Maria II of Portugal

Dona Maria II (4 April 1819 – 15 November 1853) "the Educator" or "the Good Mother", was Queen of Portugal from 1826 to 1828, and again from 1834 to 1853. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Maria was the first child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina, and thus a member of the House of Braganza. In 1826, following the death of Maria's grandfather John VI of Portugal, Pedro inherited the Portuguese throne but quickly abdicated in favour of the seven-year-old Maria. Pedro's brother Miguel became regent and was to marry Maria when she came of age. Miguel, upon his arrival in Portugal in early 1828, immediately deposed Maria and declared himself king, thus beginning the Liberal Wars over royal succession. During most of the war, Maria pursued her education in Paris, while her father (having abdicated the Brazilian throne in 1831) returned to Europe and led a military expedition in support of Maria's claim. In 1834, Miguel was forced to abdicate and Maria was restored to the throne. She remained a member of the Brazilian imperial family until 1835 when she was excluded from the Brazilian line of succession by law. Maria's second reign was marked by continued political turmoil. In 1836, she married Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was proclaimed King Dom Fernando II a year later in accordance with Portuguese law. She faced a series of difficult pregnancies and ultimately died in childbirth in 1853, at the age of 34. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Dom Pedro V. Early life