Duchy of Braganza Duchy of Braganza The Duchy of Braganza (Portuguese: Ducado de Bragança) has been the fief of an important Portuguese noble family: the House of Braganza, and is one of the most important Dukedoms of Portugal. Created in 1442 by King Afonso V of Portugal for his uncle Afonso, Count of Barcelos (natural son of John I of Portugal), it is one of the oldest fiefdoms in Portugal. After the accession of the House of Braganza to the Portuguese throne in 1640, following the House of Habsburg, the heir to the throne of Portugal was styled as the Duke of Braganza
Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza "Dom" Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (Duarte Pio João Miguel Gabriel Rafael; born 15 May 1945) is a claimant to the defunct Portuguese throne, as the head of the House of Braganza. The Miguelist Braganzas, to whom Duarte Pio belongs as great-grandson of King Miguel I, is a cadet branch of the House of Braganza. With the extinction of male-line dynasts descended from Queen Maria II in 1932, King Miguel's descendants became the only male-line Braganzas left and the closest male-line heirs to the Portuguese throne (the Brazilian branch having gone extinct in 1921). Duarte