Duke of Oporto Afonso

Portuguese royalty, an Infante of the House of Braganza, the son of King Dom Luis I of Portugal and his wife,

Dona Maria Pia of Savoy.

During his military career he was the inspector-general of artillery then a general in the Portuguese Army. His

exemplary military background allowed him to be chosen to command military forces at Goa, at the end of the

nineteenth century, when he was, concurrently, Viceroy of India.

When threats on the life of his brother, Carlos, became known to him, he adopted the habit of arming himself

with a revolver, night and day, making himself ready to defend his family whenever it might be necessary. He

urged his nephew, the Prince Royal, Luís Filipe, to carry a weapon as well.

Dom Afonso was a lady's man, known for his kindness, simplicity, and bon-vivant lifestyle. A lover of

automobile races, he was responsible for the first motor races in Portugal, where he was one of the first

drivers.

On 26 September 1917 in Rome, he married the twice-divorced, and once-widowed, American heiress

Nevada Stoody Hayes. He died alone and childless, in Naples, on 21 February 1920.