The Funeral of Prince Luiz of Brazil

The coffin of Prince Luiz. Members of the Brazilian Navy surround the coffin. Photo (c) Pró Monarquia.

On Monday, 18 July 2022, the funeral of HIH Prince Luiz  of Brazil took place at the Church of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus in São Paulo. The burial took place following the funeral at the Consolação Cemetery.

Prince Bertrand, the new Head of the Imperial House, Prince Antonio, and Prince Rafael. Photo (c) Pró Monarquia.

The coffin of the prince was carried by members of the Brazilian Navy, who did state honours. The Brazilian Republic officially observed a day of mourning following the death of Dom Luiz. Present at the funeral were Prince Bertrand of Brazil, Prince Imperial Antônio of Brazil, and Prince Rafael, Prince of Grão-Pará. Also in attendance were Prince Casimir of Bourbon-Two-Sicilies and his wife Princess Maria Cristina (née Savoy-Aosta); their children Prince Luís, Princess Elena and Prince Alessandro of Bourbon-Two-Sicilies; Princess Maria Isabella of Savoy-Genoa; and Prince Gundakar of Liechtenstein.

For more information:

Death of Prince Luiz (1938-2022), Head of Brazilian Imperial Family

Brazil Government: Official Mourning for Late Head of Imperial House

A Baby Boy for the Romanovs!

Photo (c) David Nivière.

 

The Russian Imperial Chancellery released a statement today from Moscow announcing that Princess Victoria Romanovna Romanoff is expecting a baby boy. The princess is in very good health, and her pregnancy is progressing smoothly. She and her husband, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, thanked everyone who has sent them good wishes as they prepare to welcome their first child in October 2022. Baby Romanov will be the first member of the dynasty born in Russia since that of Princess Catherine Ivanovna of Russia, who was born at Pavlovsk on 25 July 1915 and that of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia (the baby's great-grandfather), who was born at Porvoo, Finland, on 30 August 1917.

The Russian Imperial Couple Prepare to Welcome Their First Child!

The elated expectant parents!

Photo (c) David Nivière.

Courtesy of the Russian Imperial Chancellery.

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and Princess Victoria Romanovna Romanoff are happily awaiting the arrival of their first child. On May 21st, the Chancellery of the Imperial House of Romanov announced the news that Princess Victoria was pregnant. The baby is expected this autumn!

Princess Victoria and Grand Duke George.

Photo (c) David Nivière.

Courtesy of the Russian Imperial Chancellery.

The couple, who married in a magnificent religious ceremony last year in Saint Petersburg, recently visited members of their family in Rome. They were able to spent time with Prince Franz-Wilhelm of Prussia and his wife Princess Nadia, Grand Duke George's father and stepmother, along with the parents of Princess Victoria, Ambassador Roberto Bettarini and Carla Virginia Cacciatore.

Grand Duke George and Princess Victoria.

Photo (c) David Nivière.

Courtesy of the Russian Imperial Chancellery.

The baby will be the first grandchild of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, Head of the Imperial House, and Prince Franz-Wilhelm of Prussia, who wed in 1976. It will also be the first grandchild of Ambassador Roberto Bettarini and Carla Virginia Cacciatore, who wed in 1977. Both the grand duke and the princess are the only children of their parents.

Grand Duke George and Princess Victoria.

Photo (c) David Nivière.

Courtesy of the Russian Imperial Chancellery.

We continue to wish the imperial couple all of the best while they await the arrival of their first child!

Brazil Government: Official Mourning for Late Head of Imperial House

The Government of Brazil, in an extra edition of the Official Gazette, has declared official mourning for the death of HIH Prince Luiz of Brazil. The decree, signed yesterday by the President of the Republic, Mr Jair Bolsonaro, and by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Carlos Alberto Franco, reads:

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, in the use of the powers conferred on him by art. 84, caput, items IV and VI, item “a”, of the Constitution, and in view of the provisions of art. 18, caput, item I, of Law No. 5,700, of 1 September 1971,

DECREE:

Art. 1 Official mourning is declared throughout the country, for a period of one day, counted from the date of publication of this Decree, as a sign of sorrow for the death of Dom Luiz Gastão Maria José Pio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga de Orleans e Bragança, Head of the Imperial House of Brazil.

Art. 2 This Decree enters into force on the date of its publication.

Brasilia, 15 July 2022; 201st of Independence and 134th of the Republic.

Source: Bolsonaro decreta luto oficial pela morte de d. Luiz de Orleans e Bragança

Note: Sincere thanks to my friend Arthur Brum for his translation of this decree.

+ Dom Luis of Brazil (Orléans-Bragança): 1938-2022

 News has just broken that Dom Luiz, Head of the Imperial House of Brazil (Bassouras Branch), has passed away.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/360463081306375

Death of Prince Luiz (1938-2022), Head of Brazilian Imperial Family

Images of Prince Luiz throughout his life. Photo (c) Pró Monarquia.

Today, on 15 July 2022 at São Paulo, Prince Luiz of Orleans-Bragança died after a month-long stay in hospital.  He was eighty-four years-old. The prince was the Head of the Imperial House of Brazil for forty-one years.

The wedding of Prince Pedro Henrique of Brazil and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria

A baby Prince Luiz.

Four generations: The Countess of Caserta holding her great-grandson Prince Luiz, her daughter Princess Maria Pia, and her grandson Prince Pedro Henrique.

Pedro Henrique and Maria Elisabeth with their three eldest children: Luiz (1938-2022), Eudes (1939-2020), and Bertrand (b.1941).

Prince Luíz Gastão Maria José Pio of Orleans-Bragança was born on 6 June 1938 at Mandelieu, France. Luiz was the first son and eldest child of Prince Pedro Henrique of Brazil (1909-1981) and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria (1914-2011), who married in 1937. Born during the exile of the Imperial Family, Prince Luiz was registered at the Consulate General of Brazil in Paris as a Brazilian citizen, fulfilling the mandate of the Imperial Constitution, thus guaranteeing his rights to the Throne and the Crown of Brazil. The godparents of Prince Luiz were his uncle, Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (1913-2008), and his paternal grandmother, the Dowager Princess Imperial Maria Pia of Brazil (born Princess of the Two Sicilies; 1878-1973).

Princess Maria and Prince Pedro Henrique with their children, 1962. Photograph (c) Casa Imperial do Brasil.

With the end of the World War II in May 1945, the Brazilian Imperial Family was able to return to their homeland. They lived in Rio de Janeiro and Petrópolis until, in 1951, they moved to the Northern of the State of Paraná, then the great agricultural frontier of Brazil, where they lived at the Fazenda São José, in Jacarezinho, and, from 1957 onwards, at the Fazenda Santa Maria, in Jundiaí do Sul.

Prince Luiz and his father Prince Pedro Henrique in the 1960s.

Prince Luiz studied at the Colégio Coração Eucarístico and Santo Inácio, in Rio de Janeiro, and at Colégio Cristo Rei, in Jacarezinho. The prince then went to Europe, where he studied Political and Social Sciences at the University of Paris and Chemistry and Physics at the University of Munich. Luiz graduated with a degree in chemical engineering. He returned to Brazil in 1967, settling in São Paulo and taking over the direction of his father's Secretariat, which at that time was located at Sítio Santa Maria, in Vassouras. 

Prince Pedro Luiz, Princess Amelia, Prince Antonio, the Duchess of Braganza, Prince Luiz, Princess Cristina, the Duke of Braganza, and Prince Bertrand, 2000.

Prince Luiz with Archduchess Christiana of Austria and Prince Alexander of Saxony, Margrave of Meißen, who is married to Luiz's first cousin Princess Gisela of Bavaria.

Prince Luiz was a first cousin of Archduke Leopold Franz of Austria, Head of the Grand Ducal House of Tuscany, and of Princess Gisela of Bavaria, Margravine of Meißen and wife of Prince Alexander, Head of the Royal House of Saxony.

Prince Pedro Henrique and Princess Maria Elisabeth.

Prince Luiz and Princess Maria Elisabeth.

Aged seventy-one, Prince Pedro Henrique of Orleans-Bragança died on 5 July 1981. Prince Luiz, his eldest son and dynastic heir, then became Head of the Imperial House. On 13 May 2011, Princess Maria Elisabeth, aged ninety-six, died. Prince Luiz, who never married, was always strongly attached to the memory of his parents.

Prince Luiz and his nephew Prince Rafael.

One of the prince's hobbies was reading, especially on historical and sociological subjects, in addition to staying up-to-date on everything relevant happening in Brazil and around the world. In his youth, Luiz practiced riding and hunting. In later years, he resumed his passion for photography, revealing himself to be heir to the artistic vein of both sides of his family. Prince Luiz was particularly fond of classical music, with a special predilection for the works of Brazilian composers of the Baroque school.

May the Prince Rest in Peace.

The 80th Birthday of Prince Rémy of Bourbon-Parma

Prince Guy, Princess Maria, Prince Rémy, Princess Chantal, and Prince Louis of Parma.

On 14 July 1942 at Cannes, Prince Rémy François Xavier Louis Robert Victor of Bourbon-Parma was born as the second son and child of Prince Louis of Bourbon-Parma (1889-1967) and Princess Maria of Savoy (1914-2001), who wed in 1939. Rémy has three siblings: Prince Guy (1940-1991; married Brigitte Peu-Duvallon), Princess Chantal (b.1946; married 1st Panayotis Skinas; married 2nd François-Henri des Georges), and Prince Jean (b.1961; married Virginia Roatta).

The paternal grandparents of Prince Rémy were Duke Roberto I of Parma (1848-1907) and his second wife Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal (1862-1959). Rémy's maternal grandparents were King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy (1869-1947) and Princess Elena of Montenegro (1873-1952).

Princess Aude and her father Prince Rémy.

In 1973, Prince Rémy of Bourbon-Parma married Laurence Dufresne d'Arganchy (b.1951). The couple divorced in 1983, after having had two children: son Prince Tristan (b.1974) and Princess Aude (b.1977). In 2003, Prince Rémy married Madame Elisabeth Tardif. 

Our best wishes to the Prince on his birthday!