A nickname can be truly misleading and the case of Afonso VI of Portugal (1643-1683) is a very fine example. During the reign of Afonso VI, Portugal was declared the winner of the Restoration Wars and the Dinasty of Braganza (founded by his father, João IV) was finally recognized internationally.
Afonso was never meant to be king - his brother, Teodósio, was the true hair of the throne, but he died before his father. Physically ill, sexually incapable and mentally unstable, Afonso VI was never a real king. His mother, Luísa de Gusmão, was the regent until 1662; between 1662 and 1668, the king was a puppet in the hands of the Count of Castelo Melhor (the man who ruled Portugal de facto); from 1667 until his death, in 1683, Afonso was replaced by his brother Pedro, and although he was still officially the King of Portugal, he was incarcerated - firstly in the island of Terceira and, lately, in a small room in the Sintra Palace, were he died. Pedro not only took the kingdom for himself (he became Pedro II), but he also married his brother's wife, Marie Françoise of Savoy.
So, it seems that the Portuguese king that was nicknamed The Victorious was, in reality, a colossal looser - a man that lost his honor, his mental sanity, his health, his country, his crown, his wife and, in the end, even his freedom.
