The 75th Birthday of Infante Miguel, Duke of Viseu

Infante Dom Miguel, Duque de Viseu.

Today, the Duke of Viseu celebrates his seventy-fifth birthday!

Duarte Nuño and Maria Francisca on their wedding day, 1942.

The Duke and Duchess of Braganza with their three sons, 1950s.
Photo (c) LIFE / Nina Leen.

The Duke and Duchess of Braganza with their children, 1950s.
Photo (c) LIFE / Nina Leen.

Born at Bern, Switzerland, on 3 December 1946, Infante Miguel Rafael Gabriel Xavier Teresa Maria Felix of Portugal, Duke of Viseu, was the second son of Infante Duarte Nuño of Portugal (1907-1976), Duke of Bragança, and his wife Princess Maria Francisca of Orleans-Bragança (1914-1968), who married in 1942. Miguel has two brothers: Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Bragança (b.1945); and the late Dom Henrique, Duke of Coimbra (1949-2017).

Dom Miguel as a cadet at the Portuguese Military College.

In 1953, the Duke and Duchess of Bragança along with their three sons moved from Switzerland to Portugal. The Law of Exile banishing the descendants of King Miguel I from returning to their homeland had been rescinded by the Portuguese Parliament in 1950. The return of the Braganzas to Portugal was not covered by the country’s media, which was under strict censorship by the Salazar government. Duarte Nuño and Maria Francisca first settled near Vila Nova de Gaia. Their two eldest sons, Duarte Pio and Miguel, were initially educated at home by private tutors, but the boys were eventually able to attend a public school in Oporto. In the late 1950s, the Braganzas were provided by the Fundação da Casa de Bragança with a home at the Palácio de São Marcos, which was located near Coimbra. Along with his older brother, Miguel attended the Military College in Lisbon.

The Braganza brothers in the 1980s: Dom Henrique, Dom Miguel, and Dom Duarte Pio.

As a member of the Portuguese armed forces, Miguel saw active service in Mozambique during the Mozambican War of Independence. His brother Duarte was a pilot in Angola during that nation’s struggle for independence. Dom Miguel graduated from the School of Fine Arts at the University of Lisbon.

Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria, and Infante Miguel, Duke of Viseu.

The Duke of Viseu is a notable patron of the arts and a painter himself. Dom Miguel is a founder and sponsor of the Luso-Brazilian Week of Aldravista Art, which is held interchangeably between Portugal and Brazil. He is also an active member of several orders of chivalry, notably the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.