Duke of Terceira

Ducal House of Terceira
Parent house	House of Vila Flor
Country	Portugal
Founded	1832
Founder	António José Severim de Noronha, 1st Duke of Terceira
Current head	D. Lourenço Bandeira Manoel de Vilhena de Freitas, 4th Duke of Terceira
Titles	Duke of Terceira Marquis of Vila Flor Count of Vila Flor Count of Alpedrinha Count of Azarujinha Viscount of Azarujinha Lord of Vila Flor do Alentejo Lord of Zibreira
Estate(s)	of Portugal

The title duke of Terceira, de juro e herdade (meaning "forever granted") was created by decree of King

, 7th Count of Vila Flor, de juro e herdade, and 1st Marquis of Vila Flor, was the first holder of the title.

Family name and origins

The Duke of Terceira was the head of the Manoel de Vilhena family. Heads of the Portuguese branch of that family have been ennobled since the marriage of Constance Manoel with King

. Her brother, Henrique Manoel, was brought into her entourage, and he was made Count of Seia, in Portugal, by his brother-in-law, the king.

This family is also represented in Spain, where the family head is the Duke of Arévalo d'El Rey, Count of Via Manoel, Marquis of Puebla de la Rocamora, etc.

The family dates back to the first count of Vila Flor D. Sancho Manoel de Vilhena, descent in male line from Juan Manuel de

.

The first duke

The 1st Duke of Terceira (1792–1860) descended from

. He was also appointed Viceroy of Brazil.

Hero of the

Pedro IV of Portugal

.

After the war he was four times, briefly, Prime Minister of Portugal, namely:

• from April to September, 1836;
• In April and May, 1851; and
• from March 1859 until his death, on 26 April 1860.

The succession

The title of Duke of Terceira was inherited, de juro e herdade, by the 10th Countess of Vila Flor, Maria Luísa de Almeida Manoel de Vilhena, Countess of Alpedrinha, Head of the Portuguese branch of the Manoel de Vilhena family, since the title of Duke of Terceira was given to the Count of Vila Flor, in memory of the many services paid to the Crown and the Portuguese Kingdom. She was the daughter of Francisco Maria Martinho de Almeida Manoel de Vilhena, the 9th Count of Vila-Flor, and granddaughter of Tomás Maria Martinho de Almeida Manoel de Vilhena, the 8th Count of Vila Flor, head of King

.

List of the dukes of Terceira

1. D. António de Noronha (1792–1860)
2. D. Maria Luísa da Conceição de Almeida Manuel de Vilhena (1926–1998)
3. D. Lourenço da Bandeira Manuel de Vilhena de Freitas (1973– ), Professor, D. iuris of Law, KHS, KGCSt.MW, former Vice Delegate and KGOOSML.

Present day

The family lives at Palace Vila-Flor in Lisbon, next to the

.

The Duke of Terceira, XII Count of Vila Flor, IV Count of Alpedrinha, VI Count and Viscount of Azarujinha, etc., D. Lourenço Manoel de Vilhena, D. Iuris in Law, is a professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon, lawyer (partner of Cuatrecasas), formerly advisor and acting chef de cabinet to several governmental members.

Former member of the Council of Nobility and founding member of the Instituto da Nobreza de Portugal, the regulatory body of nobiliarchic matters, authorized by the Duke of Braganza and recognized by the Republic, he was also the representative of the Brazilian Nobility Association to European countries.

Married in 2006, the heir to the earldoms and to the dukedom was D. Cristóvão António José do Pópulo Manoel de Vilhena, according to tradition Master of Pancas, godson of the Duchess of Braganza and D. Luís de Almeida Portugal (Lavradio), XIII Count of Avintes.

See also

• List of Portuguese Prime Ministers
• List of Portuguese Dukedoms

External links

• Genealogy of the Dukes of Terceira, in Portuguese

Bibliography

• "Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil" – Vol. III, pages 429/432. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon 1989.