Vilafrancada

At the head of this tendency stood Queen Carlota Joaquina, wife of John VI of Portugal, who had been exiled to Queluz after refusing to swear allegiance to the Constitution of 1822 and her third son, Prince Miguel.

This encouraged an absolutist uprising by the count of Amarante in the north of Portugal and led the party of the Queen to open revolt, confident of French support.

[1] On 23 May Prince Miguel went to Vila Franca where he was joined by the 23rd Regiment of Infantry that had been sent to Almeida to reinforce the frontier town against being taken by the rebels.

[2][3] With the Queen and Prince Miguel prepared to force him to abdicate if necessary, John VI eventually decided to take command of the revolt himself, encouraged by the rising of the 18th Infantry Regiment which presented itself at Bemposta Palace to acclaim him as absolute ruler.

[1] The King managed to prevent the ultra-reactionary faction from coming to power, but the Queen’s party continued its intrigues, and less than a year later a new absolutist rebellion broke out, the April Revolt, which ended with Prince Miguel going into exile.