Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal

Luís Filipe
Prince Royal of Portugal, Duke of Braganza (more...)
Born	(1887-03-21)21 March 1887 Belém Palace, Lisbon, Portugal
Died	1 February 1908(1908-02-01) (aged 20) Terreiro do Paço, Lisbon, Portugal (assassinated)
House	Braganza
Father	Carlos I of Portugal
Mother	Amélie of Orléans
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

D. Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, Duke of Braganza, (Portuguese pronunciation: [luˈiʃ fɨˈlip(ɨ)]; 21 March 1887 – 1 February 1908) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of King Carlos I of Portugal. He was born in 1887 while his father was still Prince Royal of Portugal, and received the usual style of the heirs to the heir of the Portuguese crown: he was then at birth 4th Prince of Beira, with the subsidiary title of 14th Duke of Barcelos. After his grandfather king Dom Luís I of Portugal died, he became Prince Royal of Portugal, with the subsidiary titles of 21st Duke of Braganza, 20th Marquis of Vila Viçosa, 28th count of Barcelos, 25th count of Ourém, 23rd count of Arraiolos, 22nd count of Neiva; he was later created Knight Commander of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa, Knight of the Order of the Garter, and Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Early life

The Coat of arms of Luís Filipe as a Knight of the Garter

Luís Filipe Maria Carlos Amélio Francisco Víctor Manuel António Lourenço Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis Bento was born in Lisbon, the elder son of Carlos, Prince Royal of Portugal, (later King Carlos I of Portugal) and the Princess Amélie d'Orléans. A member of the House of Braganza, Dom Luís Filipe was granted when born the titles of Prince of Beira and Duke of Barcelos, traditionally held by the heir apparent of the Prince Royal of Portugal (Príncipe Real).

Two years later, Dom Luís Filipe inherited all his father's royal princely titles when Charles became king, being himself restyled Prince Royal, and inheriting at the same time the Dukedom of Braganza (21st Duke), the biggest private fortune in Portugal at that time, who was at the disposal of the heir to the Portuguese crown. In English, he is sometimes, but inaccurately, called Crown Prince of Portugal.

In 1907 the Prince Royal acted as regent of the Kingdom while his father was outside the country. The same year he made a very successful official visit to the Portuguese colonies in Africa, being the first royal ever to go there.

Dom Luís was the pupil of the African war hero Mouzinho de Albuquerque, and like all the Braganzas, showed many aptitudes in the arts, besides his military education. Negotiations were being held when he was assassinated for him to marry his cousin Princess Patricia of Connaught, granddaughter to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the daughter of British Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia. Her sister was Princess Margaret of Connaught, first wife of Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden.

Lisbon Regicide

Main article: Lisbon Regicide

On 1 February 1908 Luís Filipe and his family were returning to Lisbon from Vila Viçosa Palace, in Alentejo, private head to the House of Braganza. Alfredo Costa and Manuel Buiça, two members of a revolutionary society called the Carbonária, shot at all the royal family, hitting Luís Filipe, his father King Carlos, and his younger brother Infante Manuel, Duke of Beja. Carlos I died immediately, while Luís Filipe lived for another twenty minutes. Manuel survived the attack, having only been shot in the arm, while the queen was unharmed. Had automatic ascension to the throne been the law, Luís Filipe would have been one of the shortest-reigning monarchs in history, with a reign of, as mentioned above, just twenty minutes.

Manuel would succeed to the throne as Manuel II. Luís Filipe is buried next to his father and forefathers in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza in Lisbon. His younger brother, King Manuel II of Portugal, and his mother, Queen Maria Amélia, are buried opposite.

On 5 October 1910, the monarchy under the reign of his surviving younger brother, Manuel II, was overthrown in a military coup and the Portuguese First Republic was established. That would have been very difficult to do at the time if Luís Filipe had not died, as he inherited his father's greater popularity among Portuguese Army officers, who despised the lack of military sensibility of his younger brother.

Royal styles of The Prince Royal of Portugal
Reference style	His Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Sire

Titles and styles

• 21 March 1887 – 19 October 1889: His Royal Highness The Prince of Beira, Duke of Barcelos
• 19 October 1889 – 1 February 1908: His Royal Highness The Prince Royal, Duke of Braganza

Arms

Prince Luis Felipe bore as heir to the throne the arms of his father; differenced by a Label of three points Or.

Ancestry

Family of Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal

16. Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 8. Ferdinand II of Portugal 17. Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág 4. Luís I of Portugal 18. Pedro I of Brazil (IV of Portugal) 9. Maria II of Portugal 19. Maria Leopoldina of Austria 2. Carlos I of Portugal 20. Charles Albert of Sardinia 10. Victor Emmanuel II of Italy 21. Maria Theresa of Austria and Tuscany 5. Maria Pia of Savoy 22. Archduke Rainer of Austria 11. Maria Adelaide of Austria 23. Princess Elisabeth of Savoy 1. Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal 24. Louis-Philippe of France (=28) 12. Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans 25. Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies (=29) 6. Philippe, comte de Paris 26. Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 13. Duchess Helen of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 27. Princess Karoline Luise of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 3. Amélie of Orléans 28. Louis-Philippe of France (=24) 14. Antoine, Duke of Montpensier 29. Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies (=25) 7. Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans 30. Ferdinand VII of Spain 15. Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier 31. Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies