Press release from the Imperial House of Brazil:
"Their Highnesses D. Antonio de Orleans e Bragança, Prince of Brazil, and D. Christine de Orleans e Bragança, born Princess of Ligne, announced the engagement between their daughter, D. Amélia de Orleans e Bragança, and Alexander James Spearman, from Edinburgh, Scotland. The wedding will take place at Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Antinga Sé, on August 2014, in Rio de Janeiro."
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The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
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The church where Princess Amélia will marry has long association with Brazilian Royalty.
During the stay of the Royal Family of Portugal in Brazil (1808-1821), King João VI of Portugal designated the Church as the new Portuguese Royal Chapel, and later as the Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro.
In May 20, 1816, King João VI was anointed King of Portugal there. The following year, on November 6, his eldest son and heir, Prince Pedro - the Prince Royal of Portugal - received his wife, Princess Leopoldina (née Archduchess of Austria), with whom he had married by proxy some months before.
After the Independence of Brazil, on September 7, 1822, the Church was designated as the Imperial Chapel.
On December 1, 1822, Emperor Pedro I was crowned there. His son and successor, Emperor Pedro II, was also crowned on the Church, on July 18, 1841.
Princess Isabel - Princess Imperial of Brazil and heiress to the Throne - married there with Prince Gaston of Orleans, Count of Eu, on October 15, 1864.
On September 13, 2009, there was a mass on the Church, to celebrated the centennial of Prince Pedro Henrique (1909-1981), who was the Head of the Imperial House of Brazil from 1921 until his death, and the 95th birthday of his consort, Princess Maria Elizabeth (née Princess of Bavaria, who died in 2011).
There was also a sad event, on June 5, 2009, a service was held there, after the death of Prince Pedro Luiz of Brazil (Princess Amélia's older brother). It was terribly sad, I was present.
More about the engagement of Princess Amélia
Causa Imperial, a Monarchist page on Facebook, has an interesting post about Princess Amélia of Brazil and her fiancée, James Spearman. And they also have a nice picture of them, with the arms of their families.
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The post:
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The wedding of Princess Amélia with James Spearman.
As already reported, Her Royal Highness Princess Amélia of Brazil will marry Alexander James Spearman, on August 2014.
Princess Amélia Maria de Fátima Josefa Antonia Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga of Brazil, Princess of Orleans-Braganza, born in Brussels, Belgium, on March 15, 1984, and registred as a Brazilian citizen at the Brazilian Consulate General in Brussels, in accordance with the Brazilian Constitution of 1824 (which dictates that only a Brazilian citizen can inherit the Throne of Brazil). Currently, Her Royal Highness is the fifth in the Line of Succession to the Throne. Princess Amélia is the eldest daughter and second child of Prince Antonio (b. 1950) and Princess Christine (b. 1955) of Brazil. She has four siblings: Princes Pedro Luiz (1983-2009) and Rafael (n. 1986), and Princess Maria Gabriela of Brazil (b. 1989). Her uncles - Prince Antonio's older brothers - are Prince Luiz (b. 1938), the Head of the Imperial House and Emperor
de jure of Brazil, and Prince Bertrand (n. 1941), Prince Imperial of Brazil and second in Line to the Throne.
Princess Amélia's paternal grandparents are Prince Pedro Henrique (1909-1981), Head of the Imperial House of Brazil from 1921 until his death, and Princess Maria Elizabeth of Brazil (1914-2011). Prince Pedro Henrique - eldest child of Prince Luiz (1878-1920), Prince Imperial of Brazil and "The Perfect Prince" - inherited from his paternal grandmother, Princess Isabel (1846-1921), "The Redemptress", the Headship of the Imperial House of Brazil, after her death, while the Imperial Family was exiled in Europe. Through her honored great-great-grandmother, Princess Amélia descends from Emperors Pedro I (1798-1834) and Pedro II (1825-1891) of Brazil, and from the King and Queens of Portugal, from the House of Braganza, which reigned from 1640 and 1910 - which remains the Royal House of Portugal, whose the Head, Prince Duarte (b. 1945), Duke of Braganza, is a second cousin once removed of Princess Amélia.
Through her great-great-grandfather, Prince Gaston (1842-1922), Count of Eu and Consort of Princess Isabel, Princess Amélia is a descendant of the House of Orleans - which reigned in France from 1830 to 1848, whose the Head, Prince Henri (b. 1933), is also a second cousin once removed of Princess Amélia. Her Royal Highness is a great-great-great-great-granddaughter of King Louis-Philippe of France (1773-1850). Through the House of Orleans, the Princess can trace her pratilineal descent to King Saint Louis IX of France (1214-1270), the "Crusader King", and to Hugh Capet (c. 939-996) the first King of the Franks, who reigned from 987 until his death.
Through her paternal grandmother, Princess Amélia is a descendant of the Kings of Bavaria, from the House of Wittelsbach, one of the most ancient Houses of Europe, with origins in the Ninth Century. Her great-great-grandfather, King Ludwig III (1845-1921) was the last Bavarian Monarch. Her great-grandmother, Princess Maria Pia (1878-1973), Dowager Imperial Princess of Brazil, was the daughter of Prince Afonso (1841-1934), Count of Caserta and Head of the Royal House of the Two-Sicilies, the Family of Empress Teresa Cristina of Brazil (1822-1889). Through her celebrated anscestress, Empress Leopoldina of Brazil (1797-1826), Princess Amélia descends from the Emperors of Austria and of the Holy Roman Empire, from the House of Habsburg, the most noble House of the Christendom.
Princess Amélia's mother is from the Princely Family of Ligne, one of the most ancient and noble Houses of Belgium, which also have the titles of Princes of Amblise, Épinoy and of the Holy Roman Empire. Princess Christine is fourth of the seven children of Prince Antoine (1925-2005), 13th Prince of Ligne from 1985 until his death, and his wife, Princess Alix (now the Dowager Princess of Linge; b. 1929). The Princes of Ligne, throughout History, stood out as diplomats, political articulators, soldiers and distinguished members of society. The current Head of the Princely House is Prince Michel (b. 1951), the 14th Prince of Ligne and brother of Princess Christine, Princess Amélia's mother. Prince Michel is married to Princess Eleonora of Brazil (n. 1953), sister of Prince Antonio, Princess Amélia's father. The Prince and Princess of Ligne have two children: Princess Alix of Ligne (b. 1984) and Prince Henri Antoine (b. 1989), Hereditary Prince of Ligne. Princess Amélia's maternal grandmother is the youngest daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg (1896-1985) and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma (1893-1970). The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg reigns over one of the most democratic and developed countries in the world.
Raised in Petrópolis, the "Imperial City", located in the hills of Rio de Janeiro, Princess Amélia studied at Ipiranga Elementary School and São José High School. In 2007, Her Royal Highness concluded the course of Architecture at the Pontical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. Since then, the Princess has been living in Europe. First, she lived in Madrid, Spain. Now, Her Royal Highness is living in London, where she works at
Camu & Morrison. The Princess speaks Portuguese, French, English and Spanish.
James Alexander Spearman, born on March 27, 1984, in Edinburgh, is the son of Lochain Alexander and Pilin Spearman. James, as he's called by his family and friends, has two brothers: Jack and Adam Spearman. Throught his father, he descends from important families from the British Aristocracy. His maternal family, the Garrigues, has some political, social and cultural importance in Europe.
The Spearman Baronetcy, of Hanwel in the county of Middlesex, was created on April 28, 1840, by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819-1901), to Sir Alexander Young Spearman (1793-1874). Sir Alexander served as Comptroller General of the Exchequer and Secretary to the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt. In 1869, he became a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council.
The Spearman are also related to the Dukes of Fife, relatives of the British Royal Family - in 1889, Alexander Duff (1849-1912), 6th Earl and 1th Duke of Fife married Princess Louise of Wales (1867-1931), daughter of the then Prince of Wales, future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (1841-1910).
The Garrigues family is an acient European Clan, orginated in the region of Les Garrigues, in the south-central of France. The family immigrated to Spain, Gemrnay and to the United States, where they achieved success and prominence. James's maternal grandfather was Don Mariano Garrigues Diaz-Cañabate, a renowned lawyer, whose brother was Don Antonio Garrigues Diaz-Cañabate (1904-2004), who received the title of Marquiss of Garrigues, due to his services to diplomacy and law. The Garrigues family is also related to the Marquisses of la Granja de San Saturnino ant the Barons of Garel-Jones. The family has important conections with the Spanish Diplomacy and the UN.
James Spearman studied at the renowned Eton College, from 1997 to 2002, where he met with Prince William (b. 1982), Duke of Cambridge, and his brother, Prince Harry of Wales (b. 1984), grandsons of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (b. 1926). In 2007, he concluded the course of Modern European Languages at the University of Edinburgh. He lived for sometime in Madrid, and is now living in London, where he works to
Stanhope Capital. James speaks English, French and Spanish.
The Imperial House of Brazil informad, through a statement from Prince Antonio and Princess Christine, that the wedding will take place at the Church of Our Lady of the Mount Carmeo, the old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro. The Church served as the Royal Chapel (from 1808 to 1822) and as the Imperial Chapel (from 1822 to 1889). There, King João VI was anointed as King of Portugal, and Emperor Pedro I and Pedro II of Brazil were Crowned. Numerous members of the Imperial Family were christened and married on that church.
Princess Amélia's marriage has been raisinh question about her future in the Imperial House of Brazil. Although he has a noble set of ancestors, James and his parents are commoners. The Imperial Family has already faced similar situation. During the 20th century, four sons of Prince Pedro Henrique married commoners, and lose their rights to Throne. The same has happend to Prince Alberto (b. 1957) and Princesses Maria Teresa and Maria Gabriela (b. 1959), when they decided to marry commoners, their brother, Prince Luiz, by then, Head of the Imperial House, asked them to rennounce their rights to Throne.
It's up to Prince Luiz, with his wisdom, to decide what his niece, Princess Amélia, will do, thinking about what is best for the Dynasty which, for more then a century has been serving Brazil."
