Peter III (Portugal)

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Peter III (Portuguese Dom Pedro Clemente Francisco José António de Bragança ) (* July 5, 1717 - May 25, 1786 ) was King of Portugal from the House of Braganza .

Life

King Peter III of Portugal (together with Queen Maria)

Peter III was the fourth son of John V of Portugal and his wife Maria Anna of Austria . As a younger son, he was not actually destined for succession to the throne, and so after the death of his father in 1750, his older brother Joseph I first ascended the Portuguese throne.

Joseph I, however, had no male heir. The king was therefore faced with the choice of either enabling the female succession to the throne in favor of his daughter Maria , or appointing his younger brother, Peter, as the next in the male succession. The dilemma was resolved when Peter married his niece Maria in 1760. After Joseph's death in 1777, they both ascended the Portuguese throne together. Peter left the rule largely to his wife, who reversed a series of anti-clerical reforms that had been carried out by his first minister, the Margrave of Pombal , during the reign of Joseph I.

family

The coat of arms of the Portuguese kings from John II to Manuel II.

From his marriage to Maria he had the following children:

predecessor Office successor
Joseph I. King of Portugal
1777–1786
Maria I.