Catherine of Braganza - Early Life and Family

Early Life and Family

Infanta Catarina of Portugal (or of Braganza) was born in Vila Viçosa as the second surviving daughter of the future King John IV of Portugal (at the time Duke of Braganza) and his wife, Luiza de Guzmán, a daughter of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. Through her mother, Catherine was a 3rd great granddaughter of Saint Francis Borgia.

Following the restoration of the Portuguese Royal House, and her father's accession to the throne on 1 December 1640, she was proposed as a bride for John of Austria, François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort, Louis XIV and Charles II, She was seen as a useful conduit for contracting an alliance between Portugal and England, after the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 in which Portugal was arguably abandoned by France. Despite her country's ongoing struggle with Spain, Catherine enjoyed a happy, contented childhood in her beloved Lisbon. Commonly regarded as the power behind the throne, Queen Luiza was also a devoted mother who took an active interest in her children's upbringing and personally supervised her daughter's education. Catherine is believed to have spent most of her youth in a convent close by the royal palace where she remained under the watchful eye of her protective mother. It appears to have been a very sheltered upbringing, with one contemporary remarking that Catherine, 'was bred hugely retired' and 'hath hardly been ten times out of the palace in her life.' Catherine's older sister, Joana, Princess of Beira, died in 1653, leaving Catherine as the eldest surviving child of her parents. Her marriage partner was chosen by Luiza, who acted as regent of her country following her husband's death in 1656.