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Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain
Queen Consort of Portugal and the Algarves
Mariana by Miguel António do Amaral, 1773
Tenure	31 July 1750 – 24 February 1777
Burial	Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, Lisbon
Spouse	Joseph I of Portugal and the Algarves
Issue	Maria I Infanta Mariana Infanta Doroteia Infanta Benedita, Dowager Princess of Brazil
House	House of Braganza House of Bourbon
Father	Philip V of Spain
Mother	Elisabeth, Heiress of Parma

Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain, Queen Consort of Portugal and the Algarves (Portuguese: Mariana Vitória) (31 March, 1718 – 15 January, 1781) was Queen Consort of Portugal and the Algarves due to her marriage to Joseph I. She also acted as Queen Regent of Portugal.

She has descendants ranging from the present King of Spain, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Parma (the Parma line was founded by her second surviving brother Philip) and a French Pretender, the Count of Paris.

Born Infanta Maríana Victoria de España^[1] at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid, she was the eldest daughter of Philip V of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese. Her mother was the heiress of the Duchy of Parma which was owned by Mariana's great uncle Francesco Farnese.

One of 7 children, her full siblings were:

• Infante Carlos (1716-1788) - first Bourbon Duke of Parma (1731-1735); first Bourbon King of Naples and Sicily (1735-1759); fourth Bourbon King of Spain (1759-1788) would marry Maria Amalia of Saxony;
• Infante Francisco of Spain (1717) - died in infancy;
• Infante Felipe (1720-1765) - second Bourbon Duke of Parma as heir of his mother; married Princess Louise Élisabeth of France, the eldest daughter of Louis XV. They founded the House of Bourbon-Parma which still claims the Duchy of Parma;
• Infanta Maria Teresa Antonia Rafaela (1726-1746) - Married Louis, Daupin of France, eldest son of Louis XV;
• Infante Luis (1727-1785) - married morganatically;
• Infanta Maria Antonietta Ferdinanda (1729 - 1785) - married future Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia. She was a mother of 3 rulers of Sardinia.

She was nicknamed Mariannina by her parents. Her father, Philip V also had children from a previous marriage; his double-second cousin Princess Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (1688-1714) on 3 November 1701^[2] and they had four sons:

• Infante Luis Felipe of Spain (25 August 1707 – 31 August 1724) the second Bourbon King of Spain
• Infante Felipe of Spain (2 July 1709 – 18 July 1709).
• Infante Felipe of Spain (7 June 1712 – 29 December 1719).
• Infante Ferdinand of Spain (23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759) the third Bourbon King of Spain

At the time of her birth, Mariana Victoria was fourth in line to the throne of Spain; in Spain it was possible for women to inherit the throne whereas France followed the Salic law which forbade females ruling as Queen Regnant.

As of 1721, the Infanta was engaged to her first cousin Louis XV of France. The couple were to have their first meeting at the Île des Faisans ("Isle of Pheasents") where their identical ancestors, Louis XIV of France and Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain had met in 1660. It was at the isle that she had to leave her Spanish retinue behind; Mariana Victoria arrived in Paris on 2 March 1721 amongst much celebration. During her time in Paris, she lived with Louis at the Palais du Louvre. In France her name was changed to Marie Anne Victoire d'Espagne or de Bourbon.

The young princess was said to have been in awe of her husband to be and even followed him around Versailles where she was transported and lived for a time. Known as l'infante Reine (Queen-Infanta) while in France, she was placed in the care of the old Dowager Princess of Conti - the eldest illegitimate daughter of Louis XIV and Louise de La Vallière.

The marriage proposal was part of a wider set of engagements which included the proposal (and marriage) of Philip V's eldest son Louis I of Spain to Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans and another proposal of Philippine Élisabeth d'Orléans to the young Infante Carlos of Spain. Philippine Élisabeth and Louise Élisabeth were both daughters of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, the Régent de France. The latter marriage never occurred. Like Mariana Victoria, Philippine was eventually sent back home. The Regent who had worked to secure the marriage had died, and the new Prime Minister, Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, feared chaos if the young king Louis XV would die without offspring - and with the 7 years old Infante, offspring was still far away. It was decided to seek another bride for the king, one of sufficient age.

Mariana Victoria was popular with all at the court, apart from the king himself. Accoding to the the mother of the Régent, Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, Mariana was the sweetest and prettiest little thing. She was often praised as witty child. Louis XV disliked the child and avoided her presence.

Her arrival in Spain was not taken well by the Spanish, and caused a diplomatic riot between Spain and France. The offended Spanish soon after concluded a treaty with Austria (Treaty of Vienna (1725)), whilst England sought support from France.

Her younger sister Infanta Maria Teresa was later married to the eldest son of Louis XV Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765).

In 1724 her father abdicated the throne in favour for her half brother, Louis; he was king for just nine months and died in August. As such her father became king again; due to her mother having given birth to the future Duke of Parma, Mariana Victoria was still able to inherit as she had not yet married Louis XV; She remained fourth in line for some time.

The engagement was later broken off; in 1727, the Portuguese Marquis of Abrantes (Portuguese Ambassador) was at the Spanish court and he began arrangements for the betrothal of Mariana and the future Joseph I of Portugal. She married Joseph on 19 January 1729 at Elvas, Portugal. This marriage was once again part of a larger scheme which involved Mariana's half brother, Infante Ferdinand (then the Prince of Asturias) marrying the oldest sister of Joseph, Infanta Barbara of Portugal. Ferdinand and Barbara married the day after Mariana and Joseph.

A very serious woman, she had inherited her husband's independence and willpower; her husband was often unfaithful but the proud Mariana Victoria was not afraid to talk about it in open society - something a Queen Consort was never expected to do. Mariana Victoria was a great fan of music and had inherited the Bourbon passion for hunting.

During her life in Portugal, she maintained a correspondence with her family in Spain. In October 1777, Mariana Victoria went to her home country then ruled by her older brother Charles III.

Staying in Spain for just over a year, residing both in Madrid and at Aranjuez, she was responsible for helping to arrange marriages for her grand children (Maria's children) and children of her brother King Charles. One of these marriages was between the Infante Gabriel of Spain and Mariana Victoria's grand daughter the Infanta Mariana Vitória of Portugal^[3]. The second marriage was between the Infanta Charlotte of Spain, eldest daughter of Charles IV of Spain and Mariana's grandson the Inafnte John of Portugal.

While in Spain Mariana Victoria had had an attack of Rheumatism and was confined to a wheelchair for some time in August 1778. She returned to Portugal in November 1778. By the time of her return, Mariana was suffering from Heat disease as well Arthritis.^[4]

From her marriage, she was known as the Princess of Brazil as she was the wife of the Prince of Brazil who was the heir to the throne. She was known by this title for some 21 years during which all her children were born. At the death of her father-in-law, John V of Portugal, in 1750 she and her husband became the rulers of the vast Portuguese Empire. During her husbands reign the devastating 1755 Lisbon earthquake of 1 November 1755, in which around 100,000 people lost their lives. The earthquake caused Joseph to develop a severe case of claustrophobia and he was never again comfortable living within a walled building. Consequently, he moved the royal court to an extensive complex of tents in the hills of Ajuda.

It was during this time that the famous Marquis of Pombal rose to power in Portugal and was its unofficial ruler.

She was also slightly involved with the Távora affair of 1758-9 where an assassination plot against her husband was meant to have been plotted against him by the Távora family; Pombal later ordered the execution of all members but thanks to the intervention of Mariana and her daughter, the then Princess of Brazil, the women and children were spared. Mariana and her daughter were not fans of the King's fondness for Pombal and he was dismissed in the reign of her daughter.

She also saw the enlargement of the stunning Queluz National Palace outside the capital.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mariana Victoria of Spain.

When her husband was declared incapable of ruling in 1774, she was proclaimed Regent, and acted as the Regent for Portugal in all matters until Joseph's death on 24 February 1777. Upon her husband's death, their eldest daughter Maria became the first queen regnant as Maria I of Portugal. Even in her daughters reign she used to exert much influence on her daughter who would often ask her mothers advice on most matters of state.

She died at the Real Barraca de Ajuda (Royal Tent)^[5], Lisbon, Portugal at the age of 62 having outlived her husband for just under 4 years. When she died, her daughter Maria I wrote to the king of Spain, Charles III that Mariana's death had been such a painful blow for she was a precious companion in every way.^[6]

She was buried at the Royal Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon where her husband had been buried in 1777.

She would never see the destruction of France during its revolution.

In 1816, her great-grandson Pedro I of Brazil became the first emperor of Brazil; the Brazilian Imperial Family was formed by him and his wife Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria who was a descendant of Mariana's oldest brother, Charles III of Spain.

Four daughters by Joseph I of Portugal:

Name	Picture	Birth	Death	Notes
Infanta Maria Francisca Isabel Josefa Antónia Gertrudes Rita Joana of Portugal		17 December 1734	20 March 1816	Succeeded Joseph as 26th (or 27th according to some historians) monarch and first queen regnant of Portugal. Known as Queen of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves; she married her uncle, Infante Pedro of Portugal in 1760 and had issue; she died in Brazil after slipping into madness.
Infanta Mariana Francisca Josefa Rita Joana of Portugal		7 October 1736	16 May 1813	Named after her mother, she died single.
Infanta Maria Francisca Doroteia of Portugal		21 September 1739	14 January 1771	Died single. Her body now lies at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon.
Infanta Benedita Ana Isabel Antónia Lourença Inácia Teresa Gertrudes Rita Joana Rosa of Portugal		25 July 1746	18 August 1829	Married her nephew Infante Joseph of Portugal on 21 February 1777. The marriage remained childless; in her dowager years, Benedita was known as HRH the Dowager Princess of Brazil/Beira.

Family of Mariana Victoria in 1743

Royal styles of Mariana Victoria of Spain
Reference style	Her Most Faithful Majesty
Spoken style	Your Most Faithful Majesty
Alternative style	Sire

• 31 March 1718 – 19 January 1729 Her Royal Highness Dona Mariana Victoria, Infanta of Spain
• 19 January 1729 – 31 July 1750 Her Royal Highness the Princess of Brazil
• 31 July 1750 – 24 February 1777 Her Most Faithful Majesty the Queen of Portugal and the Algarves
• 24 February 1777 – 15 January 1781 Her Most Faithful Majesty the Dowager Queen of Portugal and the Algarves

• List of Portuguese monarchs