Henry, King of Portugal

Henry I
King of Portugal and the Algarves
Reign	4 August 1578 – 31 January 1580
Acclamation	28 August 1578; Lisbon
Predecessor	Sebastian
Successor	Philip I
Born	31 January 1512 Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	31 January 1580 (aged 68) Almeirim, Kingdom of Portugal
Burial	Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon
House	House of Aviz
Father	Manuel I of Portugal
Mother	Maria of Aragon
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Henry (Portuguese: Henrique Portuguese pronunciation: [ẽˈʁik(ɨ)]; 31 January 1512 – 31 January 1580) was King of Portugal and the Algarves and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He ruled Portugal between 1578 and 1580, and was known as Henry the Chaste (Portuguese: Henrique o Casto).

Life

Born in Lisbon, Henry was the fifth son of King Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon.

Cardinal

Henry was the younger brother of King John III of Portugal and, as a younger son, he was not expected to succeed to the Portuguese throne. Early in his life, Henry took Holy Orders to promote Portuguese interests within the Catholic Church, then dominated by Spain. He rose fast through the Church hierarchy, becoming in quick succession Archbishop of Braga, Archbishop of Évora and Grand Inquisitor before receiving a Cardinal's hat in 1545,^[1] along with the Titulus Ss. Quattuor Coronatorum. From 1564 to 1570 he was Archbishop of Lisbon. Henry, more than anyone, endeavoured to bring the Jesuits to Portugal and employed them in the colonial empire.

Coat of Arms of King-Cardinal Henry I of Portugal.

Reign

Henry served as regent for his grandnephew, King Sebastian, after 1562, replacing his sister-in-law (and Sebastian's grandmother) the Queen dowager Catherine, and then succeeded him as king after the disastrous Battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578 in which Sebastian died. Henry attempted to renounce his ecclesiastical office and sought to take a bride for the continuation of the Avis dynasty, but Pope Gregory XIII, not wanting to anger Philip II, did not release him from his vows.^[2]

Death and succession

The Cardinal-King died in Almeirim without having appointed a successor, leaving only a Regency to care for the kingdom. One of the closest dynastic claimants was King Philip II of Spain who, in November 1580, sent the Duke of Alba to claim Portugal by force. Lisbon soon fell, and Philip was elected King of Portugal at the Portuguese Cortes of Tomar in 1581—on the condition that the kingdom and its overseas territories would not become Spanish provinces.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Henry, King of Portugal

16. John I of Portugal (= 20)               8. Edward of Portugal                       17. Philippa of Lancaster (= 21)               4. Infante Fernando, Duke of Viseu                             18. Ferdinand I of Aragon (= 24)               9. Eleanor of Aragon                       19. Eleanor of Alburquerque (= 25)               2. Manuel I of Portugal                                   20. John I of Portugal (= 16)               10. Infante João, Lord of Reguengos (= 30)                       21. Philippa of Lancaster (= 17)               5. Infanta Beatriz of Portugal                             22. Afonso, 1st Duke of Braganza               11. Isabella of Barcelos (= 31)                       23. Beatriz Pereira de Alvim               1. Henry I of Portugal                                         24. Ferdinand I of Aragon (= 18)               12. John II of Aragon                       25. Eleanor of Alburquerque (= 19)               6. Ferdinand II of Aragon                             26. Fadrique Enríquez de Mendoza               13. Juana Enríquez                       27. Mariana Fernández de Córdoba y Ayala               3. Maria of Aragon                                   28. Henry III of Castile               14. John II of Castile                       29. Katherine of Lancaster               7. Isabella I of Castile                             30. Infante João, Lord of Reguengos (= 10)               15. Isabella of Portugal                       31. Isabella of Barcelos (= 11)

References

1. Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Enrique de Portugal; Henry's brother Alonso had also been made a Cardinal, in 1517 at the age of eight. (Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Alonso de Portugal).
2. Ruth MacKay, The Baker Who Pretended to Be King of Portugal, (University of Chicago Press, 2012), 44.

See also

• Struggle for the throne of Portugal
• War of the Portuguese Succession
• Descendants of Manuel I of Portugal