D. Duarte & D.ª Isabel de Bragança: a brief profile

[Elsa M.]

Arms of HRH The Duke of Bragança​

~  ~​

Although a small fringe of Portuguese monarchists do not recognise D. Duarte Pio de Bragança as claimant, he is generally accepted as the heir to the throne, as he is the closest male-line relative to D. Manuel II, the last king to hold the crown, before the proclamation of the Republic, on October 5th 1910.

In fact, shortly before dying at the age of 43, whithout any descendent, D. Manuel recognised his cousin, D. Duarte Nuno, as the legitimate heir. This one, however, was the head of the Bragança line descending from D. Miguel and consequently opponent to the senior line, descending from D. Pedro IV (of which D. Manuel II was the last chain).

The dispute dates back to 1826, when King D. João VI died and two opposite fractions, led by the two Infantes, divided the country: the Liberal Fraction (led by D. Pedro) and the Absolutist Fraction (led by Infante D. Miguel). As on the occasion of King D. João's death, the crown prince was living in Brazil (where he had been acclaimed Emperor), D. Pedro delegated the crown on his daughter, D.ª Maria. However, in 1828, his younger brother (D. Miguel) overthrew his niece, Queen D.ª Maria II, and started a civil war, which only ceased with the re-entry of D. Pedro, coming back from Brazil, to bring the legitimacy back and expel his brother, D. Miguel.

After his defeat and surrender, in May 1834, the Courts were assembled and a new Constitution was drafted, declaring D. Miguel and his descendents ineligible to succeed to the Crown and thus forbid, under death penalty, to return to Portugal.

This is the reason that is still evoked by the residual fringe that never recognized D. Miguel's decendents as claimants to the disestablished Portuguese Throne.

However, after being recognised by D. Manuel as his succesor, D. Duarte Nuno sealed the reconciliation between the two lines of royal descendents, by marrying D.ª Maria Francisca de Orleans-Bragança (great-granddaughter of King D. Pedro IV, a.k.a. Emperor Pedro I of Brazil).

And thus his child, D. Duarte Pio, appears as the current Duke of Bragança and presumptive heir to the Throne.

 

[Elsa M.]

D. Duarte

Duarte Pio João Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança, Duke of Bragança, Guimarães and Barcelos, Marquis of Vila Viçosa, Count of Arraiolos, Ourém, Barcelos, Faria and Neiva, is the son of D. Duarte Nuno de Bragança and of D.ª Maria Francisca de Orleans e Bragança, whose marriage finally united the two dinastic lines: the descendants of D. Pedro IV and of D. Miguel I.

The current Duke of Bragança was born on May 15th 1945, in the Portuguese Embassy of Bern, Switzerland, due to the Law of Banishment then still effective in Portugal. Upon its revocation by the Parliament, in the 1950s, the Royal Family was presented with a residence in Portugal by the Fundação Casa de Bragança and
D. Duarte Pio could continue his education in Porto, Santo Tirso and later at the Military School in Lisbon.
He concluded his studies with a Degree in Agronomic Engineering (both at the Agronomic Institute of the Technical University of Lisbon and at the Institute for Development of the University of Geneve, Switzerland).



Photos from the Portuguese Royal House's website:
Official photo of Dom Duarte's parents, on the occasion of their wedding

D. Duarte Nuno and D.ª Maria Francisca with their children:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102440&d=1109878580
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102441&d=1109878595
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102331&d=1109858901

D. Duarte Pio:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102437&d=1109878542
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102438&d=1109878553
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102439&d=1109878567

 

[Elsa M.]

D. Duarte

His military service took place between 1967 and 1971 in Angola, as a helicopter pilot, with the rank of Lieutenant, where he made many contacts with the local population and was finally escorted out by the political police, for challenging the dictatorial regime, by helping to organize an opposition for the next elections.

In 1987, D. Duarte Pio completed the course of the Institute of National Defence and qualified as a Pilot Captain Aviator, in the Portuguese Air Force Reserve. He remembers his military services as one of the most fulfilling periods of his life, especially because of his contacts maintained with the locals, who always received him very warmly.

Nevertheless, his feeling of love and obligation to the people of the former Portuguese colonies is not confined to Africa. The Duke of Bragança has taken a keen interest in East Timor, since the annexation by Indonesia, and has been a fighter for the freedom of this martyred people, even before the Portuguese Government took up a strong pro-Timor stance.

For the past thirty years, one of D. Duarte’s most passionate struggles is the apparently lost fight for the preservation and development of agriculture, about which he once stated: "Agriculture still plays a fundamental part in the lives of the nations. Apart from the production of essential food products, it is also the only activity responsible for the humanisation and permanent occupation of the rural areas".​

Therefore he has been an active member of the League for the Protection of Nature and of various other organizations with ecological goals, by working for the preservation of natural resources.

Besides D. Duarte is also a past President of the National Federation of Mutual Agricultural Credit and a member of CONFAGRI (the National Confederation of Agricultural Co-operatives); he is President of the D. Manuel II Foundation (which was founded in 1966 to aid Portuguese emigrants, through help in housing, integration into the local community and teaching) and of the Portuguese Heritage Foundation (based in North America, with the aim of preserving and disseminating the Portuguese history and cultural heritage throughout the world).

 

[Elsa M.]

The wedding

On May 13th 1995, D. Duarte Pio married D.ª Isabel de Herédia. The wedding was a state occasion, attended by the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and members of the cabinet, the diplomatic corps and representatives of thirty-five royal houses, as well as leading personalities in the Portuguese life.

The ceremony was conducted by His Beatitude the Patriarch Cardinal of Lisbon and assisted by several Archbishops and Bishops, in the Basilica of Jerónimos, in Lisbon:

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f31/d-duarte-pio-duke-bragan-isabel-de-her-dia-1995-a-5419.html

 

[Elsa M.]

D.ª Isabel

D.ª Isabel de Herédia (who belongs to one of the most traditional and aristocratic families) was born in Lisbon, on November 22th 1966.
Up to 1975, she lived between Portugal and Angola and afterwards her family moved to Brazil, where she continued her studies, in the School of S.Luís, in São Paulo. In 1990, the yougest daughter of Jorge Herédia took a Degree in Business Administration, at the Getúlio Vargas University.

On that same year, she returned to Portugal and started her professional activity, in a financial company (BMF - Sociedade de Gestão de Patrimónios, s.a.), where she worked until the wedding.

On May 13th 1995, D. Isabel married the Duke of Bragança, with whom she has three children: Afonso de Santa Maria (the Heir Apparent and Prince of Beira, who was born on March 25th 1996), Maria Francisca (b. March 3rd 1997) and Dinis (b. November 25th 1999).


Photo shoot with D.ª Isabel in 1999, by Inédita:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102339&d=1109862078
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102340&d=1109862090
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http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102346&d=1109862170

The three Infantes: Afonso, Francisca and Dinis (photos from the royal house's website):
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=102436&d=1109877744
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=115899&d=1111869143

 

[Regina]

Elsa, thanks for the pictures! Isabel is very pretty in some of them.

I don't think Dª Isabel comes from one of the most traditional and aristocratic families in Portugal She doesn't have a drop of Royal blood.

Nobody knew about her family, before the royal wedding. Yes, they were close to D. Duarte's family, but that's all.

What titles does her parents have? The only Noble one I know in her family is the Viscount of Ribeira Brava, who happened to be one of those who have collaborated on the murder of King D. Carlos... (this seems a joke but it's not!)

Her geneology is not special at all (imo).

 

[Elsa M.]

I don't think Dª Isabel comes from one of the most traditional and aristocratic families in Portugal She doesn't have a drop of Royal blood.

Nobody knew about her family, before the royal wedding. Yes, they were close to D. Duarte's family, but that's all.

I don't think it's a high profile noble family (and it certainly is one of the most discreet families), but at least the Herédia are one of the eldest families in the contry... she decends from Afonso de Herédia (the Spanish knight that came to Portugal in the 15th century)... or so I read in the book about her lineage.

 

[Regina]

Thanks, Elsa!

Maybe you know something I would like to know too: where do the Infantes study?

I know that D. Duarte wanted the boys in Colégio Militar ( a private school related to the Army) but in several interviews, Dª Isabel said she didn't want that for their children (mostly because the boys would in home only for the weekends). Where do they study after all?

 

[Elsa M.]

Maybe you know something I would like to know too: where do the Infantes study?

I know that D. Duarte wanted the boys in Colégio Militar ( a private school related to the Army) but in several interviews, Dª Isabel said she didn't want that for their children (mostly because the boys would in home only for the weekends). Where do they study after all?

Mom won... they all study in regular private schools.
I can't remember the name of Afonso's, but I remember that, a few months ago, the school was on the top of the national ranking (it was also the most expensive one...).

I once posted something about it here:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/525363-post79.html

...but I'm afraid I didn't mention the name. Anyway, it's a catholic private school.

 

[Regina]

Afonso was bullied in his school? Poor boy, it was indeed a hard situation.
Anyway, others did that because they envy his royal situation.

I think the private school of Afonso is Colégio São João de Brito. Sadly, these situations happen a lot in catholic schools, in Portugal. I am not saying all of them are bad, but I know several friends who have studied in catholic schools for some time and only few of them really liked it.

I have studied myself in a private christian school for few years here in Lisbon, but it was a school attended by students from many countries. It was a very good experience and the teachers were very-very strict with our behaviour.
I think the Infantes should study in an international private school (with a catholic assistance) - there is one in Sintra- because that would give them a notion of the world out there and they could make friends with a different mentality. Just my opinion.

 

[Regina]

D. Duarte Pio celebrating his 21st anniversary at Clube Portuense

(Zorpia.com)

 

[maidmarion]

Regina, You are very right in your opinion about Alfonso's schooling. I agree.

MM

 

[Royal-Alchemist]

I don't think it's a high profile noble family (and it certainly is one of the most discreet families), but at least the Herédia are one of the eldest families in the contry... she decends from Afonso de Herédia (the Spanish knight that came to Portugal in the 15th century)... or so I read in the book about her lineage.

I heard that her family, the Herédias, were some how exiled from the Portugese noble circles due to the fact that her ancestor, the Viscount of Ribeira Brava (a city in the Autonomous Region of Madeira) and Governor of Madeira Island, was a republican activist during the last days of the Portuguese Monarchy. The marriage to HRH the Duke of Braganza somehow rehabilitated her family.

 

[jonc93]

I heard that her family, the Herédias, were some how exiled from the Portugese noble circles due to the fact that her ancestor, the Viscount of Ribeira Brava (a city in the Autonomous Region of Madeira) and Governor of Madeira Island, was a republican activist during the last days of the Portuguese Monarchy. The marriage to HRH the Duke of Braganza somehow rehabilitated her family.

Wasn't the Viscount de Ribeira Brava also alleged to have helped in the planning of the regicide?

 

[BrazilianEmpire]

Where Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Braganza live? They received any official residence from the Government?