House of Braganza /

The Most Serene House of Braganza (Sereníssima Casa de Bragança; Portuguese pronunciation: [bɾɐˈɣɐ̃sɐ]), an important Portuguese noble family, ruled the Kingdom of Portugal and its colonial ultramarine Empire, from 1640 to 1910. A branch of the house founded and governed the Empire of Brazil from 1822 to 1889 as the Brazilian Imperial Family. The house of Braganza forms a collateral line of the House of Aviz, which ruled Portugal from 1385 until 1580. Therefore it is also a branch of the French House of Burgundy, and thus of the House of Capet. In 1853, due to the marriage of Queen Maria II of Braganza to Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the dynastic heirs of House of Braganza became the House of Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a branch of the German House of Wettin. The use of the designation Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, or just Braganza-Coburg, however, predominates mainly in the writings of non-Portuguese historians and genealogists, or in writings that are not contemporary to the rule of the Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha monarchs in Portugal, since they still continued to style themselves as members of the House of Braganza, as opposed to Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.