Actuality
Since the Proclamation of the Portuguese Republic, the nobility in Portugal has been disbanded officially by the laws of the Portuguese Constitution.
Duarte Nuno of Braganza, Duke of Braganza and head of the Royal House of Portugal, would eventually create the Portuguese Council of Nobility, an organization that would regulate the nobility of Portugal, during the republic, by studying genealogical trees and noble titles. During this time, no new titles were bestowed.
The main activity of the council was the recreation of old titles with legitimate pretenders.
After Duarte Nuno's death, his son, Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, declared the Council of Nobility disbanded and was criticized by many for it. He eventually created what is now called the Institute of the Portuguese Nobility, which seeks to perpetuate the offices of the initial Council of Nobility.
Read more about this topic: Portuguese Nobility