Dom MANUEL II - (15.11.1889-2.7.1932)

Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Bragança Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha and Orléans. Third son of Charles and Amelia of Orléans. Amélia of Orléans. The assassination of Prince Louis Philippe, in an attempt that also injured Charles, gave him unexpected access to the throne. Invariably reserved and circumspect, the monarch's journeys to the Palace of Mafra, where the Viceroy, Tomás de Mello Breyner, was present, were moments of relative happiness and relaxation from protocol duties that his idiosyncratic shyness, weak personal charisma, unpreparedness and possible immaturity made painful. This was despite the image of determination instilled in him by the reassuring closeness of his mother, D. Amélia. Music was one of his favourite forms of entertainment in Mafra and hunting. For hours on end, into the early hours of the morning, in the company of courtiers and soldiers and officers from the Practical School of Infantry, the organs in the Basilica of the Royal Palace would wake up from their usual slumber, bearing witness to the king's melodic talents and tastes. King Manuel's regular, albeit discreet, presence in Mafra almost reached paroxysm during his official visit to the town and Ericeira on 9 October 1908. Moreover, the affection that the people of Mafra had for the sovereign that history has consecrated as the Unfortunate One cannot be disputed, given the cordial and orderly way in which they always welcomed him and said goodbye to him, "never again", when the Republic had already dethroned him. After 5 October 1910, of the meagre possessions he left in the Palace of Mafra, Manuel only wished to recover the scapulars of Our Lady of Mount Carmel that he wore when he practised his devotional exercises (according to Raul Lino and João Barreira, Inventário dos Bens dos Palácios Reais). On 4 September 1913, he married Princess Augusta Victoria (Potsdam, 19/7/1890-30/8/1966), his cousin, daughter of Prince William of Hohenzollern and his first wife, Maria Teresa, Princess of Bourbon-Sicilias.