João Manuel, Prince of Portugal

João Manuel
Prince of Portugal
João, Prince of Portugal; Antonis Mor, 1552
Born	(1537-06-03)3 June 1537 Royal Palace of Évora, Évora
Died	2 January 1554(1554-01-02) (aged 16) Ribeira Palace, Lisbon
Burial	Jerónimos Monastery
Spouse	Joanna of Austria
Issue	Sebastian I of Portugal
House	House of Aviz
Father	John III of Portugal
Mother	Catherine of Austria
Religion	Roman Catholicism

João Manuel, Prince of Portugal (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w̃ mɐnuˈɛɫ]) (3 June 1537 – 2 January 1554) was a Portuguese infante (prince), the eighth son of King John III of Portugal by his wife Catherine of Austria, daughter of Philip I of Castile and Joanna of Castile. As the heir to the throne he was styled Prince of Portugal.

Early life

Portrait of Prince João Manuel; Hieronymus Cock, c. 1550-1554.

João Manuel was born on 3 June 1537 in the Royal Palace of Évora and became the heir to the throne of Portugal in 1539. He survived his four older brothers who died in childhood but was a sickly teenager. The successive inter-marriages between the houses of Spain and Portugal are believed to have some responsibility for his ill health. In 1552 he married Princess Joanna of Spain, his first cousin, through both paternal and maternal line, daughter of his paternal aunt Isabella of Portugal and of his maternal uncle, Emperor Charles V.

Death

João Manuel died of what the sources refer to as consumption, which may refer to tuberculosis, on 2 January 1554, but some historians believe his death occurred as a result of diabetes, a disease he may have inherited from his maternal grandfather Philip I. Eighteen days later, a posthumous son was born from his marriage: the future King Sebastian I of Portugal.

Ancestry

Family of João Manuel, Prince of Portugal

16. Edward of Portugal 8. Infante Fernando, Duke of Viseu 17. Eleanor of Aragon 4. Manuel I of Portugal 18. Infante João, Lord of Reguengos 9. Infanta Beatrice of Portugal 19. Isabella of Barcelos 2. John III of Portugal 20. John II of Aragon (=28) 10. Ferdinand II of Aragon (=14) 21. Juana Enríquez (=29) 5. Maria of Aragon 22. John II of Castile (=30) 11. Isabella I of Castile (=15) 23. Isabella of Portugal (=31) 1. João Manuel, Prince of Portugal 24. Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor 12. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor 25. Eleanor of Portugal 6. Philip I of Castile 26. Charles the Bold 13. Mary of Burgundy 27. Isabella of Bourbon 3. Catherine of Spain 28. John II of Aragon (=20) 14. Ferdinand II of Aragon (=10) 29. Juana Enríquez (=21) 7. Joanna of Castile 30. John II of Castile (=22) 15. Isabella I of Castile (=11) 31. Isabella of Portugal (=23)