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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

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