Maria Barbara of Braganza ¹⁸⁹⁶

  General Notes:

Barbara of Braganza (pron. IPA: /'ba?.ß?.??/), Princess of Portugal and Queen of Spain (December 4, 1711 - August 27, 1758), was the eldest daughter of King John V of Portugal and his wife, Mary Anne Josepha of Austria.

Her parents were married in 1708, but for nearly three years the queen did not give birth to any children. John made a promise to God that if an heir to the throne was born, he would made a great convent to thank Him. Finally, on December 4, 1711, Mary Anne gave birth to a girl. She was born as heiress-presumptive to the Portuguese throne, but her status as heir lapsed when the Queen gave birth to a son, Peter, two years later. Peter died at the age of two, but another son, Joseph, had been born before Peter's death. Though Barbara was never heiress-presumptive again, she was second in line to the throne throughout much of her life.

The Princess was baptized Maria Madalena Bárbara Xavier Leonor Teresa Antónia Josefa de Bragança, but she was usually known as Princess Barbara. She had a fine education and loved music. She was a student and patron of Domenico Scarlatti, the famous harpsichordist and composer.

In 1729, she married the future Ferdinand VI of Spain, and her brother Joseph married Ferdinand's half-sister, the Spanish princess Marianne Victoria of Borbón. Scarlatti followed her to Madrid on her marriage, and remained with her, composing hundreds of harpsichord sonatas for her.

Although Barbara was not exactly beautiful, her husband loved her very much and she had a great influence on him. They had no children.

Barbara, who suffered from severe asthma for most of her life, died in Aranjuez, Spain, in 1758. ¹⁸⁹⁶

Maria married Ferdinand VI King of Spain, son of Philip V King of Spain and Marie Louise, in 1729.¹⁸⁹⁶ (Ferdinand VI King of Spain was born on 23 Sep 1713 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain ¹⁸⁹⁶ and died on 10 Aug 1759 ¹⁸⁹⁶.)