This article is about the Portuguese prince. For the Dutch prince sometimes known as "Henry the Navigator", see Prince Henry of the Netherlands

Prince Henry of the Netherlands

Prince William Frederick Henry of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau was the third son of King William II of the Netherlands and his wife, Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia...

.

Henry the Navigator (ẽˈʁik(ɨ); ) (Porto

Porto

Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...

, 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460) was an infante of the Kingdom of Portugal

Kingdom of Portugal

The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...

 and an important figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire

Portuguese Empire

The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...

. He was responsible for the early development of European exploration and maritime trade with other continents.

Henry was the third child of King John I of Portugal

John I of Portugal

John I KG , called the Good or of Happy Memory, more rarely and outside Portugal the Bastard, was the tenth King of Portugal and the Algarve and the first to use the title Lord of Ceuta...

, founder of the Aviz

House of Aviz

The House of Aviz is a dynasty of kings of Portugal. In 1385, the Interregnum of the 1383-1385 crisis ended with the acclamation of the Master of the Order of Aviz, John, natural son of king Peter I and Dona Teresa Lourenço as king...

 dynasty, and of Philippa of Lancaster

Philippa of Lancaster

Philippa of Lancaster, LG was a Queen consort of Portugal. Born into the royal family of England, her marriage with King John I secured the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance and produced several famous children who became known as the "Illustrious Generation" in Portugal...

, John of Gaunt

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...

's daughter.