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King Manuel II, the
last reigning King of Portugal,
was born on 19 March 1889 and only became King due to
the assassination of his father, Carlos I, and his elder
brother, Crown Prince Luis Felipe.
The
assassination took place as King Carlos I and his family
passed through the Terreiro do Paço (Praça do Comércio)
on their way home to the royal palace in
Lisbon.
Carlos was killed instantly, though Crown Prince Luis
Felipe survived for several days. Manuel was also shot,
in the arm.
Manuel,
who was given the title Duke of
Beja, had not been groomed for kingship
though he tried valiantly to save the Braganca dynasty
by sacking the dictator Jose Franco and his entire
government in 1908.
Unfortunately a military coup ended his short reign as
King in 1910. Manuel fled
Portugal
aboard the royal yacht Amelie IV to British ruled
Gibraltar. He married Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern
in 1913 and resided in Twickenham in the United Kingdom
until his death in 1932.
Manuel
died without an heir though had already recognised a
cousin from a rival branch of the Braganca family -
Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganca, as the legitimate
heir to the Portuguese crown. |
