Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg

Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (3 April, 1831, Kleinheubach, near Miltenberg - 16 December, 1909, Ryde, Isle of Wight) was the wife of Miguel of Portugal but only following his deposition. As a widow, Adelaide secured advantageous marriages for their six daughters.

Family

She was a daughter of Constantine of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1802 - 1838) and Marie Agness Henriette of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Her paternal grandparents were Karl Thomas, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1783 - 1849) and his wife Sophie of Windisch-Graetz. Her maternal grandparents were Charles Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Amalia, Countess of Solms-Baruth.

Karl Thomas was the eldest son of Dominic Constantine, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1762 - 1814) and his first wife Marie Leopoldine of Hohenlohe-Bartenstein. His father had inherited the title "Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort" in 1780 but modified it to "Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg" in 1789.

Dominic Constantine was the eldest son of Theodore Alexander, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1722 - 1780) and his wife Katharine Luise Elenore, Countess of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg.

Theodore Alexander was a son of Dominic Marquard, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1690 - 1735) and his wife Christina of Hesse-Wanfried. Christina was a daughter of Karl, Landgrave of Hesse-Wanfried. Karl was the secondson of Ernest, Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels.

Dominic Marquard was a son of Maximilian Karl Albert, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1656 - 1718) and his wife Polyxena Maria, Countess Lichtenberg and Belasi. His father had served as governor of Milan, representing Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor until his own death.

Maximilian was a son of Ferdinand Karl, Count of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1616 - 1672) and his wife Anna Maria, Countess of Fürstenberg.

Ferdinand Karl was a son of Johann Dietrich, Count of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (1585 - 1644) and his first wife Josina of the Marck.

Johann Dietrich was a younger son of Louis III, Count of Löwenstein-Wertheim (1530 - 1611) and his wife Anna, Countess of Stolberg. His father had served as governor of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, representing rulers of the House of Habsburg.

Louis was a younger son of Frederick I, Count of Löwenstein (1502 - 1541) and his wife Helene of Königsegg.

Frederick was a son of Louis I, Count of Löwenstein and his first wife Elisabeth of Montfort.

Louis was a son of Frederick I, Count Palatine of the Rhine and his morganatic wife Klara Tott. Children from this marriage had no right to the throne of the Palatinate but represented a secondary line of the Wittelsbach

Marriage

On 24 September, 1851, Adelaide married Miguel of Portugal. The bride was twenty years old while the groom was almost forty-nine .

Miguel had at first served as Regent in Portugal for his niece and betrothed Mary II of Portugal but had taken the throne for himself on 23 June, 1828. He was an avid conservative and admirer of Klemens Wenzel von Metternich. He had invalidated the Constitution of Portugal and tried to rule according to the concept of absolute monarchy. This resulted in the so-called Liberal Wars (1828 - 1834), actually a prolonged civil war between progressive constitutionalists and authoritarian absolutists.

The war had ended with the deposition of Miguel who renounced all claims to the throne of Portugal in exchange for an annual pension. He was forced into a lifelong exile. While he remained the senior male member of the Portuguese line of the House of Braganza, his rights of succession were never restored. On 15 January, 1837, his support of Infante Carlos, Count of Molina, the first Carlist pretender to the Spanish throne, resulted in the removal of his own rights to said throne.

While Adelaide married into royalty, her husband being a controversial figure for the entire Iberian Peninsula and a symbol of absolute monarchy and conservatism seemingly left little prospects for any of his descendants.

Children

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Maria das Neves	August 5 1852	February 15 1941	Married Alfonso Carlos, Duke of San Jaime, Infante of Spain. Pretender to the Spanish Throne (See: Carlism)
Miguel	September 19 1853	October 11 1927	Duke of Braganza. Grandfather of the present day throne claimant Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza.
Maria Teresa	August 24 1855	February 12 1944	Married Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria as his third wife.
Maria José	March 19 1857	March 11 1943	Married Duke Carl Theodor in Bavaria (brother of Empress Elisabeth of Austria) as his second wife.
Aldegundes, Duchess of Guimaraes	November 10 1858	April 15 1946	Married Enrico of Parma, Count di Bardi, son of Charles III of Parma.
Maria Ana	July 13 1861	July 31 1942	Married Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
Maria Antónia	November 28 1862	May 14 1959	Married Robert I, Duke of Parma as his second wife.

Match-maker

Her husband died on 14 November, 1866 while none of their children had reached adulthood. Adelaide would spend the next several decades attempting to secure prominent marriages for her children.

As a result of her largely successful attempts, her grandchildren would include (among others) Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, Elisabeth of Bavaria, Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Antoinette, Crown Princess of Bavaria, Xavier, Duke of Parma, Zita of Bourbon-Parma and Felix of Bourbon-Parma.

External links

Sources

"The Book of Kings: A Royal Genealogy" by C. Arnold McNaughton.
"Burke's Royal Families of the World", edited by Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd.