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
House of Braganza atop the Portuguese Crown Sceptre, the Sceptre of the Dragon and the Sceptre of the Emperor of Brazil. The wyvern is also sometimes used as a supporter in the coat of arms of both the Brazilian and Portuguese branches of the family. Because of its use in heraldry by the Braganza as the ruling house, and given Pedro IV's link with Porto, a dragon was added to the old coat of arms of the municipality of Porto and is still a part of FC Porto's coat of arms, who are nicknamed "The Dragons". Since the 17th century, the House of