a still born baby, born at the Ajuda National Palace.
João Francisco de Bragança	16 September 1763	10 October 1763	João Francisco de Paula Domingos António Carlos Cipriano was born at the Ajuda National Palace.
João VI	13 May 1767	10 March 1826	João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael married Carlota Joaquina of Spain and had issue. He was King of Portugal and Emperor of Brazil.
Mariana Victoria de Bragança	15 December 1768	2 November 1788	Maria Ana Vitória Josefa Francisca Xavier de Paula Antonieta Joana Domingas Gabriela married Infante Gabriel of Spain and had issue.
Maria Clementina de Bragança	9 June 1774	27 June 1776	Maria Clementina Francisca Xavier de Paula Ana Josefa Antónia Domingas Feliciana Joana Michaela Julia de Bragança was born at the Queluz National Palace.
Maria Isabel de Bragança	12 December 1776	14 January 1777	Maria Isabel was born at the Queluz National Palace.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Peter III of Portugal[5]

8. John IV of Portugal 4. Peter II of Portugal 9. Luisa de Guzmán 2. John V of Portugal 10. Philip William, Elector Palatine 5. Maria Sophia of Neuburg 11. Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt 1. Peter III of Portugal 12. Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor 6. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor 13. Maria Anna of Austria 3. Maria Anna of Austria 14. Philip William, Elector Palatine (= 10) 7. Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg 15. Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 11)

Notes

1. Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 17 1973 Page 518 "Pedro III (1717-1786), king-consort from 1777, was born in Lisbon on July 5, 1717, the younger son of John V of Portugal. He was married in July 1760 to the daughter of his elder brother, King Joseph I."
2. David Birmingham A Concise History of Portugal 2003 Page 205 "Pedro III 1777-86"
3. Sousa 1741, Vol VIII, p. 369.
4. Sousa 1741, Vol VIII, p. 370.
5. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 13.

References

• Sousa, António Caetano de. História genealógica da Casa Real portuguesa (in Portuguese). VIII. Lisbon: Silviana.