Line of succession to the former Brazilian throne
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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.[1] The Petrópolis branch, headed by Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza, is descended from Princess Isabel's eldest son, Pedro de Alcântara, while the Vassouras branch, headed by Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza, is descended from her second son, Luís. The Brazilian monarchy was hereditary according to male-preference primogeniture and dynasts in the line of succession were required to hold Brazilian nationality. In 1908 Dom Pedro de Alcântara (Petrópolis Branch) renounced his succession rights.
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[edit] Overview
After the death of Pedro II in 1891, his eldest daughter, Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil became the pretender to the abolished Brazilian throne. In 1908 D. Pedro wanted to marry Countess Elisabeth Dobržensky de Dobrženicz (1875–1951) who, although a noblewoman of the kingdom of Bohemia, did not belong to a royal or reigning dynasty. Although the constitution of the Brazilian Empire did not require a dynast to marry equally,[2] his mother ruled that the marriage would not be valid dynastically for the Brazilian succession,[2] and as a result he renounced his rights to the throne of Brazil on 30 October 1908:[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] To solemnize this, Dom Pedro, aged thirty-three, signed the document translated here:
| “ | I Prince Pedro de Alcântara Luís Filipe Maria Gastão Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga of Orléans and Braganza, having maturely reflected, have resolved to renounce the right that, by the Constitution of the Empire of Brazil, promulgated on 25 March 1824, accords to me the Crown of that nation. I declare, therefore, that by my free and spontaneous will I hereby renounce, in my own name, as well as for any and all of my descendants, to all and any rights that the aforesaid Constitution confers upon us to the Brazilian Crown and Throne, which shall pass to the lines which follow mine, conforming to the order of succession as established by article 117. Before God I promise, for myself and my descendants, to hold to the present declaration.
Cannes 30 October 1908 signed: Pedro de Alcântara of Orléans-Braganza[10] |
” |
This renunciation was followed by a letter from Isabel to royalists in Brazil:
| “ |
9 November 1908, [Castle of] Eu Most Excellent Gentlemen Members of the Monarchist Directory, With all my heart I thank you for the congratulations upon the marriages of my dear children Pedro and Luís. Luis´s took place in Cannes on the 4th with the brilliance that is desired for so solemn an act in the life of my successor to the Throne of Brazil. I was very pleased. Pedro´s shall take place next on the 14th. Before the marriage of Luis he signed his resignation to the crown of Brazil, and here I send it to you, while keeping here an identical copy. I believe that this news must be published as soon as possible (you gentlemen shall do it in the way that you judge to be most satisfactory) in order to prevent the formation of parties that would be a great evil for our country. Pedro will continue to love his homeland, and will give all possible support to his brother. Thank God they are very united. Luis will engage actively in everything with respect to the monarchy and any good for our land. However, without giving up my rights I want that he be up to date on everything so that he may prepare himself for the position which with all my heart I desire that one day he will hold. You may write to him as many times as you may want to so that he shall be informed of everything. My strength is not the same as it once was, but my heart is still the same to love my homeland and all those who are so dedicated to us. I give you all my friendship and confidence, a) Isabel, comtesse d'Eu |
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Assuming that the 1908 renunciation of Pedro de Alcântara was valid, his brother Luís (and eventually, Pedro Henrique) became next in the line of succession after their mother.[11][12][13][14][15][16] Isabel's headship of the Brazilian Imperial House lasted until her death in 1921, when she is widely considered to have been succeeded by her grandson, Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza.[11][12][13][14][15][16] Pedro Henrique was the elder son of Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza (1878–1920), second child of Isabel and a veteran of World War I who had died in 1920 from an illness he contracted in the trenches.[17]
Prince Pedro de Alcantara did not dispute the validity of the renunciation during his lifetime.[18][19] Though he did not claim the headship of the Imperial House himself in 1937, he did say in an interview that his renunciation "did not meet the requirements of Brazilian Law, there was no prior consultation with the nation, there was none of the necessary protocol that is required for acts of this nature and, furthermore, it was not a hereditary renunciation."[20]
The dynastic dispute over the Brazilian crown began after 1940 when Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, eldest son of Pedro de Alcântara rejected his father's renunciation and claimed the headship of the Brazilian Imperial House.[21][21][22]
After the death of Pedro Gastão in 2007, his eldest son Prince Pedro Carlos and younger children declared themselves republicans.,[23][24][25]
[edit] Petrópolis line of succession
- Head: HI&RH Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1945)[26]
- HI&RH Prince Pedro Thiago of Orléans-Braganza, Prince Imperial of Brazil (b. 1979)
- HI&RH Prince Felipe Rodrigo of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1981)
- HRH Prince Afonso Duarte of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1948)
- HRH Princess Maria of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1974)
- HRH Princess Júlia of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1977)
- HRH Prince Manuel Álvaro of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1949)
- HRH Prince Manuel Afonso of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1981)
- HRH Princess Luisa Christina of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1978)
- HRH Prince Francisco of Orléans-Braganza (b.1956)
- HRH Prince Francisco Teodoro of Orléans-Braganza (b.1979)
- HRH Prince Gabriel of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1989)
- HRH Princess Maria Isabel of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1982)
- HRH Princess Manuela of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1997)
- HRH Princess Maria da Gloria, Duchess of Segorbe (b. 1946)
- HRH Princess Cristina of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1950)
- HSH Princess Ana Teresa Sapieha-Rozanska (b. 1981)
- HSH Princess Paola Sapieha-Rozanska (b. 1983)
- HRH Prince João Henrique of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1954)
- HRH Prince João Philippe of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1986)
- HRH Princess Maria Christina of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1989)
- Followed by the Vassouras branch
[edit] Vassouras line of succession
- Head: HI&RH Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1938)
- HI&RH Prince Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza, Prince Imperial of Brazil (b. 1942)
- HI&RH Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1950)
- HRH Prince Rafael of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1986)
- HRH Princess Amélia of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1984)
- HRH Princess Maria Gabriela of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1989)
- HRH Princess Isabel Maria of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1944)
- HRH Princess Eleonora of Orléans-Braganza (b. 1953)
- HSH Henri Antoine, Hereditary Prince of Ligne (b. 1989)
- HSH Princess Alix of Ligne (b. 1984)
[edit] Saxe-Coburg branch
Since 1908, the Saxe-Coburg branch has not been considered dynastic by either the Head of the Brazilian Imperial House or by Brazilian monarchists.[27]
[edit] In fiction
In science fiction, Robert Heinlein's novel Time for the Stars depicts its protagonists returning to Earth after a galactic voyage lasting several centuries, and landing at Rio de Janeiro, where they are greeted by "Emperor Dom Pedro III", who presents them with a medal on behalf of the World Government. Heinlein does not specify the circumstances under which, in the future depicted, the Brazilian monarchy was restored.
[edit] Bibliography
- BrHistória magazine, issue 4, Year 1.São Paulo: Duetto, 2007.
- Santos, Alexandre Armando dos. A Legitimidade Monárquica no Brasil. São Paulo: Artpress, 1988.
- Silva, Paulo Napoleão Nogueira da. Monarquia: verdades e mentiras. São Paulo: GRD, 1994.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Smith, Peter H. "Democracy in Latin America" P 148.
- ^ a b Sainty, Guy Stair. "House of Bourbon: Branch of Orléans-Braganza". Chivalric Orders. http://www.chivalricorders.org/royalty/bourbon/brazil/orl-brag.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
- ^ <BARMAN, Roderick J., Princesa Isabel do Brasil: gênero e poder no século XIX, UNESP, 2005
- ^ VIANNA, Hélio. Vultos do Império. São Paulo: Companhia Editoria Nacional, 1968, p.224
- ^ FREYRE, Gilberto. Ordem e Progresso. Rio de Janeiro: José Olympio, 1959, p.517 and 591
- ^ LYRA, Heitor. História de Dom Pedro II - 1825-1891. São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1940, vol.III, p.300
- ^ Enciclopaedia Barsa, vol. IV, article "Braganza", p.210, 1992
- ^ JANOTTI, Maria de Lourdes. Os Subversivos da República. São Paulo: Brasiliense, 1986, p.255-7
- ^ MALATIAN, Teresa Maria. A Ação Imperial Patrianovista Brasileira. São Paulo, 1978, p.153-9
- ^ Montjouvent, Philippe de (1998) (in French). Le comte de Paris et sa Descendance. Charenton: Éditions du Chaney. p. 97. ISBN 2-913211-00-3.
- ^ a b Vianna, Hélio. Vultos do Império. São Paulo: Companhia Editoria Nacional, 1968, p.224
- ^ a b Freyre, Gilberto. Ordem e Progresso. Rio de Janeiro: José Olympio, 1959, p.517 and 591
- ^ a b Lyra, Heitor. História de Dom Pedro II – 1825–1891. São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1940, vol. III, p.300
- ^ a b Enciclopaedia Barsa, vol. IV, article "Braganza", p.210, 1992
- ^ a b Janotti, Maria de Lourdes. Os Subversivos da República. São Paulo: Brasiliense, 1986, p.255-7
- ^ a b Malatian, Teresa Maria. A Ação Imperial Patrianovista Brasileira. São Paulo, 1978, p.153-9
- ^ Malatian, Teresa in BrHistória issue 4, p.35
- ^ Santos, p.76
- ^ Silva, p. 228, 229
- ^ Villon, Victor (2008). "Elisabeth Dobrzensky von Dobrzenicz "Empress of Brazil"". Royalty Digest Quarterly (3): 33.
- ^ a b Cerqueira, Bruno da Silva A.. in BrHistória issue 4, p.58
- ^ Santos, p.197
- ^ Bernardo Gutiérrez,
- ^ "La familia real brasileña defiende los nuevos ideales"
- ^ Príncipes Republicanos (09/01/2008)
- ^ NÉMETH-TORRES, Geovani. A odisséia monarquista no Plebiscito Nacional de 1993. In: Veredas da História. Rio de Janeiro: Ano I, n. 1. Abr. 2008. ISSN: 1982-4238.[1]
- ^ Silva, p. 178
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