Count of Vimioso is a Portuguese title of nobility which have its origins in Alphonse, Bishop of Évora, the natural son of Alphonse, 4th Count of Ourém and 1st Marquis of Valença. Therefore, the Counts of Vimioso were closely related to the Braganzas. This title was created on February 2, 1515, by King Manuel I of Portugal for his 3rd cousin, Francisco de Portugal, also known as Francis I, 1st Count of Vimioso, a natural son of Alphonse of Portugal, Bishop of Évora. The House of the Counts of Vimioso had also close links with the Portuguese Royal family, as members of the King's Council, ambassadors, and viceroys. The 2nd Count, Alphonse I of Portugal, joined King Sebastian in his crusade in Morocco, and died there. This was one of the few Portuguese high aristocracy families to support António, Prior of Crato against Philip II of Spain claims, during the War of the Portuguese Succession. The 3rd Count, Dom Francisco de Portugal, was appointed António Constable, leading the Portuguese armies in the Battle of Alcântara ; he found death, two years later, in the naval Battle of Vila Franca, off São Miguel Island, in the Azores. The family supported the 1640 revolution against the Spanish Habsburgs, receiving a new title from the Braganzas. In 1687, the 7th Count, Dom Miguel de Portugal, died without legitimate issue. To avoid that such an illustrious family would be extinct, the KingPedro II of Portugal, through a special decree, issued on December 13, 1681, legitimated the count's natural son, Francisco de Paula, as 8th Count, giving him all his father's honours and titles. During the romantic period, the 13th Count of Vimioso was quite a popular personality not only among aristocracy but also throughout the Portuguese society: he was a remarkable horse-rider, participating in bullfightings, with a bohemian life style; his mistress was the quite known fado singer, Maria Severa, and the story was later popularized by literature, music, theatre and movies.
List of the Counts
Francisco de Portugal, Francis I, 1st Count of Vimioso in 1515
The Counts' family name was de Portugal, as they descended from King John I of Portugal. In the late 17th Century, the 8th Count, Francisco de Paula, also known as Francis III, joined the name Castro, given that he had inherited from an aunt properties and titles belonging to the Castro family and, from then on, the Counts bore de Portugal e Castro as their family name. In the late 19th Century, the Counts' family name became Sousa Coutinho, due to the marriage of Maria José de Portugal e Castro, the 13th Count's heir, with Fernando Luis de Sousa Coutinho.
