Prince Antonio of Orléans-Braganza, brother of the head of the Brazilian imperial family, died last Friday at the age of 74. The hereditary heir had been hospitalized since last July due to breathing problems that he could not overcome. He was also a painter and engineer, born in Rio de Janeiro, where he died. He was the seventh of thirteen children of Prince Pedro Enrique of Orléans-Braganza and Princess Maria Isabelle of Bavaria, and succeeded his brother Prince Beltrán, the current Head of the Imperial House.
© @CasaImperialBRPrince Pedro Enrique’s first-born son, Prince Luis, was head of the Brazilian Imperial Family for four decades, but when he died without issue, on July 15, 2022, he was succeeded by his brother Bertrand. He died childless at the age of 83, so Prince Antonio succeeded his brother. It should be noted that many of the thirteen brothers were no longer part of the dynastic line either because of contracting a moronatic marriage or after denouncing their right to succession. It must be remembered that Antonio de Orléans-Braganza’s father was a first cousin of Maria de las Mercedes, Countess of Barcelona and grandmother of King Philip VI.
© @CasaImperialBRPrince Antonio has been married since September 26, 1982 to Christina, daughter of Antonio, Prince of Ligon and Princess Alice of Luxembourg, to whom he says I do at Beloeil Castle in Belgium. The couple had four children: Pedro Luis, Prince of Orléans-Braganza; Amalia, married to Jacobo Spearman, of Scotland, by whom she has Amelia, Joaquin and Nicholas; Rafael and Maria Gabriela. After the death of her father, Prince Raphael, she is her uncle’s new dynastic heir and future head of the royal house.
© @CasaImperialBRIn recent years, Prince Antonio of Orléans-Braganza’s health suffered and he was hospitalized several times. In 2020 he contracted the coronavirus and was hospitalized for a long period during which he was in the intensive care unit. He was hospitalized again in August 2022 for respiratory problems, and he was finally hospitalized for respiratory failure last July. His condition has deteriorated in recent days.
© @CasaImperialBRBrazil’s imperial family bid farewell to Prince Antonio on Saturday in a funeral held in the municipality of Vasoras in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which was also attended by Prince Bertrand and his heir Prince Rafael. The burning chapel took place at the Imperial Brotherhood of Our Lady of Glory in Outeiro, and from there he left for the church of Our Lady of Conception with the help of the Brazilian Navy. Finally, burial took place in the Imperial Family Mausoleum at the fraternal cemetery of Notre-Dame de la Conception in Vasuras, where the remains of his parents rest.
