Count of Portalegre is a Portuguese title of nobility created by Letters Patent dated 6 February 1498 by King

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate (), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manu ...

granted to D. Diogo da Silva. D. Diogo da Silva was the son of D.

Rui Gomes da Silva Rui or RUI may refer to: Names * Rui (surname) (), a Chinese surname * Rui (given name), a given name of independent Portuguese, Japanese, or Chinese origin Places * Rui (state) (), a Chinese state during the Zhou Dynasty * Rui (village), a c ...

, Governor of Campo Maior and his wife D. Isabel de Menezes, natural daughter of D. Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real. The 3rd Count of Portalegre, D. Álvaro da Silva, was succeeded by his granddaughter, D. Filipa da Silva, thanks to a royal dispensation of th
Lei Mental
which stated that all Crown assets, including titles of nobility, could only be inherited by male primogeniture. Filipa married twice, in both cases with distant cousins. Firstly to D. Pedro de Lancastre, son of the 1st Duke of Aveiro, with whom she had one daughter who died young. Her second marriage was to the Spanish

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

, Juan de Silva, very influential during the reign of

Sebastian I of Portugal Sebastian ( ; 20 January 1554 – 4 August 1578) was King of Portugal from 11 June 1557 to 4 August 1578 and the penultimate Portuguese monarch of the House of Aviz. He was the son of João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, and his wife, Joanna of Aus ...

and who, on his marriage, became 4th Count of Portalegre and inherited the office of Mordomo-mór. He participated with the Portuguese in the Battle of Alcacer Quibir, where he fell prisoner to the

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. During the transitional reign of

Henry I of Portugal Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, the Cardinal King, he was a firm supporter of

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

's claims to the throne of Portugal. The

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s rewarded this House's fidelity with new honours and titles, elevating the 6th Count to the marquessate of Gouvêa, a Portuguese noble title granted by Letters Patent of King Philip III of Portugal, (IV of Spain), dated 20 January 1625). The title of Count of Portalegre was then used by the heir presumptive of the House of Gouvêa. When the 2nd Marquess of Gouvêa died without issue, this assets, honours and titles were incorporated into the House of the Counts of Santa Cruz, with the 5th Count inheriting the office of Mordomo-mor and his eldest son the marquessate of Gouvêa. The 6th Marquess of Gouvêa died without legitimate issue, following the unfortunate trial of his father, 5th Marquess of Gouvêa and 8th Duke of Aveiro, who was found guilty of treason. His inheritable assets were passed on to his cousin, the 3rd Marquess of Lavradio, eldest grandson of his father's sister, whose legitimate issue continues to the present day.

List of counts of Portalegre

#Diogo da Silva, 1st Count of Portalegre (1430- ? ); #João da Silva, 2nd Count of Portalegre (1480- ? ), son of the 1st count; #Álvaro da Silva, 3rd Count of Portalegre (1505–1580), son of the 2nd count; # Filipa da Silva, 4th Countess of Portalegre (1550–1590), granddaughter of the 3rd count; # Diogo da Silva, 5th Count of Portalegre (1579–1640), older son of the 4th counts; # Manrique da Silva, 6th Count of Portalegre (1585- ? ), younger son of the 4th counts, became 1st Marquess of Gouvêa in 1625; # João da Silva, 7th Count of Portalegre (1625–1686), son of the previous count; also 2nd Marquess of Gouvêa, died without issue.

External links

Genealogy of the Counts of Portalegre, in Portuguese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portalegre Countships of Portugal 1498 establishments in Portugal

List of counts of Portalegre

See also

External links