Jorge de Lencastre
Duque de Coimbra
(1481–1550)

Biographical

Duque de Coimbra 1495–1550†
Master of the Order of Santiago 1491 [Portugal]
Master of the Order of Avis 1491 [Portugal]
Senhor de Aveiro 1492
Senhor de Montemor-o-Velho 1492
Senhor de Penela 1492
Senhor de Torres Novas 1492
Grand Admiral of Portugal
Alcalde Mayor of Coimbra 1532

Jorge was raised in Aveiro from the age of three months under the care of his aunt, Princess Joanna. Following her death in 1490, he was brought to court and raised in the household of Queen Eleanor. In 1491, following the death of Prince Afonso, the king removed Jorge from the queen’s household, fearing that his presence might intensify her grief, and entrusted him to Dom João de Almeida, second Count of Abrantes. In 1492, Dom Diogo Fernandes de Almeida, later Prior of Crato, was appointed his tutor. Jorge was regarded as a prince of considerable distinction and was noted for his character. Despite the considerable favour he received from King Manuel, he experienced several grievances, arising both from the proposed marriage of his son, the Marquess of Torres Novas, to Dona Guiomar, daughter of the fourth Count of Marialva and subsequently the wife of Prince Ferdinand, and from his own attempt to marry Dona Maria Manuel shortly before his death, a union opposed by King João III.

Place of birth: Abrantes
Place of death: Setúbal
Place of burial: Monastery of Castele de Palmela

Illegitimate son of João II, King of Portugal, and an unnamed woman, he was married in 1500 to Brites de Villena, with issue:
• João (see)
• Afonso (see)
• Maria, a nun at the Monastery of Saint John of Setúbal under the name of Sister Maria Magdalena 1529
• Filipa (see)
• Isabel, a nun at the Monastery of Saint John of Setúbal 1529
• Luís (see)
• Jaime (see)
• Helena (see)

Jorge had illegitimate issue by Maria Manuel:
• Jorge (see)
• Jorge, monk of the Order of Saint Jerome at the Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe
• Jorge (see)
• Joanna, died at the Convent of the Commendadeiras de Santos at a young age and unmarried