Infanta Benedita of Braganza (Maria Francisca Benedita Ana Isabel Antónia Lourença Inácia Teresa Gertrudes Rita Rosa; 25 July 1746 – 18 August 1829) was a Portuguese infanta and the youngest daughter of King Joseph I of Portugal and his wife Mariana Victoria of Spain.

She was educated in music by Davide Perez and in painting by Domingos Sequeira:[2] a panel made by her and her sister can still be seen in the Estrela Basilica.

[3] There were discussions to arranged a marriage between Benedita and Ferdinand VI of Spain as well as with Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, but the negotiations did not succeed.

[6] Alberto Pimentel wrote: Three days after their wedding, Benedita's father King Joseph died, and her sister Maria succeeded him as queen regnant.

[10][page needed] After her second miscarriage, there were rumours of an annulment due to the absence of children: however, since José had a brother, it was not strictly necessary for him to have a son or daughter as his heir.

[11][page needed] In 1788, her husband José died and Benedita became Dowager Princess of Brazil, as she was known during the rest of her long life.

Although her income decreased significantly during this period, she sent money to Portugal several times to ensure ongoing construction of the hospital in Runa.