Mariana Victoria of Spain - Engagement To Joseph I

Engagement To Joseph I

Her arrival in Spain was taken as a great insult and caused a diplomatic rift between Spain and France. The offended Spanish soon after concluded a treaty with Austria in the form of the 1725 Treaty of Vienna, whilst England sought support from France. Having remained unmarried, she was still eligible to inherit the throne but was displaced by her younger brother Infante Philip who was born in 1720. Discussions with the Kingdom of Portugal began in 1727 and a marriage was negotiated by the Portuguese ambassador the Marquis of Abrantes. She was a rumoured bride for Emperor Peter II of Russia, grandson of Peter the Great. Another double marriage was planned. Mariana Victoria would marry the Infante José, "Prince of Brazil", son and heir of João V of Portugal. Her older half brother Ferdinand, "Prince of Asturias" would marry José's sister the Infanta Bárbara. Mariana Victoria married the Prince of Brazil (traditional title for the Portuguese heir to the throne) on 19 January 1729 at Elvas in Portugal. The Prince of Asturias (traditional title for the Spanish heir to the throne) married the Infanta Bárbara the next day at Badajoz. From her marriage till the time of her husbands accession to the throne in 1750, she was styled Her Royal Highness the Princess of Brazil.

Husband and wife would soon have a close relationship. The couple enjoyed hunting as well as music – Mariana Victoria was an accomplished singer – patronised Italian opera singers and the theatre but were both passionately religious. Despite this, her husband maintained various mistresses much to the dislike of his strong willed wife. During her marriage, Mariana Victoria gave birth to eight children four of which survived infancy. Her first child Infanta Maria was given the style Princess of Beira as the heir apparent to her father. Two of Mariana Victoria's daughters remained unmarried. Her daughter Infanta Mariana Francisca was a proposed bride for the Dauphin of France, son of Louis XV but Mariana Victoria herself rejected the plan. When her other daughter Infanta Doroteia was proposed as a wife for the future Philippe Égalité Mariana Victoria again refused to the match. Her youngest daughter Infanta Benedita married José, Prince of Brazil, Mariana Victoria's grandson. The latter marriage was organised by Mariana Victoria herself after the death of her husband.