D. Alvaro Vaz de Almada, Count d’Avranches, was appointed Knight of the Garter in 1445. He is the only Portuguese non-royal to receive the Garter. The title of Count d’Avranches was given to him by King Henry IV (1445) for serving with distinction in the wars between England and France at the siege of Avranches in Normandy. The Almada family is reputed to descend from an English Crusader who settled in Portugal after the conquest of Lisbon in 1147.
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