Stephanie, Princess of Hohenzollern, Queen and Angel of Portugal

«[...] In January of 1859, Estefânia (Stephanie) and Pedro are so accostumed to sharing every detail of everyday life that a simple separation of three days is immense. They write letters to each other and the Queen confesses her fears about his health. In the return, they can't stop " kissing again and again and again", as the Queen writes, concluding that they could never again live without one another. 

[...] The official engagements that impress them the most are all connected to the well-being of children. They worry about the 'wheel', where unwanted newborns are left to charity during the night. They become godparents of a baby who arrives during one of their many unknown night visits. 

Estefânia will write: "The merchants and traders of Lisbon put at my disposal, celebrating our marriage, 132 thousand Francs, with which we want to establish a hospital for children." 

It is with this wish that Portugal will have its first pediatric hospital , the future Hospital of D. Estefânia. Later in 1859, the young King Pedro, already a widower, will not let his wife's dream die. [...]»

Adapted from the Text by 
MARINA TAVARES DIAS

The Biography of QUEEN STEPHANIE 
goes on in the pages of the VII volume
of LISBOA DESAPARECIDA (Lost Lisbon), 2001.