Maria Sofia of Neuburg

Maria Sofia of Neuburg
Queen consort of Portugal
Tenure	11 August 1687 – 4 August 1699
Spouse	Peter II
Issue
John V Francisco, Duke of Beja António Manuel Francisca
House	Wittelsbach
Father	Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine
Mother	Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Born	6 August 1666(1666-08-06) Germany
Died	4 August 1699(1699-08-04) (aged 32) Lisbon
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Countess Palatine Maria Sophia Elisabeth of Neuburg (6 August 1666 – 4 August 1699) was Queen of Portugal as the second wife of Peter II from 1687 until her death in 1699. She was the eleventh child of Philip William, Elector Palatine, and Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Family

As a daughter of Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, and Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, she was born into a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. She had sixteen brothers and sisters, amongst whom were:

• Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine;
• Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine;
• Eleonore Magdalena, wife of Kaiser Leopold I;
• Queen Maria Anna, wife of Charles II of Spain.

Queen of Portugal

In 1687 she married the widowed king Peter II of Portugal, four years after the death of his first wife, Maria Francisca of Savoy, and became thus queen consort of Portugal without any right on regency. Supposedly Louis XIV was "greatly chagrined" by Peter's decision to marry a daughter of the Elector Palatine and not another French princess, as he had hoped.^[1]

They had seven children:

• John (1688-1688), Prince of Brazil; died young
• John (1689–1750), King of Portugal (as John V)
• Francis (1691–1742), Duke of Beja
• Anthony (1695–1757)
• Teresa (1696–1704), died young
• Manuel (1697–1736), Count of Ourém
• Francisca (1699–1736)

Maria Sofia was described as gentle and Peter reportedly treated her with respect. While she clashed with her widowed sister-in-law Catherine of Braganza on matters of etiquette, Maria Sofia became friends with her stepdaughter Infanta Isabel Luísa, who would have married a Neuburg prince had she not died in 1690, aged 22.^[2]

Queen Maria Sofia was involved in charities supporting widows and orphans, and allowed poor patients access to medical care at the royal palace. She had a very intimate friendship with Bartolomeu do Quental, who died with the reputation of a saint. In Beja, she financed the foundation of a Franciscan school.

She died in Lisbon of fever, possibly a symptom of erysipelas, on 4 August 1699, two days before her thirty-third birthday.

Ancestry

References

1. ^ Stephens, 336
2. ^ Thomson, 17

Sources

• This page is a translation of its Portuguese equivalent.
• Stephens, Henry Morse. Portugal. Putnam, 1903. The Story of the Nations. Google Books. Web. 27 May 2010. <http://books.google.com/books?id=uAQqAAAAYAAJ>.
• Thomson, Mark Alméras., Ragnhild Marie Hatton, and J. S. Bromley. William III and Louis XIV: Essays 1680-1720. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1968. Google Books. Web.

Portuguese royalty
Preceded by Maria Francisca of Nemours	Queen consort of Portugal 1687–1699	Succeeded by Mary Anne of Austria

Persondata
Name	Palatinate, Maria Sofia Of The
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	6 August 1666
Place of birth	Germany
Date of death	4 August 1699
Place of death	Lisbon