Luiz of Orléans-Braganza

Claimant to the defunct Brazilian throne (1938–2022)

Not to be confused with Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza (1878–1920) or Prince Luís Gastão of Orléans-Braganza.

Prince Luiz

Head of the Imperial House of Brazil
(disputed)
Pretence| 5 July 1981 – 15 July 2022
Predecessor| Pedro Henrique
Successor| Bertrand

Born| (1938-06-06)6 June 1938
Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France
Died| 15 July 2022(2022-07-15) (aged 84)
Santa Catarina Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil
Burial|

Cemitério da Consolação, São Paulo, Brazil

| Names

Luiz Gastão Maria José Pio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga de Orléans e Bragança e Wittelsbach
House| Orléans-Braganza
Father| Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza
Mother| Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria
Religion| Roman Catholic

Prince Luiz Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (6 June 1938 – 15 July 2022) was the eldest son of Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria, and head of the Vassouras branch of the Imperial House of Brazil and pretender to the title of Emperor of Brazil from 1981 until his death in 2022.

The Vassouras branch claims the throne in opposition to the Petrópolis branch of the Orléans-Braganzas, headed by Pedro Carlos Orléans-Braganza. Although Luiz and Pedro Carlos respectively were and are great-grandchildren of Princess Isabel (daughter of Emperor Pedro II), of the House of Braganza, they disputed leadership over the Brazilian Imperial Family due to a dynastic dispute concerning their fathers, who were cousins. Luiz actively claimed the defunct throne and participated in matters concerning Brazil's imperial past.

## Early life

[edit]

Luiz (right) with his mother and siblings, 1957

Luiz Gastão Maria José Pio[1] was born on 6 June 1938 in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France, as the oldest son of Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, the Vassouras great-grandson of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, and his wife, Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria, granddaughter of King Ludwig III of Bavaria.

Prince Luiz was born after the revocation of the exile that had been imposed on the Imperial family by Brazil's first Republican government, the aftermath of World War I and World War II detained the entire family in Europe until 1945, when the Vassouras branch of the family was finally repatriated, settling first in the town of Petrópolis (Rio de Janeiro), then to Jacarezinho (Paraná).

In 1957, Prince Luiz returned to Europe to finish his studies, where he graduated in chemistry at the University of Munich.[2] Returning to Brazil in 1967, his family having already moved to Vassouras (Rio de Janeiro), Luiz became a member of the Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property,[3] a traditionalist Catholic organization which opposes socialistic land reform and supports conservative politics based on Catholic social doctrine and the principles promoted by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Alongside Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, his Portuguese counterpart and second cousin, he opposed same-sex marital unions, as of a 2015 declaration.[4]

## Succession

[edit]

On 1981, he succeeded Prince Pedro Henrique as the claimant to the Brazilian throne in the Vassouras branch. According to Brazilian legitimist claims, he was de jure Emperor of Brazil ("Dom Luiz I of Brazil").[5]

He and two of his younger brothers, Prince Bertrand and Prince Antônio, engaged in monarchist proselytism in Brazil. They played major roles during the campaign for the 1993 plebiscite, which represented the first official opportunity for a return of the monarchy to Brazil since the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889. In it, the people were asked to choose which form of government, presidential or parliamentary, and which form of state organization, republic or constitutional monarchy, Brazil should have. The monarchist cause was not successful, receiving 13.2% of the vote against 66% for the republic.[6]

Dom Luiz resided in a house with "no luxury nor splendor" in Higienópolis, a borough of São Paulo, Brazil.[7]

## Death

[edit]

Prince Luiz died in São Paulo on July 14, 2022 having been hospitalized for a month.[8] On July 15, 2022, the President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro and the Minister of Foreign Affairs signed a decree declaring a national day of official mourning for the death of Luiz.[9][10]

## Honours

[edit]

Styles of
Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza

Reference style| His Imperial and Royal Highness
Spoken style| Your Imperial and Royal Highness

As Head of the House of Orléans-Braganza, Prine Luiz Gastão held the following positions:[11]

* Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Christ
* Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz
* Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Saint James of the Sword
* Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of the Southern Cross
* Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Emperor Pedro I
* Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of the Rose

Prince Luiz has also been decorated with a number of other honours:[11]

* Bailiff Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
* Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa
* Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
* Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre[12]

## Ancestry

[edit]

Ancestors of Luiz of Orléans-Braganza

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Prince Gaston, Count of Eu

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza|

|  |  |
| 9\. Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil

| 2\. Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta

| 5\. Princess Maria di Grazia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|

|  |  |
| 11\. Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

| 1\. Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Ludwig III of Bavaria

| 6\. Prince Franz of Bavaria|

|  |  |
| 13\. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este

| 3\. Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Karl Alfred, Duke of Croÿ

| 7\. Princess Isabella Antonie of Croÿ|

|  |  |
| 15\. Princess Ludmilla of Arenberg

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Casa Imperial do Brasil – Biografia de D. Luiz de Orleans e Bragança Archived 23 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine.
2. ^ CUNHA, Dionatan da Silveira (2011) (in Portuguese). Príncipe D. Luiz de Orleans e Bragança: 30 Anos de ascensão a Chefia da Casa Imperial do Brasil. Causa Imperial Archived 5 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
3. ^ Prince Bertrand of Orleans-Braganza Visits America. TFP.org Archived 15 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, 30 April 2001.
4. ^ "Personalidades que firmaron". Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
5. ^ NÉMETH-TORRES, Geovani (2008) (in Portuguese). A odisséia monarquista no Plebiscito Nacional de 1993. In: Veredas da História, 1(1). ISSN 1982-4238.
6. ^ Justiça Eleitoral. Resultado Geral do Plebiscito de 1993.
7. ^ SOARES, Regiane (2008) (in Portuguese). Príncipe imperial vive "sem luxo nem esplendor" em casa alugada em SP. Folha Online, 4 March 2008.
8. ^ "Morre dom Luiz de Orleans e Bragança, bisneto da Princesa Isabel".
9. ^ "D11134".
10. ^ "Bolsonaro decreta luto oficial pela morte de Dom Luiz de Orleans e Bragança".
11. ^ a b Pró-Monarquia. (2022). Anuário da Casa Imperial do Brasil. São Paulo: Pró-Monarquia, 25.
12. ^ MARIE, Michelle (2012) (in Portuguese). Cavaleiros na Ordem Eqüestre do Santo Sepulcro de Jerusalém[permanent dead link‍].

## External links

[edit]

* Official website of the Imperial House of Brazil

Luiz of Orléans-Braganza

House of Orléans-Braganza

Cadet branch of the House of Orléans

Born: 6 June 1938

Brazilian royalty
Preceded by

Pedro Henrique

|  Head of the Imperial House of Brazil
(disputed)
5 July 1981 – 15 July 2022  | Succeeded by

Bertrand

Titles in pretence
Preceded by

Pedro Henrique

| — TITULAR —
Emperor of Brazil
One of two pretenders to the Brazilian throne
5 July 1981 – 15 July 2022
Reason for succession failure:
Empire abolished in 1889 | Succeeded by

Bertrand

Preceded by

Pia Maria

|  Prince Imperial of Brazil
6 June 1938 – 5 July 1981  | Succeeded by

Bertrand

* v
* t
* e

Heads of the Imperial House of Brazil since the abolition of the monarchy in 1889

House of Braganza|

* Pedro II (1889–1891)
* Isabel (1891–1921)

Imperial coat of arms of Brazil

Vassouras branch|

* Pedro Henrique (1921–1981)
* Luiz (1981–2022)
* Bertrand (since 2022)

Petrópolis branch|

* Pedro Gastão (1940–2007)
* Pedro Carlos (since 2007)

* v
* t
* e

Princes of Orléans-Braganza

Generations are numbered by descent from Prince Gastão of Orléans, Count of Eu

1st generation|

* Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará*
* Luiz*
* Antônio Gastão*

2nd generation|

* Pedro Gastão
* João Maria
* Pedro Henrique

3rd generation|

* Luiz
* Bertrand

4th generation|

* Luiz Philippe
* Pedro Luiz
* Rafael

*also a prince of Brazil

* v
* t
* e

Monarchism in Brazil

Organizations|

* Brazilian Patrianovist Imperial Action
* Black Guard
* Diretório Monárquico do Brasil
* Imperial Patrianovist Guard
* National Restorative Union (UNR)

Political Parties|

* Liberal Party
* Portuguese Party
* Brazilian Party
* Restorer Party
* Moderate Liberal Party
* Regressive Party
* Conservative Party
* Progressive League

People|

* André Rebouças
* Machado de Assis
* Joaquim Nabuco
* José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco
* João Lustosa da Cunha Paranaguá, Marquis of Paranaguá
* José de Alencar
* Luiz Philippe of Orléans-Braganza
* Arlindo Veiga dos Santos
* Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
* Antônio Conselheiro
* José do Patrocínio
* José Bonifácio de Andrada
* Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias
* Eduardo Prado

Historical Events|

* Independence of Brazil (1822)
* Revolta da Armada (1893-1894)
* Federalist Revolution (1893-1895)
* War of Canudos (1896-1897)
* Revolta de Ribeirãozinho (1902)
* 1993 Brazilian constitutional referendum (1993)

Vassouras branch|

* Pedro Henrique (1921–1981)
* Luiz (1981–2022)
* Bertrand (since 2022)

Petrópolis branch|

* Pedro Gastão (1940–2007)
* Prince Pedro Carlos (since 2007)

Relevant Articles|

* Kingdom of Brazil
* Empire of Brazil
* List of monarchs of Brazil
* Monarchism in Brazil
* Brazilian nobility

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