Amélie of Orléans

Infobox Portuguese Royalty|majesty|consort
name = Amélie
title = Queen consort of Portugal


reign =October 19 1889 ndash February 1 1908
spouse = Carlos I
issue =Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal
Manuel II
Maria Ana de Bragança
royal house = House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
House of Orléans
father = Philippe, comte de Paris
mother = Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans
full name = Marie Amélie Louise Hélène
date of birth = birth date|1865|9|28
place of birth = Twickenham
date of death = death date and age|1951|10|25|1865|9|28
place of death =Le Chesnay|

Amélie of Orleans (28 September, 1865 - 25 October, 1951) was the eldest daughter of Philippe, comte de Paris and his wife and cousin Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans. She was Queen consort of Portugal, and was known by her subjects by the name of "Maria Amélia".

Family

Her paternal grandparents were Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans and Duchess Helena Luisa Elizabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Her maternal grandparents were Antoine, Duke of Montpensier and Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain.

The Dukes of Orléans and Montpensier were siblings, both sons of Louis-Philippe of France and Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies.

Marriage

On 22 May, 1886, Amélie married Prince Carlos of Portugal. He was the eldest son of Luís I of Portugal and Maria Pia of Italy. He was at the time the Heir apparent to the throne. The bride was almost twenty-one years old and the groom about twenty-three.

They had three children:

*Luís Filipe, Duke of Braganza (21 March, 1887 - 1 February, 1908).
*Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal (born and deceased on 14 December, 1887).
*Manuel II of Portugal (19 March, 1889 - 2 July, 1932).

Queen consort

In 1892 Pope Leo XIII gave a Golden Rose to Amélie.

On 19 October, 1889, her father-in-law died and Carlos succeeded him on the throne. Amélie became the new Queen consort of Portugal. However her husband became known for his extramarital affairs while the popularity of the Portuguese monarchy started to wane in the face of a bankrupt economy, industrial disturbances, socialist and republican antagonism and press criticism.

In 1907, Carlos forced the Parliament of Portugal to dissolve and authorised João Franco, already Prime Minister of Portugal since 1906, to establish an authoritarian government. This did little to help the image of the Royal Family.

On 1 February 1908 the royal family returning from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by coach to Almada and from then took a boat to cross the Tagus River and disembarked in Cais do Sodré in downtown Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the carriage with Carlos I and his family passed through Terreiro do Paço. While crossing the square, shots were fired from the crowd by at least two men: Alfredo Costa, Manuel Buiça. The king died immediately, his heir Luís Filipe was mortally wounded, Prince Manuel hit in the arm and Amélie surprisingly unharmed.

The assassins were shot on the spot by members of the bodyguard and later were recognized as members of the Portuguese Republican Party. About twenty minutes later, Prince Luis Filipe died and the next day, Manuel was acclaimed king of Portugal, the last one of the Braganza dynasty. Amélie became Queen Dowager.

Manuel II of Portugal was deposed by a military coup, later known as the 5 October 1910 revolution, resulting in the establishment of the Portuguese First Republic. Amélie left Portugal with the rest of the royal family and went into exile. She was the last Queen consort of Portugal as the monarchy has never been restored.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Princess Amélie of Orléans
2= 2. Prince Philippe, Count of Paris
3= 3. Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans
4= 4. Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans
5= 5. Duchess Helena of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
6= 6. Prince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier
7= 7. Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain
8= 8. Louis-Philippe of France
9= 9. Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies
10= 10. Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
11= 11. Princess Caroline of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
12= 12. Louis-Philippe of France (= 8)
13= 13. Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies (= 9)
14= 14. Ferdinand VII of Spain
15= 15. Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies
16= 16. Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
17= 17. Louise Marie Adélaïde of Bourbon-Penthièvre
18= 18. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
19= 19. Marie Caroline of Austria
20= 20. Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
21= 21. Princess Luise of Saxe-Gotha
22= 22. Charles Augustus, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
23= 23. Princess Luise Auguste of Hesse-Darmstadt
24= 24. Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (= 16)
25= 25. Louise Marie Adélaïde of Bourbon-Penthièvre (= 17)
26= 26. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (= 18)
27= 27. Marie Caroline of Austria (= 19)
28= 28. Charles IV of Spain
29= 29. Maria Luisa of Parma
30= 30. Francis I of the Two Sicilies
31= 31. Maria Isabella of Spain

External links

* [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/capet/capet46.html#MAL A listing of the House of Orléans]
* [http://www.theroyalarticles.com/articles/62/1/Queen-Amelia-of--Portugal/Page1.html Queen Amelia of Portugal]

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