Initially, he was baptized Manuel of Noronha, but when his older brother (the 4th Marquis of Vila Real) died unexpectedly without issue in 1564, he inherited his house and changed his family name from Noronha to Menezes, once this was the name used by the Heads of the House of Vila Real.
When King Sebastian of Portugal visited for the first time Ceuta, Dom Manuel, as Governor of the city, received the monarch with extreme magnificence.
In recognition of his strong support during the 1580 Portuguese succession crisis, Philip I of Portugal rewarded him the new title of Duke of Vila Real, on 28 February 1585.
He married D. Maria da Silva (granddaughter of the 2nd Count of Redondo), a chamberlady of Queen Catherine of Austria, wife of King John III of Portugal.
This biographical article about a member of the Portuguese nobility is a stub.