Died 28 November 1576, Municipality of Évora, Portugal Parents Duarte of Portugal, 4th Duke of Guimarães, Isabel of Braganza, Duchess of Guimarães Grandparents Manuel I of Portugal, Jaime, Duke of Braganza, Maria of Aragon, Queen of Portugal Uncles Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja Cousins João Manuel - Prince of, Philip II of Spain, António - Prior of Crato, Maria Manuela - Princess, Joanna of Austria - Princess Similar Ferdinand of Portugal - Duke of G, Duarte of Portugal - 4th Duke, Cardinal‑Infante Afonso of Portugal, Luís of Portugal - Duke of B, Manuel I of Portugal | ||
The Infante Duarte, 5th Duke of Guimarães (March 1541, in Almeirim – 28 November 1576, in Évora) was a Portuguese infante (prince), son of Duarte of Portugal, 4th Duke of Guimarães and his wife, Isabella of Braganza.
Through his father, he was a grandson of King Manuel I of Portugal; through his mother, he was a grandson of James, 4th Duke of Braganza.
He was born posthumously and he inherited his father’s titles and estates: the Dukedom of Guimarães. He was one of the most influential nobles during the reigns of Kings John III and Sebastian.
As member of the State Council he voted, in 1569, for the marriage of King Sebastian to Margaret of Valois (who later became Henry IV's first wife) and, in 1574, he escorted King Sebastian in his first trip to Tangiers, in north Africa.
In 1557, when King John III died, Duarte was one of the three legitimate surviving male descendants of King Manuel I of Portugal (together with King Sebastian and Cardinal-Infante Henry).
King Sebastian was jealous of this and several times showed disrespect for Duarte's rank. When the King didn’t invite Duarte to a royal bullfight, in Xabregas (Lisbon), Duarte was quite upset and, finally, he retired to Évora where, some months later, he died single and without issue.
Duarte had two sisters, both married to remarkable Renaissance princes:
Once she was married to a Portuguese, Infanta Catherine of Guimarães inherited her brother estates and rights to the Dukedom of Guimarães. During the 1580 Portuguese succession crisis, Catherine and her husband, John I of Braganza, were important claimants to the Portuguese throne.