Manuel de Portugal
| Manuel | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Portugal (disputed) | |
 |
|
| Born | 1568 Tangiers, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | 22 June 1638 Brussels |
| Spouse |
Countess Emilia of Nassau Luísa Osório |
| House | House of Aviz |
| Father | António, Prior of Crato |
| Mother | Ana Barbosa |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Manuel of Portugal (c. 1568–22 June 1638) was the illegitimate son of António, Prior of Crato, pretender to the Portuguese throne during the 1580 Portuguese succession crisis. He secretly married in 1597 Countess Emilia of Nassau, daughter of William the Silent and Anna of Saxony.
Manuel was born in Tangier to Portuguese pretender António, Prior of Crato and one Anna Barbosa. Due to his religious office, António of Crato was not allowed to marry. After a failed attempt to gain the throne in 1580, António used to live in France and England. His son Manuel of Portugal is also known as Emanuel I, in his Dutch context.
After the death of Henry, King of Portugal, his family's return to Portugal and his father's acclamation as King on 24 July 1580, Manuel chose to go by the title of Prince of Portugal. However, his father's reign was short and troubled. He lost his title to King Philip II of Spain at the Battle of Alcântra. After hearing about this defeat, Manuel and his father fled to Coimbra to avoid imprisonment, and gathered six thousand men to face the Spanish troops once again. Nevertheless, they were once more defeated. With no options left, Manuel and his father were forced to hide in monasteries and friends' houses until they fled to France with the rest of the family. Before, António went to England, asking for Queen Elizabeth's support, which was granted, but the English troops never arrived to Portugal due to a bout of plague that killed most of the soldiers. Despite everything, António was still acclaimed as King in Azores until the Spanish troops arrived in 1583.
On 7 November 1597, Manuel wed Countess Emilia of Nassau (1569–1629), a daughter of William I, Prince of Orange and Princess Anna of Saxony. The bride's family were prominent representatives of Calvinism in Europe while the groom was Roman Catholic. Their families opposed the marriage but this did not prevent the couple from being secretly married by a Roman Catholic priest. Consequently, Manuel was forced to flee to Wesel, Germany. Emilia – initially under house detention – was able to follow him in December 1597. The following children were issued from this marriage:
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