House of Braganza great difficulty under the reign of King João II. By the tenure of the third duke, Fernando II, the House of Braganza was undoubtedly one of the greatest noble houses of Portugal and Iberia as a whole. Fernando II continued the House's legacy of acquisition and gained the title of Duke of Guimarães. To the Duke and the House's downfall, however, King João II's reign concerned itself with the royal consolidation of power and the diminishment of the nobility. In his mission to centralize power, the King executed many nobleman of the great houses of Portugal, alongside confiscating their properties
Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza the (Austrian) Order of the Golden Fleece. Duarte Nuno is buried in the Augustinian monastery in Vila Viçosa, the traditional burial place of the Dukes of Braganza. As the head of the House of Braganza, Duarte Nuno held the following positions: Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza "Dom" Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza (23 September 1907 – 24 December 1976) was the claimant to the defunct Portuguese throne, as both the Miguelist successor of his father, Miguel, Duke of Braganza, and later as the head of the only Brigantine house, after the death of the last Legitimist Braganza, King Manuel II