Ega (Count of) / Ega (Conde da)

Aires José Maria de Saldanha Albuquerque Matos e Noronha, 2nd Count of Ega, was the son of Manuel de Saldanha de Albuquerque and was born in Funchal on March 29, 1755, while his father held the position of governor and captain-general of this archipelago, and was baptized in the chapel of the São Lourenço palace on May 27 of the same year. He held high public offices, such as the ambassador of Portugal in Madrid, but his name became better known for being the husband of the famous Countess of Ega, who was the lover of General Junot when he entered Portugal, leading the troops of the first French invasion. When Napoleon's troops left Portugal in 1811, the entire family of the Count of Ega went to France, where the count received an annual pension of sixty thousand francs from the emperor, which he enjoyed until the fall of Napoleon. When our government took action against the Portuguese in France, the Count of Ega was sentenced to death, but this sentence was never carried out, and in 1823, he was acquitted of the crimes attributed to him.