D. João IV and his daughter Catarina, Queen of England

Shield of Arms of D. João IV

D. João IV (1603-1656) was king of "Portugal and the Algarves" from 1640 to his death. He was born at Vila Viçosa, in the province of Alentejo, and married D. Luísa de Gusmão (1613-1666), eldest daughter of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, in 1633.

By the unanimous voice of the people he was raised to the throne, of which he was held to be the legitimate heir, during the revolution that restored the independence of the kingdom on December 1.st 1640.

In 1642 a treaty was signed between Portugal and England just before the outbreak of the English Civil War, and in 1661 an alliance between both kingdoms was renewed.

In 1646, D. João IV consecrated the nation to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, who became henceforth the Patroness of Portugal. This is the reason why today is a religious holiday.

D. João IV was a patron of music and the arts, and a considerably sophisticated writer on music; in addition to this, he was a composer himself. During his reign he collected one of the largest music libraries in the world, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1755. Among his writings are a Defence of Palestrina, and a Defence of Modern Music.

D. Catarina de Bragança, Rainha de Inglaterra

Catarina Henriqueta de Bragança (1638-1705), his daughter, became the queen consort of Charles II of England. They married on May 3.rd or 21.st 1662, in Portsmouth. Her dowry brought Tangier and Bombay to British control.

She was not a particularly popular choice of queen, being a Roman Catholic, which prevented her ever being crowned, since Roman Catholics were forbidden to take part in Anglican services.

Catarina never gave birth to a live heir, though she had several pregnancies, the last being in 1669. Her position was a difficult one, as Charles continued to have children by his many mistresses, but he insisted that she be treated with respect, and refused to divorce her.

Catarina introduced the custom of drinking tea in England.

Although some have claimed that Queens borough of New York City was named after Catarina de Bragança, her name is not mentioned in the first 200 years of historical documents that have been preserved in the county archives.

Following Charles' death, Catarina remained in England through the reign of James II and returned to Portugal in January 1693, during the joint reign of William III and Mary II. She died in Lisbon in 1705.

RIC (mainly adapted from "History of Portugal", Wikipedia, e.a.)