Isabella II of Aviz Portugal
| Isabella II | |
|---|---|
| Queen of Portugal | |
 | |
| Reign | 22 March, 2017 - Present |
| Coronation | 21 March, 2017 |
| Predecessor | Charles IV |
| Born | Joanna Isabella Miguel Carlos de Lizza e Avis 22 August 1996 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Spouse | Simon Nixon, Prince Consort of Portugal |
| House | Aviz |
| Father | Charles IV |
| Mother | Emmanuella de Lizza |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Isabella II(Joanna Isabella Miguel Carlos de Lizza e Avis; born 22 August 1996) is the Queen of Portugal. She ascended to the throne upon the abdication of her father, Charles IV.
Early Life
Isabella was born on 22 August 1996 to Portuguese king, Charles IV of Portugal and Emmanuella de Lizza, a Portuguese aristocrat. Baptized as Joanna Isabella Miguel Carlos de Lizza e Avis, she is the eldest out of her 3 siblings and was instantly made heir apparent. As her birth occurred at exactly 10:30 p.m. local time, the official announcement was to wait until the next day. Soon enough, on 9 a.m., the announcement by Ribeira Palace officials attracted a large crowd outside Ribeira Square which resulted in mass celebrations and cheering in the light of Portugal's future queen regnant, the 2nd to rule Portugal after 320 years succeeding Anne I who previously reigned during the years of 1679 until 1724.
Crown Princess of Portugal
As heir apparent, Isabella's mother specifically wanted for her to be locally educated so that she could be exposed fully to the "cultural values of a Portuguese". Nevertheless, Isabella was schooled abroad under the care of one of her distant uncles until she graduated high school. However, she only spent 5 years studying in the US at the Holley-Navarre Primary School before moving to the UK and furthering her education at the Kingsbury High School. She took a special interest in equestrianism, following an unexpected setback after modelling for a year at the age of 14. In all, she scored promising grades on most of her examinations. She then went on to further her studies at the local University of Lisbon, consequently graduating with a MOS, fulfilling her mother's wish. However, it was not without huge difficulties as Isabella had restarted her modelling career at the same time, as such facing initial problems in dividing her time between her modelling and university work.In response, her modelling agency allowed for her to be accompanied by a private tutor during her occasional tours.
In a particular incident during her visit to the US to congratulate Republican nominee, Donald Trump following his inauguration as President, Isabella was allegedly, according to some close sources, "sexually assaulted" in private during one of the former's inaugural balls. Nevertheless, in favour of maintaining the bilateral relations between the two countries, she aborted all accusations and left back for Portugal 2 days prior the departure of the Prime Minister's entourage. In accordance with maintaining diplomatic relations, she never chose to recount the alleged incident.
Queen of Portugal
Upon her father's abdication due to serious health conditions on 21 March 2017, Isabella who was reportedly in Stockholm visiting the royal family of Sweden, was flown back to Portugal minutes after the abdication became official, and was sworn in as Queen on the next day at Belém Palace. Outstandingly, her coronation ceremony garnered the largest amount of views across all streaming platforms in Portugal with an estimated amount of 92% of the total population. Her coronation ceremony was also attended by her Spanish and French relatives, Ferdinand IV of Spain from the Spanish Trastamara branch and Louis XVII of the French Navarre branch. It was disclosed that a day before her coronation, while en-route back to Portugal in her private plane, she was asked by the Royal Secretary of State regarding her future regnal name, and in a split second, she chose the name "Isabella II" instead of her first name, Joanna. She later said that it was to honor her ancestor, the great Isabella of Castile who alongside Ferdinand II of Aragon laid the foundations of a modern and united Spain in the Reconquista.
Marriage
Currently, the queen is married to English billionaire and businessman, Simon Nixon.To elaborate, back in 2012, the then 45 year old businessman first met the 16 year old Isabella, then a crown princess at a private gala hosted by Nixon himself. As the pair quickly fell in love at first sight and since Isabella's own age just so happened to be at the legal age to permit consent for sexual activities, the two quickly began an intimate, though initially private relationship. Their romance quickly went public when the crown princess was caught by paparazzis being affectionately cradled by her partner and sharing a kiss at a public lunch outing. Regardless of skepticism towards their age difference and Charles IV's alleged disapproval of their potential marriage, Isabella who had then moved in with Nixon at a new home in London was continuously seen with the latter sharing affectionate personal moments at public shopping malls, beaches and alike. When she eventually went back for Portugal 2 years later to further her studies at Lisbon University, the pair's relationship temporarily cooled off but it was resumed almost immediately following her gradual entry into modelling which occasionally brought her back to the UK. Nevertheless, their romance eventually peaked when the queen, on the 28th of November proposed to her longtime boyfriend in a private trip to Jamaica. The pair were officially married in a private ceremony attended by their closest family members at Ibiza, Spain.
Reportedly, Isabella then confronted the rumours by explicitly stating that while she shared the same house and bed with her partner, the two agreed to establish legal boundaries in regards to personal advances. Additionally, she stated that she would never have continued the affair had there been an official warning from her father back home which allegedly never materialize.
Personal Life
Isabella, as a young monarch was said to have been rather open and public about her royal life, having formerly documented multiple Q&A videos taken in a span of a month following her coronation. As of now, the queen is currently married to English billionaire, Simon Nixon. Reportedly, the pair had began dating for 7 years upon their first encounter at a gala party hosted by Nixon. It was commonly believed that out of respect for the disapproval of their potential marriage by Isabella's father, the two continued to regularly date until Isabella eventually proposed during a private trip to Jamaica. Isabella is also an occasionally active fashion model. Evidenced by her first modelling career at the age of 14 with American-based company Wilhelmina Kids & Models, she made a promising start but soon dropped out following unspecified reasons. Four years later, she re-entered the world of modelling on 2017, having being signed to IMG Models. Then, she was officially signed under the British lingerie brand, Boux Avenue, later going on to become a successful model of the brand and an active promoter of its products. Despite having not made any official statements regarding her promising career with the brand, she has since diligently advocated for the brand's progress and appeared in various photoshoots.
Evidently, her most notable feat was the controversial March 23rd photoshoot, in which she appeared "risqué" on the British Vogue's March 2017 cover, standing and flashing a flirtatious smile, while donning a black pair of her signature Boux Avenue's Jenna deco plunge underwear with a matching robe that covered the left side of her body whilst revealing the other. The cover, having garnered public outcry from the Portuguese for allegedly "sexualizing" their beloved queen was temporarily banned by the Portuguese Ministry of Internal Affairs in Portugal for 3 months until the magazine company reluctantly paid a compensation amount, lifting its ban.
In an interview regarding the incident, Isabella stated that she had wanted to have a "considerably sexy gimmick" for her post-coronation and had reached out to the company for help.In addition, she stated that she initially wanted to stand bare in her underwear but decided to have the robe aswell for a "royal touch". In light of considerable criticism towards her photoshoot, she responded to critics by acknowledging that she at the very least had the other version in which she stood completely nude in a similar position to never be made public, but to be kept by the queen herself as private property. Regardless, her photoshoot proved to be a miracle for her sponsored brand as the Jenna deco plunge product she wore was unofficially named "The Queen's Lingerie" and was reportedly sold out in not more than a week. Isabella, due to royal traditions is an accomplished expert in equestrianism and specifically the game of polo. She had also once talked about the possibility of representing Portugal in the 2020 Olympics as part of the contending equestrian team. TRIVIA
Titles & Honours
- 22 August 1996 — 22 March 2017 Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Portugal, Joanna
- 22 March 2017 – Present Her Royal Majesty The Queen of Portugal