[January 31] Henrique, king of Portugal

Surname: The Chaste (o Casto)

Parents: Manuel I, king of Portugal, and Maria of Aragón

Date of Birth: 31 January 1512

Royal House: Burgundy-Aviz

Reign: 1578 – 1580

Predecessor: Sebastião

Summary: As with many younger sons of royalty, Henrique was raised in the Catholic Church. He took orders at a young age to promote Portuguese influence with the church. Over a short period of time, he was elevated to first Archbishop of Braga, then of Évora where he also held the position of Grand Inquisitor. In 1545 he was elevated to the rank of Cardinal. With his new powers and influence, he brought Jesuits to Portugal and, more importantly, to the rest of the Portuguese Empire in East Asia and Brasil. He retained his religious post for the majority of his life, though he served as regent for his grand-nephew Sebastian until 1572. In 1578, Sebastian was killed at the Battle of Alcazarquivir against Morocco and Henrique became the king, the last legitimate male descendant of João I of Aviz.

Henrique had no choice but to renounce his cleric rights and take on the role of Portuguese monarch. He was 66 years old at the time of his ascension, and a life in the clergy meant that he had not married in his younger years. Henrique sought a renunciation of his vows with the pope in order to find a bride and desperately hope for a child. But the pope, Gregory VIII, was an ally of the Habsburgs who were the next legitimate claimants to the throne, refused the request and Henrique was bound to a heirless throne. He refused to appoint an heir or regency council, and died only two years later, leaving his country in peril. In November of 1580, King Philip II of Spain invaded Portugal and claimed the crown under the condition that the overseas territories of the two states would not be combined. Another claimant, the illegitimate prior of Crato, António, fought an unsuccessful war to win the throne but ended up ruling only the Azores for a few months until Philip forced him into exile. He never reclaimed the throne and sold Portugal's crown jewels to pay for his exile for the next fifteen years.

Date of Death: 31 January 1580

Successor: Anthony or Philip I

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Suko, pretender to Japan (1398)
• Xuande, emperor of China (1435)
• Henry, king of Portugal (1580)
• Charles III, pretender to England and Scotland (1788)
• Khedrup Gyatso, Dalai Lama (1856)