Retrato do Rei D. Pedro V
Autor: Manuel Maria Bordalo Pinheiro
Centro de Fabrico: Portugal (?)
Data: 1856
Material: Óleo sobre tela
Dimensões (cm): Larg. 97,5; alt. 122,6
Proprietário: Museu de Aveiro
N.º de Inventário: 16-A
King Pedro V is portrayed wearing a ceremonial military uniform with several commendations – including the Collar of the Order of the Tower and Sword and of the Order of Christ. He is holding the sceptre and, next to it, the royal crown may be seen.
Pedro was born in 1837, the firstborn of Queen Maria II and Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He received an excellent education. The renown Portuguese historian Alexandre Herculano was his teacher. Pedro had a reputation for being highly-gifted, such were his intellectual abilities and his learning speed. From an early age, he was fluent in French, German, Greek, Latin and English.
After the death of his mother in 1853, given his young age, Pedro did not assume his right to the throne immediately. The regency was handed over to his father and, during this period, Pedro took the opportunity to travel Europe.
At the age of 18 he was acclaimed king and, during his reign, several utilities were developed – the first railway, the first electric telegraph, new industries and a new road networks. He is credited – alongside other cultural initiatives – with the creation of the Curso Superior de Letras (at present, incorporated in the University of Lisbon), primary schools and the Ajuda Astronomical Observatory. He founded public hospitals and charitable institutions – notably the Hospital Dona Estefânia in Lisbon, in honor of the queen. Pedro dedicated his reign to progress and well-being in the country, managing to bring a certain stability to the Portuguese political life, despite being afflicted by constant difficulties – a cholera and yellow fever epidemics, great floods, the death of the queen, etc. He was concerned with the development of the country, focusing on issues related to education, industry, agriculture, public utilities, international politics, among other.
Although he died very young – in 1861, at the age of 24, from typhoid fever – his reign had a decisive impact on the history of contemporary Portugal.
He was buried in the Royal Pantheon of the Bragança Dynasty on the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora (Lisboa).
