Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Guarda
Ferdinand of Portugal, Duke of Guarda was a Portuguese infante, the son of King Manuel I of Portugal and his second wife, Maria of Aragon, [Queen of Portugal|Maria of Aragon].
Biography
Ferdinand was born in Abrantes on 5 June 1507. He was Lord of Alfaiates, Sabugal and Abrantes, and Mayor of Trancoso, Lamego and Marialva. Ferdinand was friends with the renowned Portuguese intellectual Damião [de Góis].On 5 October 1530, Ferdinand was made Duke of Guarda by his brother, John III. He married Guiomar Coutinho, 5th Countess of Marialva and 3rd Countess of Loulé, a rich heiress from a Portuguese noble family. The marriage was arranged by John III. The couple settled in Abrantes, where their two children were born: a daughter, Luisa, and a son, born on 1 August 1533, who died shortly after his birth.
Luisa, his only surviving child, died in October 1534. Ferdinand himself died one month later, on 7 November 1534, in Abrantes. He is buried in the Church of Saint Dominique of Abrantes. His widow, Guiomar Coutinho, died one month later, on 9 December.