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H.R.H. Dom
Duarte, Duke of Braganza |
Registered: The International
Register of Arms, 27th December 2006. Registration No. 0088.
Arms: Argent, five escutcheons Azure
placed 1,3 and 1 each charged with five plates Argent placed 2,1and 2,
within a bordure Gules charges with seven castles Or [by Royal
decree - the two lower castles being required to follow the contour of
the shield].
The whole achievement within a Royal pavilion surmounted by a Royal
crown of Portugal.
Rendition of arms by
CROM-BHGS, Serbia |
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Dom Duarte Pio, Duke
of Braganza was born on the 15th of May 1945. He is the 24th Duke of
Braganza and the Successor to the Crown of Portugal. He is the
son of Dom Duarte Nuno of Braganza and Dona Maria Francisca de
Orleans e Braganza, Princess of Brazil.
The Duke of
Braganza’s godparents were His Holiness Pope Pius XII and Her
Majesty, Queen Amelia of Portugal, the wife of His Majesty King
Carlos I of Portugal, assassinated by the republicans on the 1st of
February 1908 and the mother of Dom Manuel II, the last reigning
King of Portugal.
Titles and Official
Styles.
His Royal Highness,
the Most Serene Lord, Duke of Braganza, of Guimarães and of Barcelos,
Marquess of Vila Viçosa, Count of Arraiolos, of Ourém, of Barcelos,
of Faria, of Neiva and of Guimarães, Sovereign of the Royal Order of
Saint Isabel, Grand Master of the Order of Our Lady of Conception of
Vila Viçosa and Grand Master by Birth of the Order of Saint Michael
of the Wing and Judge of the Royal Brotherhood of Saint Michael of
the Wing.
Succession to the
Crown of Portugal.
On December 24, 1976
Dom Duarte's father, Dom Duarte Nuno died. Dom Duarte Pio succeeded
as claimant to the Portuguese throne, thus becoming the 24th Duke of
Braganza.
Dom Duarte Pio is the
closest male-line relative to Dom Manuel II, the last King of
Portugal. There are closer female-line relatives (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); none of these
female-line relatives makes any active claim to the throne. |
The
Succession as Head of the Royal House of Portugal happened as
follows:
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Dom Pedro IV of
Portugal, I of Brazil and brother of Dom Miguel, abdicated the
Throne.
-
Dona Maria II, next
in line of succession, succeeded to the Crown of Portugal. This
line maintained the Throne until the 5th of October
1910, the date the Republican Regime was implemented in Portugal.
-
Dom Manuel II, last
reigning King of Portugal died in exile without issue or legitimate
brothers or sisters (+ 2 July 1932).
-
The closest
collateral line was that of Dom Miguel, brother of King Dom Pedro
IV. Thus, Dom Miguel’s son, Miguel Maria de Assis Januario became
the legitimate successor in the Royal House of Portugal, by
succession mortis causa of King Manual II.
-
While in exile, Dom
Duarte Nuno, only male descendant of Dom Miguell II (Miguel Maria
de Assis Januario) succeeded his father.
-
Upon Dom Duarte
Nuno’s death in 1976, his son Dom Duarte Pio succeeded as Head of
the Royal House of Portugal.
-
Because some
considered that the line of Dom Miguel in exile was excluded by the
Constitution of 1838, Dom Miguel II (Miguel Maria de Assis Januario)
and King Manuel II signed an agreement known as the Pact of
Dover by which the King recognised the line of Dom Miguel as
legitimate in the succession to the Crown of Portugal.
-
However, this pact
was totally unnecessary, because the Republican Constitution of
1911 revoked the Legal Order of the Monarchy in its entirety.
The
Assessment concludes that:
-
Notwithstanding
Portugal being a Republic, the rights of succession as Head of the
Royal House of Portugal continue to be governed by International
Customary Law.
-
The Portuguese
State recognises that, according to the aforementioned rules of
succession, the Royal House of Braganza and its Head, Dom Duarte
Pio, Duke of Braganza are the legitimate successors of the Kings of
Portugal.
On the 13th of
May 1995, Dom Duarte of Braganza married Dona Isabel Ines de Castro
Curvelo de Heredia. The royal couple have three of a family; Dom
Afonso of Braganza, Prince of Beira, Dona Maria Francisca, Infanta
of Portugal and Dom Dinis, 4th Duke of Porto. |
The Legal Assessment
of the Department of Legal Affairs of the Portuguese Foreign Office,
dated 17 April 2006, established the rules of succession according
to Customary International Law and Portuguese Constitutional Law,
namely the Constitutional Chart of 1826, which governed succession
until the fall of the Monarchy in 1910. |
Data supplied by Luis Guerreiro,
Portuguese heraldist |
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