This is a list of the dukedoms created in the Kingdom of Portugal.
History
The title of Duke occupies the summit of the Portuguese nobiliary hierarchy. In the majority of instances it was conferred upon close relatives of the royal family, and above all upon the second-born sons of the monarchs.
The earliest Portuguese dukedoms were those of Coimbra and Viseu, both created in 1415 by John I for the infantes Pedro and Henrique. There followed that of Braganza, created in 1442, during the regency of the Infante D. Pedro in the name of Afonso V, in favour of Afonso, son of John I and 8th Count of Barcelos.
The influence of the English court weighed upon this practice, it being customary there to create a dukedom for a member of the royal family other than the heir apparent to the crown. Queen Philippa of Lancaster, mother of the first three Portuguese dukes, contributed to its diffusion in Portugal.
From the 19th century onwards, following the establishment of the liberal régime, the title of Duke, like other titles of nobility, came to be employed as a reward for eminent services rendered to the nation. A notable instance is that of António José de Ávila who, possessing no tie of blood to the Royal House, received the title of Duke of Ávila and Bolama for having secured for Portugal the possession of Bolama, in what was then Portuguese Guinea, disputed by the United Kingdom, through the mediation of the American president Ulysses S. Grant.
Classes The Portuguese titles of Duke are divided into the following types, ranked within the nobiliary hierarchy as follows: No.PrecedenceTypeTransmissionDescriptionExamples1stDukedoms of the Royal HouseRoyal hereditaryHereditaryConferred upon the heir presumptive to the crown, who upon his accession to the throne transmits it to his own heir. It comprises the Dukedom of Braganza alone.BraganzaRoyal courtesyNon-hereditaryGranted occasionally to members of the Royal Family.Coimbra, Viseu, Beja, Porto2ndDukedoms with Honours of KinshipWith Honours of KinshipAccording to the underlying titleA distinction added to titles held de juro e herdade or for life, conferring upon the holder the treatment due to a relative of the royal family and precedence over the remaining dukedoms not belonging to the Royal House.Cadaval, Terceira, Saldanha3rdDukedoms de juro e herdadeDe juro e herdadeHereditaryTitles of noble families, transmissible to the heirs of the holder.Aveiro, Lafões, Palmela, Loulé4thDukedoms for lifeFor lifeNon-hereditaryConferred as a reward or an homage upon a distinguished personage, and not passing automatically to his heirs.Ávila and Bolama, Elvas5thCourtesy dukesCourtesyNon-hereditaryConferred by virtue of the exercise of the office of camareira-mor (chief lady-in-waiting to the Queen), and not passing automatically to the holder's heirs.Abrantes, Tancos, Ficalho In all, twenty-nine ducal titles were created in Portugal.
Dukedoms Dukes of the Royal House ArmsTitleCreationFirst HolderNaturePresent claimant under the RepublicRef.King John I (1385–1433)Duke of Coimbra1415(1st dukedom granted in Portugal)Pedro, Infante of PortugalRoyal courtesyMaria Francisca Isabel of BraganzaDuke of Viseu1415(1st dukedom in Portugal)Henrique, Infante of PortugalRoyal courtesyMiguel of BraganzaRegency of the Infante Pedro in the name of King Afonso V (1439–1448)Duke of Braganza1442Afonso, 8th Count of Barcelos and 2nd Count of NeivaRoyal hereditaryDuarte Pio of BraganzaKing Afonso V (1448–1481)Duke of Beja1453Fernando, Infante of PortugalRoyal courtesyNo claimant(from Peter IV onwards it came to be reserved for a younger son of the monarch, in principle the third, yielding second place to the Duke of Porto)Duke of Guimarães1475Fernando II, 3rd Duke of Braganza and 1st Count of GuimarãesRoyal courtesyAfonso of BraganzaKing John III (1521–1557)Duke of Guarda5 October 1530Fernando, Infante of Portugal and Lord of TrancosoRoyal courtesyExtinctDuke of Trancoso5 October 1530Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Guarda and Lord of AbrantesRoyal courtesyExtinctKing Sebastian (1557–1578)Duke of Barcelos5 August 1562João I, 13th Count of Barcelos and heir to the Dukedom of Braganza, being subsequently 6th Duke of BraganzaRoyal courtesyAfonso of BraganzaRegent King Peter IV in the name of Queen Maria II (1832–1834)Duke of Porto1833Maria IIRoyal courtesyDinis of Braganza
Dukes with Honours of Kinship The dukedoms which follow enjoyed Honours of Kinship, occupying within the nobiliary hierarchy the position immediately below the dukedoms of the Royal House. The nature of each title appears in the respective column.
ArmsTitleCreationFirst HolderNaturePresent claimant under the RepublicRef.King John IV (1640–1656)Duke of Cadaval26 April 1648Nuno Álvares Pereira de Melo, 4th Marquess of Ferreira and 5th Count of TentúgalFor life(renewed)Diana Álvares Pereira de MeloRegent King Peter IV in the name of Queen Maria II (1832–1834)Duke of Terceira8 November 1832António José Severim de Noronha, 1st Marquess and 7th Count of Vila FlorJuro e herdadeLourenço Manoel de Vilhena de FreitasQueen Maria II (1834–1853)Duke of Saldanha4 November 1846João Carlos de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, 1st Count and Marquess of SaldanhaJuro e herdadeJosé Augusto de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun
Dukes de juro e herdade ArmsTitleCreationFirst HolderPresent claimant under the RepublicRef.King John III (1521–1557)Duke of Aveiro1535João de Lencastre, 1st Marquess of Torres NovasExtinctKing Philip III (1621–1640)Duke of Linhares1621Fernando de Noronha, 5th Count of LinharesExtinctKing John V (1706–1750)Duke of Lafões17 February 1718Pedro Henrique de Bragança, 3rd Marquess of Arronches and 7th Count of Miranda do CorvoMiguel Bernardo de BragançaRegency of Prince John in the name of Queen Maria I (1792–1816)Duke of Victoria18 December 1812Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonArthur Charles WellesleyQueen Maria II (1834–1853)Duke of Palmela10 October 1850Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Count and Marquess of Palmela and 1st Duke of FaialPedro de Sousa e Holstein BeckDuke of Loulé3 October 1852Nuno José de Mendonça, 2nd Marquess of Loulé and 9th Count of Vale dos ReisPedro José Folque de Mendonça
Dukes for life ArmsTitleCreationFirst HolderPresent claimant under the RepublicRef.King Philip I (1581–1598)Duke of Vila Real28 February 1585Manuel de Menezes, 5th Marquess of Vila RealExtinctKing Philip II (1598–1621)Duke of Torres Novas26 September 1619Jorge de Lencastre, 3rd Marquess of Torres Novas and heir to the Dukedom of Aveiro (having died before he could inherit it)ExtinctDuke of Caminha14 December 1620Miguel Luís de Menezes, 6th Marquess of Vila RealExtinctRegency of Prince John in the name of Queen Maria I (1792–1816)Duke of Miranda do Corvo13 May 1796José de Bragança e Ligne de Sousa, heir to the Dukedom of Lafões (having died before he could inherit it)Miguel Bernardo de BragançaDuke of Elvas(attribution disputed; no instrument of grant is known)1817(date disputed; already referred to as duke in 1814)William Carr Beresford, 1st Marquess of Campo Maior and 1st Count of TrancosoExtinct (1854)Regent King Peter IV in the name of Queen Maria II (1832–1834)Duke of Faial4 April 1833Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Count and Marquess of Palmela and subsequently 1st Duke of PalmelaExtinct(replaced, at the holder's request, by the Dukedom of Palmela)King Luís I (1861–1889)Duke of Ávila and Bolama14 May 1878António José de Ávila, 1st Count and Marquess of ÁvilaExtinctDuke of Albuquerque19 May 1886João Afonso da Costa de Sousa de Macedo, 2nd Count and 4th Viscount of MesquitelaExtinct
Courtesy dukes ArmsTitleCreationFirst HolderPresent claimant under the RepublicRef.King Joseph I (1750–1777)Duke of Abrantes9 December 1753Ana Maria Catarina de Lorena, 3rd Marchioness of AbrantesExtinctQueen Maria I (1777–1792)Duke of Tancos22 April 1790Constança Manuel, 2nd Marchioness of Tancos and 7th Countess of AtalaiaExtinctQueen Maria II (1834–1853)Duke of Ficalho4 May 1836Eugénia Maurícia de Almeida Portugal, 1st Marchioness of Ficalho (widow of the 2nd Count of Ficalho)Extinct
See also Portuguese Royal House Portuguese nobility List of marquisates in Portugal List of countships in Portugal List of viscountcies in Portugal List of baronies in Portugal
Notes
References