Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza

Duarte Pio
Prince Royal of Portugal, Duke of Braganza (more...)
Head of the Royal House of Portugal
Tenure	24 December 1976 – present (&1000000000000003500000035 years, &1000000000000006800000068 days)
Predecessor	Prince Duarte Nuno of Braganza
Heir apparent	Prince Afonso of Beira
Spouse	Isabel de Herédia
Issue
Prince Afonso, Prince of Beira Infanta Maria Francisca Infante Dinis, Duke of Porto
Full name
Duarte Pio João Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança
House	House of Braganza
Father	Prince Duarte Nuno of Braganza
Mother	Princess Francisca of Orléans-Braganza
Born	15 May 1945 (1945-05-15) Portuguese extraterritory, Bern, Switzerland
Religion	Roman Catholic

Dom Duarte Pio (Portuguese pronunciation: [duˈaɾtɨ], Duarte Pio João Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança); born 15 May 1945), is the 24th Duke of Braganza, 6th Prince Royal of Portugal and the pretender to the throne of Portugal. If the Portuguese monarchy still existed and Duarte was King of Portugal, his regnal name would be Duarte II or Duarte III if one accounts for his father.

Birth and education

Duarte Pio João Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança was born in Bern, Switzerland, in a hotel room where extraterritoriality was declared for the purpose of being born on Portuguese soil, the eldest son of Dom Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza and his wife Princess Francisca of Orléans-Braganza. Dom Duarte's godparents were Pope Pius XII and Queen Amélie of Portugal, the mother of Manuel II, the last reigning king of Portugal.

The republic

At the time of his birth Duarte's family was banned from entering Portugal by the laws of exile of 19 December 1834 and 15 October 1910.^{[citation needed]} Although Portugal had been a republic since 1910, Dom Duarte's parents sought to assure the child's eventual rights of succession to the Portuguese throne, which required Portuguese nationality, by arranging for his birth to take place in the Portuguese embassy in Bern. A small number of Portuguese monarchists dispute these rights of succession.

Repeal of the laws of exile

On 27 May 1950, the National Assembly repealed the laws of exile of 19 December 1834 and 15 October 1910. In 1951, Dom Duarte visited Portugal for the first time^{[citation needed]} accompanied by his aunt the Infanta Filipa. In 1952, he moved to Portugal permanently with his parents and brothers.

Education

From 1957 to 1959, Dom Duarte was enrolled in the Colégio Nun'Álvres in Santo Tirso. In 1960, he entered the Colégio Militar in Lisbon. He attended the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (now part of the Technical University of Lisbon) where he received a degree in agricultural sciences. Later he attended the Graduate Institute of Development Studies of the University of Geneva.

Military service

From 1968 to 1971, Dom Duarte fulfilled his military service as a helicopter pilot in the Portuguese Air Force in Portuguese Angola at the time of the Portuguese Colonial War. In 1972, he participated with a multi-ethnic Angolan group in the organization of an independent list of candidates to the National Assembly. This resulted in his expulsion from Angola by order of the Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano.

Occupation

Duarte Pio currently has a practice as an agricultural development consultant. Alongside this, he and his wife own and manage properties in Portugal that produces olive oil and agricultural products.

Succession and rights

Other claimants to the throne

There are closer female-line relatives of Manuel II of Portugal (who according to the Constitutional Charter of 1826 have succession rights), but none of these has Portuguese nationality (which was required by the Constitutional Charter for succession to the throne); and so far none has made any active claim to the throne.

The dispute over succession

A small number of Portuguese monarchists do not recognise Duarte as pretender to the throne or as Duke of Braganza. The dispute dates back to 1828 when Dom Duarte's great-grandfather Dom Miguel I proclaimed himself king of Portugal. Dom Miguel I was eventually exiled by his niece Queen Dona Maria II. According to the law of banishment (Lei do Banimento) of 1834 and the Constitution of 1838, Dom Miguel I and all his descendants were forever excluded from the succession to the throne. However, in 1842 the Constitutional Charter of 1826 was reinstated^{[citation needed]}, and this constitution (which was in place until 1910 when the monarchy was overthrown) had no bar to the succession by members of Dom Miguel's family. Besides, the Law of Banishment was revoked in 1950.^{[citation needed]}

Differences continue

In 1912 and 1922, Dom Duarte's grandfather Dom Miguel (II), Duke of Braganza was reconciled with Manuel II of Portugal, but this reconciliation was not accepted by all of their adherents. There are several monarchist organizations in Portugal which maintain that only the Cortes or the National Assembly could legally determine the rightful claimant if ever Portugal decided to restore the monarchy. One monarchist group in Portugal that did support Dom Miguel (II) instead of the deposed D. Manuel II was the Integralismo Lusitano.

Recent parliamentary statements

In May 2006, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement where it referred to Dom Duarte as Duke of Braganza. In response to this statement, on 5 July 2006 Nuno da Câmara Pereira, member of the Portuguese parliament, then leader of the People's Monarchist Party addressed the President of the Assembly of the Republic, asking for a clarification as to the official recognition of Dom Duarte as pretender to the throne and as Duke of Braganza. [1] In its official response of 11 July 2006 the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs restated the fact that the Portuguese constitution guarantees the republican regime.

Campaigner for East Timor

Dom Duarte was a major campaigner for the independence of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony which was forcibly annexed by Indonesia in 1975. Before the issue came to the attention of the world media, Dom Duarte contributed with several national and international campaigns for the political self-determination of the territory. These included "Timor 87 Vamos Ajudar" and "Lusitânia Expresso" in 1992^{[citation needed]}. In 1997, Dom Duarte also suggested a referendum on the independence of East Timor to the Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Habibie. After Habibie became president of Indonesia in 1999, a referendum was made that resulted in the independence of the country. Duarte Pio was named an East Timor citizen in 2011 after a resolution from the East Timor parliament.

Marriage and family

On 13 May 1995, Dom Duarte married Isabel de Herédia, a Portuguese businesswoman and descendant of nobility. This was the first marriage of a member of the Portuguese royal family to take place in Portugal since the marriage of King Carlos I in 1886.^{[citation needed]} The ceremony was celebrated in the Monastery of Jerónimos in Lisbon and presided over by Cardinal António Ribeiro, Patriarch of Lisbon. It was attended by the principal Portuguese political figures, including the President of the Republic Mário Soares, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, and the Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva. Also present were representatives of most of the European royal houses.

Dom Duarte and Dona Isabel have three children:

• Prince Afonso, Prince of Beira, Duke of Barcelos (born 25 March 1996)
• Infanta Maria Francisca (born 3 March 1997)
• Infante Dinis, Duke of Porto (born 25 November 1999)

The marriage of Dom Duarte and Dona Isabel and the birth of their first son were occasions of widespread news media attention in Portugal.^{[citation needed]}

Titles, Styles, and Honours

Royal styles of Duarte II of Braganza
Reference style	His Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Sire

Main article: List of titles and honours of the Portuguese Crown

Duarte Pio's full royal styling:

• In Portuguese: Sua Alteza Real o mui Augusto e Sereníssimo Príncipe Dom Duarte Pio João Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança, por sucessão do seu Augusto Pai, Sua Alteza Real o Príncipe Dom Duarte Nuno e do seu primo, de Gloriosa Memória, El-Rei o Senhor Dom Manuel II, O Desventurado, e por virtude do presente interregno, Príncipe Real de Portugal, 25º duque de Bragança, 22º duque de Guimarães, 24º marquês de Vila Viçosa, 29º conde de Ourém, 26º conde de Arraiolos, 26º conde de Neiva, 26º conde de Faria e 22º conde de Guimarães. O terceiro de seu nome como representante dos reis de Portugal. Grão-Mestre da Ordem de Nossa Senhora de Vila Viçosa e Grão-Mestre da Ordem de São Miguel da Ala.
• In English: His Royal Highness the very August and Most Serene Prince Dom Duarte Pio João Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança, by succession of his August Father, His Royal Highness the Prince Dom Duarte Nuno and his cousin, of Glorious Memory, the King the Lord Dom Manuel II, the Unfortunate, and by virtue of the present interregnum, Prince Royal of Portugal, 25th Duke of Braganza, 22nd Duke of Guimarães, 24th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 29th Count of Ourém, 26th Count of Arraiolos, 26th Count of Neiva, 26th Count of Faria and 22nd Count of Guimarães. The third of his name as representative of the Kings of Portugal. Grand Master of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa and Grand Master of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing.

References

Further reading

• Henriques, Mendo Castro. Dom Duarte e a Democracia: uma biografia portuguesa. Lisbon: Bertrand, 2006. ISBN 972-25-1517-9
• Mendes, Nuno Canas. Duarte e Isabel, duques de Bragança: biografia autorizada. Mem Martins: Lyon Multimédia Edições, 1995.
• Morais, Jorge. D. Duarte: a primeira biografia. Lisbon: Chiado-Consultores de Informação, 1995.
• Fernandes, Clara Picão. Monarquia hoje?: diálogos com o Duque de Bragança. Lisbon: Editora Civilização, 1995.

External links

• Fundação da Casa de Bragança Website of the Foundation of the House of Braganza.

Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza House of Braganza Cadet branch of the House of Aviz Born: May 15 1945
Portuguese nobility
Preceded by Duarte Nuno	Duke of Braganza 24 December 1976 – present	Incumbent Heir: Prince Afonso
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Duarte Nuno	— TITULAR — King of Portugal Braganza line 24 December 1976 – present Reason for succession failure: Kingdom abolished in 1910	Incumbent Heir: Prince Afonso