Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza

Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza (born June 24 1950 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), whose baptismal name is "Antônio João Maria José Jorge Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga de Orléans e Bragança e Wittelsbach"; English: "Anthony John Mary Joseph George Michael Gabriel Raphael Gonzaga of Orleans-Braganza-Wittelsbach" is a member of the Imperial House of Brazil, being third in line to the defunct Brazilian throne, according to monarchist claims. The prince is commonly addressed using the prefix "Dom" (Antônio), as are his brothers.

Under the monarchy, the title "Prince of Grão-Pará" would usually have been borne by a prince who stands in Antônio's position in Brazil's line of succession. But that title was constitutionally reserved for the eldest son of the heir to the throne, whereas Antônio is only the next (dynastically eligible) brother of the heir (see below).

Antônio's eldest brother is Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza, the current Head of the Brazilian Imperial Family and, from a monarchist perspective, "de jure" Emperor Luiz I of Brazil, born in 1938 and often referred to as the "Prince of Brazil". After Dom Luiz in the succession order comes Prince Bertrand, born 1941, who, as heir presumptive to the throne would be the "Prince Imperial" if his eldest brother were actually reigning, and who is often accorded that style in royalist circles.

Although he is only the seventh son of the late Brazilian pretender Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, Antônio follows Luís and Bertrand in the succession order because his other three older brothers renounced their claims to the throne in order to marry commoners.

In 1976, Prince Antônio earned a bachelor's degree in Engineering (with a specialization in Major Structural Projects) from the University of Barra do Piraí, in Rio de Janeiro. He is also an artist, usually painting water colors.

Marriage

In 1980, in Munich, Prince Antônio met his future wife for the first time, Princess Cristina de Ligne.

Born August 11, 1955 in Belœil, Belgium) Cristina is a daughter of Antoine, the late 13th Prince de Ligne, head of one of Belgium's foremost noble families, mediatized in 1803. Her mother is Princess Alix of Luxembourg (born 1929), a sister of Grand Duke Jean. On her mother's side, Princess Cristina is a descendant in the fifth generation of King John VI of Portugal, is a great-granddaughter of Miguel I of Portugal, and a great-great-niece of Brazil's first emperor, Pedro I. Alix is also titled, by birth, Princess of Bourbon-Parma and Princess of Nassau. Through her, Cristina is in the order of succession to the Luxembourgeois crown, as are her Orléans-Braganza children.

The couple were married in 1981 and their first son, Prince Pedro Luís of Orléans-Braganza, is currently thrird in line to the Brazilian throne, having been born in 1983. Prince Antônio's three other children, all in Brazil's line of succession with females following males, are Princess Amélia (born 1984, Prince Rafael (born 1986), and Princess Maria Gabriela Fernanda, (born 1989).

Prince Antônio lives with his family in Petropolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza
2= 2. Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza
3= 3. Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria
4= 4. Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza
5= 5. Princess Maria di Grazia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
6= 6. Prince Franz of Bavaria
7= 7. Princess Isabella Antonie of Croÿ
8= 8. Gaston, Count of Eu
9= 9. Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil
10= 10. Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta
11= 11. Princess Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
12= 12. Ludwig III of Bavaria
13= 13. Maria Theresia of Austria-Este
14= 14. Karl Alfred, 12th Duke of Croÿ
15= 15. Princess Ludmilla of Arenberg
16= 16. Louis, Duke of Nemours
17= 17. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary
18= 18. Pedro II of Brazil
19= 19. Teresa of the Two Sicilies
20= 20. Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies
21= 21. Maria Theresa of Austria
22= 22. Prince Francis, Count of Trapani
23= 23. Archduchess Maria Isabella of Austria
24= 24. Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria
25= 25. Archduchess Auguste of Austria
26= 26. Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este
27= 27. Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria
28= 28. Rudolf Maximilian Konstantin, 11th Duke of Croÿ
29= 29. Princess Natalie of Ligne
30= 30. Engelbert, Duke of Arenberg
31= 31. Princess Éléonore of Arenberg

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