Page "Mariana Victoria of Spain" Paragraph 13

In 1759, the Távora affair emerged after an assassination attempt on her husband failed and the powerful Távora family were, in the eyes of Pombal, completely responsible for the attack.

Pombal later ordered the execution of all members of the noble family and it was only at the intervention of Mariana Victoria and her daughter, the Princess of Brazil that some women and children were spared.

As Pombal was de facto ruler of the state, Mariana Victoria and her husband took a less prominent role in politics.