Infanta Maria Francisca, Duchess of Coimbra

Dona Maria Francisca, Duchess of Coimbra (born 3 March 1997) is an Infanta of Portugal as a member of the Portuguese Royal Family. She is the only female child of Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and Isabel de Herédia.

Life
and Title Her Highness Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal, Duchess of Coimbra Maria Francisca was born on 3 March 1997, in Lisbon, as the second child of D. Duarte Pio and D. Isabel Inês, Duke and Duchess of Braganza. She is third in the line of succession to the throne of the deposed Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves, being after her father, her older brother, D. Afonso, Prince of Beira, and her younger brother, Infante D. Dinis, Duke of Porto.

Her godparents are her paternal uncle Infante Henrique, Duke of Coimbra, and her second cousin Princess Marie d'Orléans of France.

On 4 July 2018, feast day of St. Elizabeth of Portugal, Infanta Maria Francisca was created Duchess of Coimbra by her father, the Duke of Braganza, in a ceremony that took place in the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, Coimbra, therefore succeeding her deceased uncle, Infante Henrique. At the same time, she was named a Dame of the Order of St Isabel by her mother, the Duchess of Braganza.

Educataion
The Duchess of Coimbra studied Social and Cultural Communication in the Catholic University of Portugal.

Engagement
On 15 December 2022 the Duke of and Duchess of Braganza announced Infanta Maria Francisca's engagement with Duarte de Sousa Araújo Martins (b. 1992). The couple became engaged in East Timor earlier in the month.

Marriage
The wedding of Infanta Maria Francisca and Duarte de Sousa Araújo Martins is scheduled to take place in October 2023. On May 19, 2023, Duarte Pio, Duke of Bragança and Isabel de Herédia, announced the wedding and where they make known the wedding date and some details of it: "Their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Bragança are pleased to announce that the wedding of their daughter, Her Highness Infanta D. Maria Francisca de Bragança, Duchess of Coimbra, with Mr Duarte de Sousa Araújo will take place on the 7th of October, at the Jerónimos Monastery. The wedding will be presided over by SER Cardinal D. Manuel Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon. The wedding will be followed by a reception in the cloisters of the Jerónimos Monastery. Her Highness and Mr Duarte de Sousa Araújo Martins got engaged in Timor, in early December 2022."