John of Gaunt‘s daughter married one of their kings, Richard III tried to marry the sister of another (whilst Charles II did) and a cardinal succeeded to their throne as the last legitimate domestic heir but wasn’t allowed to resign holy orders and died a year or so later, to be succeeded by the Spanish Habsburgs for six decades. Apart from that, the monarchy of Portugal, England’s oldest ally, was not interrupted, except briefly by Napoleonic forces, from 1139 until 1910, when Manoel II abdicated. So who would be his successor today?
Manoel II died without issue in 1932, his only brother having been assassinated with their father in 1908 and his only sister on the day of her birth. His sole uncle and heir, Afonso, also died childless, in 1920, collapsing the line of Manoel’s grandfather. Portugal has no Salic Law and does not exclude those born to morganatic marriages. This leaves us with the descendants of Miguel I, dethroned as an absolutist in 1834. Duarte Pio, the Duke of Braganza who was born in 1945 and has two sons, is his great-grandson and senior claimant, as shown here by Useful Charts’ latest video presentation.
murreyandblue 