Avançar para o conteúdo principal

Maria Amélia of Braganza

Maria Amélia Augusta Eugénia Josefina Luísa Teodolinda Heloísa Francisca Xavier de Paula Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga was born on 1 December 1831, in Paris. She was the only daughter of King Pedro IV of Portugal and Emperor of Brazil and his second wife, Amélie de Beauharnais.


 Maria Amélia's father was the first Emperor of Brazil and the 29th King of Portugal. However, he gave up the Portuguese throne only two months after his acclamation; he was succeeded by his daughter, Maria II. However, Maria's position was usurped by her uncle (Pedro's younger brother), who took the throne as Miguel I. Anxious to put his daughter back on the throne, Pedro abdicated the Brazilian throne (and was succeeded by his son, Pedro II) and left to Europe with his second wife, who was pregnant with Maria Amélia.
Because he wanted to recognise Maria Amélia's rights as a Brazilian princess, Pedro invited various people to watch her birth. The newborn Maria Amélia was a goddaughter of King Louis Philippe I of France and his wife, Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. Pedro was delighted with his new daughter.

 When Maria Amélia was just 20 days old, Pedro left to the Azores, where we would organise an army to invade Portugal. Maria Amélia stayed in Paris, where she lived with her mother and her two half-sisters (Maria II and Isabel Maria de Alcântara) for two years.

 Miguel I was defeated by Pedro, and Maria II was back on the Portuguese throne. Maria Amélia and her family returned to Lisbon, where they settled. However, the conflict had influenced Pedro's health: he was now suffering with tuberculosis. Pedro and Maria Amélia had established a close relationship and, when she wasn't yet three years old, she was taken to his bedroom on the dawn of 24 September 1834. Pedro was very weak and nearing death. He rose his hands, blessed his daughter and said tell this child that her father loved her very much...don't forget me and obey your mother... Those are my last wishes. That same afternoon, Pedro IV of Portugal and I of Brazil died.

 Amélie de Beauharnais never married again. She moved to the Palace of the Green Windows, where she dedicated herself to her daughter's education. Despite living in Portugal, they did not belong to the Portuguese royal family; they would never visit Brazil again.

 Maria Amélia was described as a girl of impressing beauty and a cultivated intelligence according to the historian H. Montgomery Hyde. She was very religious, intelligent, witty, with a hot-headed and slightly ironic personality. She received a refined education, painted and played the piano very well, and was fluent in Portuguese, French and German.
One of Maria Amélia's motivation was her father. Pedro was always remembered by the young princess, who frequently asked and my father, who looks after me in heaven, would he be happy with his daughter? Maria Amélia never recovered from her father's death and it troubled her deeply.

 In early 1852, the archduke Maximilian of Austria (the future Maximilian I of Mexico) visited Amélie and Maria Amélia when he took a break in Portugal. The princess had already met Maximilian at a family reunion. They fell in love and got engaged. However, the engagement was never official because Maria Amélia died prematurely.

 In February 1852, Maria Amélia fell ill with scarlet fever. Months passed but the princess wasn't getting better. She developed a persistent cough - the symptoms of tuberculosis. On 26 August, she left the palace where she lived and travelled to Madeira, where the climate was more forgiving. When she was saying goodbye, the princess probably felt a bad omen and told her niece, Maria Ana of Braganza: is it not true, Maria, that you will never forget me?

 Maria Amélia and her mother reached Funchal on 31 August 1852; the whole city greeted them with joy. However, living in Madeira was not helping: Maria Amélia's health got worse and, after a while, all hope was gone. In early 1853, the princess was bedridden and she knew she was nearing death. On 4 February, a priest gave her the last rites. Maria Amélia of Braganza died on that day, aged just 21.
Maria Amélia of Braganza
Friederich Dürck
c. 1849

Etiquetas:

Comentários

Enviar um comentário

Mensagens populares deste blogue

Mihrimah Sultan

Mihrimah was born in Istanbul in 1522; she was the daughter of Sultan Süleyman I (aka The Magnificent) and his concubine, Hürrem Sultan . Her mother was freed in 1533 or 1534 and became the Sultan’s legal wife. On 26 November 1539, Mihrimah, aged 17, married Rüstem Pasha, who later rose to become her father’s Grand Vizier. Though this union was unhappy, Mihrimah flourished as a patroness of the arts and continued her travels with her father until her husband’s death. Mihrimah had two children: Osman and Hümaşah. Mihrimah travelled the Ottoman Empire with her father as he surveyed the lands and conquered new ones. In international politics, her mother sent letters to the Sigismund II, King of Poland, and the contents of these letters were mirrored in the letters Mihrimah sent. Although there is no proof of Hürrem and Mihrimah’s direct involvement in her half-brother Mustafa’s downfall, Ottoman sources and foreign accounts indicate that it was widely believed they worke...
1 comentário
Ler mais

Margaret of Provence

Margaret (French: Marguerite) was born during the spring of 1221, in Forcalquier. She was the eldest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence, and Beatrice of Savoy. She had three younger sisters, who would all become queens like her: Eleanor (Queen of England), Sanchia (Queen of Germany) and Beatrice (Queen of Sicily). Margaret has a especially close relationship with Eleanor, and they remained friends until they grew old. In 1233, Blanche of Castile sent one of her knights to Provence to meet Margaret, whose grace and beauty was famous. Margaret and her father entertained the knight well, and soon Blanche and Ramon Berenguer were negotiating a marriage contract between Margaret and Louis IX of France, Blanche's son. Margaret was escorted to Lyon by her parents, where the marriage treaty was signed. From there, she was escorted to her wedding ceremony, in Sens. On 27 May 1234, Margaret became the wife of Louis IX and Queen of France; she was just 13. The marriage...
Enviar um comentário
Ler mais

Charlotte of Prussia (Alexandra Feodorovna)

Friederike Luise Charlotte Wilhelmine, better known as Charlotte, was born a princess of Prussia on 13 July 1798. She was the eldest surviving daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and his wife, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her childhood was marked by the Napoleonic wars and the death of her mother when she was just 12. On February 1814, Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich, the future Tsar of Russia, and his brother. Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich visited Berlin. Arrangements were made by the two families for Nicholas to marry Charlotte and strengthen the alliance between Prussia and Russia. On a second visit, Nicholas fell in love with Charlotte; the feeling was mutual. She wrote: I like him and am sure of being happy with him . By the end of this visit, they were engaged. On 9 June 1817, Princess Charlotte travelled to Russia. When she arrived in Saint Petersburg, she converted to Russian Orthodoxy, and took the Russian name of Alexandra Feodorovna. On her 19th birthday, ...
Enviar um comentário
Ler mais