Infanta Ana de Jesus Maria, Duchess of Loulé
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On December 5, 1827, she married Nuno José Severo de Mendonça Rolim de Moura Barreto, then Marquis of Loulé and Count of Vale de Reis (future Duke of Loulé, many times Prime Minister of Portugal). The wedding was celebrated in a private ceremony in the chapel of the Royal Palace of Ajuda and was a scandal at the time. Although Loulé was a descendant of the Royal Family, Ana de Jesus was the first princess of Portugal since the Middle Ages to marry outside royalty. The reasons for this marriage were probably not political, considering the couple's first child was born in December 27 1827, 22 days after the ceremony. With the restoration of absolutism in Portugal the couple was exiled and began an extended trip through Europe and had several other children. The marriage ended with a de facto separation in 1835.
Despite the scandalous nature of their matrimony, Ana de Jesus and the Duke of Loulé have a place in contemporaneous monarchic discussions in Portugal. After the ban and exile of her brother King Miguel of Portugal, his descendents were banned from the succession line. Nevertheless, the present heir to the throne of Portugal is Duarte Pio, Duke of Bragança, a great-grandson of Miguel. There has been debate about whether or not Duarte Pio has the right of being the presumptive heir to the throne of Portugal and therefor Duke of Bragança due to the exclusion of his line cited above. If this exclusion holds, then the succession falls upon the issue of Ana de Jesus. The head of this line is her great-great-great-grandson Pedro de Moura Barreto, 6th Duke of Loulé.
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