Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza

Duarte Pio
Pretender
Born	15 May 1945 (1945-05-15) (age 66) Portuguese Embassy, Bern, Switzerland [1]
Title(s)	Duke of Braganza Duke of Guimarães Marquess of Vila Viçosa Count of Arraiolos Count of Ourém Count of Faria Count of Neiva Count of Guimarães
Throne(s) claimed	Portugal
Pretend from	24 December 1976 – present
Monarchy abolished	1910
Last monarch	Manuel II
Connection with	third cousin once removed
Royal House	House of Braganza
Father	Duarte Nuno
Mother	Princess Francisca of Orléans-Braganza
Spouse	Isabel de Herédia
Children	Afonso, Maria Francisca, Dinis

Portuguese Royal Family

HRH The Duke of Braganza HRH The Duchess of Braganza HRH The Prince of Beira HH Infanta Maria Francisca HH Infante Dinis HH The Duke of Viseu HH The Duke of Coimbra HH Infanta Maria Adelaide

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Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (Duarte Pio Nuno João Henrique Pedro Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança; born 15 May 1945; Portuguese pronunciation: [duˈaɾtɨ]), is the 24th Duke of Braganza (Portuguese Duque de Bragança) and a pretender to the throne of Portugal.

Birth and education

Duarte Pio Nuno João Henrique Pedro Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança^[2] was born in Bern, Switzerland,^[1] in a hotel room where extraterritoriality was declared for the purpose of being born on Portuguese soil, the eldest son of Dom Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza and his wife Princess Francisca of Orléans-Braganza, princess of Orleans-Braganza. At the time of his birth Duarte's family was banned from entering Portugal by the laws of exile of 19 December 1834 and 15 October 1910. Although Portugal had been a republic since 1910, Dom Duarte's parents sought to assure the child's eventual rights of succession to the Portuguese throne, which required Portuguese nationality, by arranging for his birth to take place in the Portuguese embassy in Bern.^[2] A small fringe of Portuguese monarchists dispute these rights of succession.

Dom Duarte's godparents were Pope Pius XII and Queen Amélie of Portugal, the mother of Manuel II, the last reigning king of Portugal.^[2]

On 27 May 1950, the National Assembly repealed the laws of exile of 19 December 1834 and 15 October 1910. In 1951, Dom Duarte visited Portugal for the first time accompanied by his aunt the Infanta Filipa. In 1952, he moved to Portugal permanently with his parents and brothers.

From 1957 to 1959, Dom Duarte was enrolled in the Colégio Nun' Álvres in Santo Tirso. In 1960, he entered the Colégio Militar in Lisbon. He attended the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (now part of the Technical University of Lisbon) where he received a degree in agricultural sciences. Later he attended the Graduate Institute of Development Studies of the University of Geneva.

He currently has a practice as an agricultural development consultant and owns a farm which produces olive oil and downstream products.

Military service

From 1968 to 1971, Dom Duarte fulfilled his military service as a helicopter pilot in the Portuguese Air Force in Angola at the time of the Colonial War. In 1972, he participated with a multi-ethnic Angolan group in the organization of an independent list of candidates to the National Assembly. This resulted in his expulsion from Angola by order of the then Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano.

Succession and rights

There are closer female-line relatives of Manuel II of Portugal (who according to the Constitutional Charter of 1826 have succession rights), but none of these has Portuguese nationality (which was required by the Constitutional Charter for succession to the throne); and so far none has made any active claim to the throne.

A small fringe of Portuguese monarchists do not recognise Duarte as pretender to the throne or as Duke of Braganza. The dispute dates back to 1828 when Dom Duarte's great-grandfather Dom Miguel I proclaimed himself king of Portugal. Dom Miguel I was eventually exiled by his niece Queen Dona Maria II. According to the law of banishment (Lei do Banimento) of 1834 and the Constitution of 1838, Dom Miguel I and all his descendants were forever excluded from the succession to the throne. However, in 1842 the Constitutional Charter of 1826 was reinstated, and this constitution (which was in place until 1910 when the monarchy was overthrown) had no bar to the succession by members of Dom Miguel's family. Besides, the Law of Banishment was revoked in 1950.

In 1912 and 1922, Dom Duarte's grandfather Dom Miguel (II), Duke of Braganza was reconciled with Manuel II of Portugal, but this reconciliation was not accepted by all of their adherents. There are several monarchist organizations in Portugal which maintain that only the Cortes or the National Assembly could legally determine the rightful claimant if ever Portugal decided to restore the monarchy. One monarchist group in Portugal that did support Dom Miguel (II) instead of the deposed D. Manuel II was the Integralismo Lusitano.

In May 2006, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement where it referred to Dom Duarte as Duke of Braganza.^[2] In response to this statement, on 5 July 2006 Nuno da Câmara Pereira, member of the Portuguese parliament, then leader of the People's Monarchist Party addressed the President of the Assembly of the Republic, asking for a clarification as to the official recognition of Dom Duarte as pretender to the throne and as Duke of Braganza. [1] In its official response of 11 July 2006 the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs restated the fact that the Portuguese constitution guarantees the republican regime.

Campaigner for East Timor

Dom Duarte was a major campaigner for the independence of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony which was forcibly annexed by Indonesia in 1975. Before the issue came to the attention of the world media, Dom Duarte contributed with several national and international campaigns for the political self-determination of the territory. These included "Timor 87 Vamos Ajudar" and "Lusitânia Expresso" in 1992. In 1997, Dom Duarte also suggested a referendum on the independence of East Timor to the Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Habibie. After Habibie became president of Indonesia in 1999, a referendum was made that resulted in the independence of the country. Duarte Pio was named a East Timor citizen in 2011 after a resolution from the East Timor parliament.

Marriage and family

On 13 May 1995, Dom Duarte married Isabel de Herédia, a Portuguese businesswoman. This was the first marriage of a member of the Portuguese royal family to take place in Portugal since the marriage of King Carlos I in 1886. The ceremony was celebrated in the Monastery of Jerónimos in Lisbon and presided over by Cardinal António Ribeiro, Patriarch of Lisbon. It was attended by the principal Portuguese political figures, including the President of the Republic Mário Soares, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, and the Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva. Also present were representatives of most of the European royal houses.

Dom Duarte and Dona Isabel have three children:

• Infante Afonso, Prince of Beira, Duke of Barcelos (born 25 March 1996)
• Infanta Maria Francisca (born 3 March 1997)
• Infante Dinis, Duke of Porto (born 25 November 1999)

The marriage of Dom Duarte and Dona Isabel and the birth of their first son were occasions of widespread news media attention in Portugal.

Hereditary titles and Orders of chivalry

His Royal Highness, the Most Serene Lord, Duke of Braganza, of Guimarães and of Barcelos, Marquis of Vila Viçosa, Count of Arraiolos, of Ourém, of Barcelos, of Faria, of Neiva and of Guimarães, Grand Master of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa, Grand Master by Birth of the Order of Saint Michael of the Wing, Judge of the Royal Brotherhood of Saint Michael of the Wing and Knight of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece

Ancestors

Patrilineal descent

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Conservatória dos Registos Centrais - Registo fraudulento de nacionalidade.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "S.A.R. Dom Duarte". Casa Real Portuguesa. http://www.casareal.co.pt/casareal/Familia_Real/dom_duarte/index.php. Retrieved 2008-07-08. 

Further reading

• Henriques, Mendo Castro. Dom Duarte e a Democracia: uma biografia portuguesa. Lisbon: Bertrand, 2006. ISBN 972-25-1517-9
• Mendes, Nuno Canas. Duarte e Isabel, duques de Bragança: biografia autorizada. Mem Martins: Lyon Multimédia Edições, 1995.
• Morais, Jorge. D. Duarte: a primeira biografia. Lisbon: Chiado-Consultores de Informação, 1995.
• Fernandes, Clara Picão. Monarquia hoje?: diálogos com o Duque de Bragança. Lisbon: Editora Civilização, 1995.

External links

• Casa Real Portuguesa Official website of the Royal House of Braganza
• Fundação da Casa de Bragança Website of the Foundation of the House of Braganza.

Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza House of Braganza Cadet branch of the House of Aviz Born: May 15 1945
Portuguese nobility
Preceded by Duarte Nuno	Duke of Braganza 24 December 1976 – present	Incumbent Heir: Infante Afonso
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Duarte Nuno	— TITULAR — King of Portugal Braganza line 24 December 1976 – present Reason for succession failure: Kingdom abolished in 1910	Incumbent Heir: Infante Afonso

Persondata
Name	Duarte Pio Of Braganza, Duke
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	15 May 1945
Place of birth	Bern, Switzerland
Date of death
Place of death