Birth Maria II was born
Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga on 4 April 1819 in the
Palace of São Cristóvão in
Rio de Janeiro,
Kingdom of Brazil. She was the eldest daughter of Prince
Dom Pedro de Alcântara, future
King of Portugal as Pedro IV and first
Emperor of Brazil as Pedro I, and his first wife Dona
Maria Leopoldina (née Archduchess Caroline Josepha Leopoldine of Austria), herself a daughter of
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor. She was titled
Princess of Beira upon her birth. Born in
Brazil, Maria was the only European monarch to have been born outside of Europe, though she was still born in Portuguese territory.
Succession crisis The death of Maria's grandfather, King Dom
João VI, in March 1826 sparked a succession crisis in Portugal. The king had a male heir, Dom Pedro, but Pedro had proclaimed the independence of
Brazil in 1822 with himself as Emperor. The late king also had a younger son, Infante Dom
Miguel, but he was exiled to Austria after leading a number of rebellions against his father and his liberal regime. Before his death, the king had nominated his favourite daughter, Dona Isabel Maria, to serve as
regent until "the legitimate heir returned to the kingdom" — but he had failed to specify which of his sons was the legitimate heir: the liberal Emperor Dom Pedro I in Brazil or the
absolutist, exiled Miguel in Austria. Most people considered Pedro to be the legitimate heir, but Brazil did not want him to unite the Portuguese and Brazilian thrones again. Aware that his brother's supporters were ready to bring Miguel back and put him on the throne, Pedro decided for a more consensual option: he would renounce his claim to the Portuguese throne in favor of his eldest daughter Maria (who was only seven years old), and that she was to marry her uncle Miguel, who would accept the liberal constitution and act as a regent until his niece reached the
age of majority. During her first reign, Maria remained in Brazil with her father, and her aunt Isabel Maria continued to serve as regent until Miguel agreed to his brother's plan and returned to replace her in that role in early 1828. Miguel pretended to accept the agreement, but a few months after his arrival in Portugal he deposed Maria and proclaimed himself king, abrogating the liberal constitution in the process. Maria had finally sailed from Brazil a few days earlier, escorted by the
Marquis of Barbacena. She was expected to land in Genoa and proceed from there to her grandfather's court in Vienna.
Refuge in England and return to Brazil '' by
Thomas Lawrence. Maria II at age 10, 1829 Maria's first reign was interrupted by the coup d'état led by her uncle, fiancé and regent Miguel, who was proclaimed King of Portugal on 11 July 1828, thus beginning the
Liberal Wars that lasted until 1834, the year in which Maria was restored to the throne and Miguel exiled to Germany. The Marquis of Barbacena, arriving in
Gibraltar with the Queen on 3 September 1828, was informed by an emissary of what was happening in Portugal. He had the foresight to understand that Miguel had come from Vienna determined to put himself at the head of the absolutist movement, advised by Prince
Klemens von Metternich, who was directing European politics, and so it was dangerous for the young Queen to go to Vienna. Taking responsibility, he changed the direction of the journey, and departed for
London, where he arrived on 7 October. The
Wellington–Peel ministry openly sponsored Miguel, so the asylum the Marquis had sought was not safe. Maria II was received in court with the honors due to her high rank, but the British prevented the Portuguese emigres from going to the garrison on
Terceira Island. , 1830 Miguel's coup d'état had not gone unopposed. On 16 May 1828, the garrison of Porto revolted, and in Lagos an infantry battalion did likewise. The revolts were stifled. Saldanha, Palmela, and others, who had come to take charge of the movement in Porto, re-embarked on the ship
Belfast, which had brought them; the Porto garrison, reinforced by the academic volunteers of
Coimbra and other liberal troops, emigrated to
Galiza and from there to England. In January 1829, at the head of a small liberal expedition, the
Marquis of Saldanha attempted to disembark in Terceira,
Azores, but was prevented from doing so by the British frigate
HMS Ranger, which was unable to prevent the Count of Vila Flor from disembarking on 22 June 1829. In time, because in August 1829 appeared in front of the island a large Miguelist squadron that landed a body of disembarkation. A battle ensued on August 11th in the village of Praia, where the Miguelists were defeated. When the emigrants in England received the news of the victory, they felt great enthusiasm. They soon lost hope when they found out that the young Queen was returning to Brazil. In fact, Maria II's situation in the British court, alongside the unfriendly attitude of the Wellington–Peel ministry, became embarrassing and humiliating. The Queen left London for Portsmouth to join the ship carrying her new stepmother,
Amélie of Leuchtenberg from Ostend to Brazil. They left together on 30 August 1829 for
Rio de Janeiro, arriving on 16 October. The constitutional cause was considered lost. The scattered emigrants (France, England, and Brazil) were divided into rival factions. Only Terceira Island recognized constitutional principles, and even there, Miguelist guerrillas emerged, and Maria remained there for four months. France was ready to recognize Miguel's government when the July Revolution broke out in Paris in 1830, which emboldened Portuguese liberals.
Civil war (undated). On 7 April 1831, Dom Pedro I abdicated the imperial crown of Brazil on behalf of his son Dom
Pedro II, Maria's younger brother, and came to Europe with his second wife and (sailing in a separate ship, and arriving later) his daughter, to support Maria's rights to the crown of Portugal and join the forces loyal to her in the
Azores in their
war against Miguel. He took the title of
Duke of Braganza, and of Regent in her name. Almost at the same time, the regency of
Terceira Island, named by Pedro and composed of the
Marquis of Palmela, the Count of Vila Flor and José António Guerreiro, prepared an expedition that soon took possession of the
Azores. While extending the constitutional territory, Pedro disembarked in
France, being welcomed with sympathy by the new government and by
Louis Philippe I. Miguel's government had defied the immunities of French subjects and had not at once satisfied the complaints of the French government, which had sent a squadron commanded by Admiral Roussin to force the bar of Lisbon and impose humiliating conditions of peace. Pedro left his daughter in
Paris to finish her education in the care of her stepmother,
Empress Amélie, with good teachers, and left for the Azores at the head of an expedition organized on Belle Isle, bringing his supporters together. Arriving in the Azores on 3 March 1832, he formed a new ministry, assembled a small army, whose command he gave to the Count of Vila Flor, and giving command of the fleet to Admiral Sartorius, departed for mainland Portugal, disembarking on 8 July at Memória Beach in
Matosinhos. It was followed by the
Siege of Porto and a series of battles until, on 24 July 1833, the
Duke of Terceira entered victorious in Lisbon, having won the
Battle of Cova da Piedade the day before. Porto and Lisbon, the main cities, were in the power of the liberals. Maria and her stepmother crossed from France to England, were received by
King William IV and
Queen Adelaide at Windsor, and then left for Portugal on a British naval ship, finally arriving in Lisbon for the first time in September 1833. Pedro pursued the war, eventually forcing his brother,
Miguel to
abdicate in 1834. Maria was thereupon restored as undisputed queen, and obtained an annulment of her betrothal. Soon after her restoration to the throne and her declaration of majority (so that no further regents would be necessary, although she was still only 15), her father died from tuberculosis. On 7 February 1833, in order to protect the Queen, the
2nd Lancers Regiment was created, first known as the
Regimento de Lanceiros da Rainha (Queen's Lancers Regiment), with the motto
Morte ou Glória, "Death or Glory" (the same as the 17th Lancers, since Lt. Col. Sir Anthony Bacon was its first commander), a fortunate coincidence since the queen's name was Maria da Glória. Occupying the Portuguese throne, Maria II was still
heir presumptive to her brother Pedro II as
Princess Imperial of Brazil, until her exclusion from the Brazilian line of succession by law no. 91 of 30 October 1835. == Consolidation ==