Prince Antonio of Orléans-Braganza
Encyclopedia
Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza (born June 24, 1950 in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil), whose baptismal name is Antônio João Maria José Jorge Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga de Orléans
Duc d'Orléans
Duke of Orléans was one of the highest ranking titles of the French peerage and dates back to the 14th century. Known as princes of the blood , the title of Duke of Orléans was exclusive to princes of the nearest collateral line of the royal family; thus they constituted a junior branch of the...
e Bragança e Wittelsbach
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
, is a member of the Imperial House of Brazil. He is second in line of succession to the former Brazilian throne, according to the disputed claims of the Vassouras branch of the family. In Brazil he is commonly addressed using the prefix Dom
Dom
- People :* Dom people, an ethnic group in the Middle East* Doms, people of indigenous origin found in the Indian state of West Bengal* Domba or Dom, an ethnic group of India...
.
Parents and early life
Antônio is the sixth son of Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-BraganzaPrince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza
Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza , was a great-grandson of the last emperor of Brazil, Pedro II, and one of two claimants to the abolished throne.-Early life in Europe:...
and of his wife, Princess Maria of Bavaria.
In 1976, Antônio earned a bachelor's degree in Engineering (with a specialization in Major Structural Projects) from the University of Barra do Piraí
Barra do Piraí
Barra do Piraí is a Brazilian city of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 94,332 and its area is 578 km². The area is 582,1 km². It is 127 km far away from Rio de Janeiro.-References:...
.
Dynastic claims
Antônio's eldest brother is Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza, the current Head of the Brazilian Imperial Family and, from a monarchistMonarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
perspective, de jure Emperor Luiz I of Brazil. After Dom Luiz in the succession order comes the next brother, Prince Bertrand
Prince Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza
Prince Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza is a member of the Imperial House of Brazil. According to the disputed claims of the Vassouras branch of the family, he is first in the line of succession to the defunct Brazilian throne, and consequently the current Prince Imperial of Brazil.-Biography:The...
, born 1941, who, as heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to the throne would be the Prince Imperial if his eldest brother were actually reigning, and who is often accorded that style in royalist circles. Although he is the sixth brother, Antônio follows Bertrand in the succession order
Line of succession to the Brazilian throne
The Brazilian monarchy came to an end on November 15, 1889, following a military coup which overthrew Emperor Dom Pedro II. The current Brazilian Imperial Family is split into two branches: the Petrópolis and the Vassouras...
because three older brothers renounced their claims to the throne in order to marry commoner
Commoner
In British law, a commoner is someone who is neither the Sovereign nor a peer. Therefore, any member of the Royal Family who is not a peer, such as Prince Harry of Wales or Anne, Princess Royal, is a commoner, as is any member of a peer's family, including someone who holds only a courtesy title,...
s.
When Brazil was a monarchy, the title Prince of Grão-Pará would usually have been borne by a prince who stands in Antônio's position in Brazil's line of succession
Order of succession
An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...
. But that title was constitutionally reserved for the eldest child of the heir to the throne, whereas Antônio is only the next (dynastically eligible) brother of the heir.
Painting
Antônio is an artist, usually painting water colorWatercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
landscapes depicting buildings, ranches, and farms typical of colonial Brazil. In May 1999 he held an exhibition, "A Herança Portuguesa no Brasil Colonial" (The Portuguese Heritage in Colonial Brazil) at Ipanema Park in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. In 2001 he held exhibitions at Curitiba
Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...
and at Joinville
Joinville
Joinville is a city in Santa Catarina State, in the Southern Region of Brazil. Joinville is Santa Catarina's largest city. In 2010, its population has reached approximately 520,000, many of whom are of German descent....
. His work has also been displayed in the Crystal Palace in Petropolis, the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes
Museu Nacional de Belas Artes
The Museu Nacional de Belas Artes is a national art museum located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The museum, officially established in 1937 by the initiative of education minister Gustavo Capanema, was inaugurated in 1938, by president Getúlio Vargas...
in Rio de Janeiro, and the Galeria Quadrante and the Museu da Casa Brasileira in São Paulo.
Marriage and family
In 1981, he married Princess Christine of LignePrincess Christine of Orléans-Braganza
Princess Christine Marie Elisabeth of Orléans-Braganza, neé Princess de Ligne, was born on 11 August 1955 in the Château de Belœil, Belgium. She is the daughter of the late Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne and Princess Alix Marie of Luxembourg....
, daughter of Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne
Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne
Antoine Maria Joachim Lamoral, Prince of Ligne, Prince of Épinoy, Prince of Amblise, Grandee of Spain was born on 8 March 1925 in Brussels, Belgium. He was the son of Eugène, 11th Prince of Ligne and Philippine de Noailles...
(head of one of Belgium's foremost noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
families) and his wife, Princess Alix of Luxembourg. The civil ceremony took place on September 25 and the religious ceremony on September 26, both at Belœil.
The couple have four children:
- Prince Pedro LuísPrince Pedro Luís of Orléans-BraganzaPrince Pedro Luís of Orléans-Braganza was the son of Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza, and was expected, on the deaths of his father and childless uncles, to eventually become a pretender to the former imperial crown of Brazil....
(January 12, 1983, Rio de Janeiro – June 1, 2009, he was a passenger on the missing Air France Flight 447Air France Flight 447Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled airline flight from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Paris-Roissy involving an Airbus A330-200 aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009, killing all 216 passengers and 12 aircrew. The investigation is still ongoing, and the cause of the...
) - Princess Amélia (born March 15, 1984, BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
) - Prince Rafael (born April 24, 1986, Rio de Janeiro)
- Princess Maria Gabriela (born June 8, 1989, Rio de Janeiro)
Antônio lives with his family in Petrópolis
Petrópolis
Petrópolis , also known as The Imperial City of Brazil, is a town in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 65 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro....
.
Ancestry
Further reading
"D. Antonio de Orleans e Bragança", Casa Imperial do Brasil.|-