Diana Álvares Pereira de Melo, 11th Duchess of Cadaval

Princess Diana
Duchess of Cadaval
Duchess of Cadaval
Predecessor	Jaime III Álvares Pereira de Melo
Designated heiress	Rosalinda Álvares Pereira de Melo
Spouse	Charles-Philippe, Duke of Anjou
Full name
Diana Mariana Vitória
House	House of Orléans
Father	Jaime Álvares Pereira de Melo, 10th Duke of Cadaval
Mother	Claudine Tritz
Born	25 July 1978 (1978-07-25) (age 33) Geneva, Switzerland

French Royal Family Orléanist

HRH The Count of Paris HRH The Countess of Paris HRH Princess Marie Isabelle HRH The Count of Clermont HRH Princess Blanche HRH The Duke of Vendôme HRH The Duchess of Vendôme HRH Prince Gaston HRH The Duke of Angoulême HRH The Duchess of Angoulême HRH Princess Thérèse HRH Prince Pierre Extended royal family HRH The Duchess of Montpensier HRH The Countess of Schönborn-Buchheim HRH Princess Hélène HRH The Duchess of Calabria HRH The Duchess of Württemberg HRH The Count of Évreux HRH The Countess of Évreux HRH Princess Clothilde HRH Princess Adélaïde HRH The Duke of Anjou HRH The Duchess of Cadaval HRH Prince François HRH The Duke of Orléans HRH The Duchess of Orléans HRH Princess Diane HRH The Duke of Chartres HRH The Duchess of Chartres HRH The Duke of Valois HRH Princess Louise HRH Princess Hélène HRH Prince Constantin HRH Princess Isabelle HRH The Duke of Aumale HRH Princess Claude HRH Princess Chantal HRH The Count of La Marche

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Princess Diana of Orléans, Duchess of Anjou, Duchess of Cadaval, née Diana Mariana Vitória Álvares Pereira de Melo (born Geneva, 25 July 1978) is a Portuguese noblewoman. She is the eldest daughter of Jaime III Álvares Pereira de Melo, 10th Duke of Cadaval's second marriage with Claudine Marguerite Marianne Tritz (born 1943).

She studied International Communication at the American University of Paris. She manages the Cadaval family properties: the Ducal Palace, in Évora, and the Muge estate.

Succession

Dona Diana's father was married twice, but only the second marriage was a religious ceremony. When the duke died in 2001, the eldest daughters of both marriages disputed the family heritage:

• Rosalinda Álvares Pereira de Melo (born 1936), eldest daughter of the duke's first (civil) marriage;
• Diana Álvares Pereira de Melo (born 1978), eldest daughter of the duke's second (religious) marriage.

Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza recognized Diana as 11th Duchess of Cadaval (on a non-hereditary basis, as all Dukes of Cadaval in the past have been recognized during their lifetime), acting on the authority attributed to him post-monarchy by the Conselho de Nobreza (Council of the Nobility) as Head of the Royal House of Braganza. He granted to her eldest half-sister, Rosalinda, the new title of Duchess of Cadaval-Hermès.

Marriage

On 21 June 2008, Dona Diana married Prince Charles-Philippe, Duke of Anjou (born 1973). The ceremony took place in the Cathedral of Évora, a monument declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. Both wife and husband are Capetians, descending in unbroken male line from King Robert II of France (972 - 1031), Diana from his younger son Robert I, Duke of Burgundy through the royal (though illegitimate) Portuguese branch of the House of Braganza, and Charles-Philippe through the elder son, King Henry I of France, via the cadet branch of the House of Bourbon-Orléans. The couple are also fifth cousins once-removed through shared descent from King Francis I of the Two Sicilies. Diana's children by Charles-Philippe will bear the title Prince/Princess d'Orléans and the style of Royal Highness. Although not expected to inherit their mother's ducal title, the couple's sons will, by tradition, also receive individual noble titles derived from the historical appanages of the French royal family. They are expecting their first child.

Titles and styles

Styles of Diana, Duchess of Anjou, Duchess of Cadaval
Reference style	Her Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Ma'am

• 25 July 1978 – 30 July 2001 Dona Diana Álvares Pereira de Mello
• 30 July 2001 – 21 June 2008 Dona Diana Álvares Pereira de Mello, 11th Duchess of Cadaval
• 21 June 2008 – present: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Anjou, 11th Duchess of Cadaval

See also

• Duke of Cadaval

External links

• Genealogy of Diana Álvares Pereira de Melo - Portuguese Site
• House of Cadaval - Official Site
• House of Cadaval Activities

Portuguese nobility
Preceded by Jaime III Álvares Pereira de Melo	Duchess of Cadaval 2001—present	Incumbent Heir: Rosalinda Álvares Pereira de Melo

Persondata
Name	Cadaval, Diana Alvares Pereira De Melo, Duchess Of
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	25 July 1978
Place of birth	Geneva, Switzerland
Date of death
Place of death