Prince Antonio of Brazil

Prince Antonio of Brazil (born 24 June 1950, Rio Janeiro) is a Prince of Brazil and member of the House of Orleans-Braganza. He is also a retired engineer and painter. Active in promoting the cause of the restoration of the monarchy in Brazil, Prince Antonio represents the Imperial Family is most of the events that take place in Rio Janeiro, where he lives, having sometimes also represented in Europe and traveled the country as part of royalist campaigns. Less outspoken than his older brothers on political and controversial issues, Prince Antonio is often seen as a less conservative alternative in whom some royalists place their trust.

Biography-Parents and Early Life

Antonio was born in Rio Janeiro, the sixth son of Crown Prince Pedro Henrique of Brazil and his wife, Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria. He spent his childhood in a comfortable estate in the town of Jacarezinho, Parana, and then his family moved to a palace the city of Vassouras, in the state of Rio Janeiro.

In 1976, Antonio earned a bachelor's degree in Engineering (with a specialization in Major Structural Projects) from the University of Barra Pirai.

Painting

Antonio is an Artist, usually painting water color landscapes depicting buildings, ranches, and farm typical of colonial Brazil. In May 1999 he held an exhibition "A Heranca Portuguese no Brasil Colonial" (The Portuguese Heritage in Colonial Brazil) at Ipanema Park in Portugal. In 2001 he held exhibitions at Curitiba and at Joinville. His work has also been displayed in the Crystal Palace in Petropolis, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Rio Janeiro, and the Galeria Quadrante and the Museu Casa Brasileira in Sao Paulo.

Marriage and Family

In 1981, he married Princess Christine of Ligne, daughter of Antoine, 13th Prince Ligne (head of one of Belgium's foremost noble families) and his wife, Princess Alix of Luxembourg. The civil ceremony took place on September 25 and the religious ceremony on September 26, both at Boloeil.

The couple have four children:

-Prince Pedro Luiz (12 January 1983, Rio Janeiro-1 June 2009), he was a passenger on the Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the ocean while traveling from Rio Janeiro to Paris.

-Princess Amelia (born 15 March 1984, Brussels) On 16 August 2014, she married James Spearman, who is from Scotland and is descended from the Spearman Baronets. Amelia and her husband James Spearman have two sons, Alexander Joaquim Pedro (born 30 August 2016, Madrid and Nicholas Rafael (born 20 February 2018, Madrid)

-Prince Rafael (born 24 April 1986, Petropolis)

-Princess Maria Gabriela (born June 8 1989 Rio Janeiro)

Antonio lives with his family in Petropolis.

Dynastic Claims

Dom Antonio's eldest brother is Luiz, Crown Prince of Brazil, the current Head of the Brazilian Imperial Family and, from a monarchist perspective, de juree Emperor Luiz I of Brazil. After Dom Luiz in the succession order comes the next brother, Prince Bertrand, born 1941, which who as heir presumptive to the throne would be the Prince Imperial id his eldest brother were actually reigning, and who is often accorded that style in royalist circles. Although he is the sixth brother, Antonio follows Bertrand in the succession order because three older brothers renounced their claims to the throne in order to marry commoners. Some royalists consider the marriage of Prince Antonio with Princess Christine of Ligne as a morganatic, since the Princess Ligne were never a sovereign family, nor a mediated family.

Titles and Honors

6 June 1938-present: His Imperial Highness Prince Antonio of Brazil

In 2019 Luiz, Prince of Brazil as honor according to the Vassouras branch claim, gave Antonio the treatment of "Imperial Highness" rather than simply "Highness"

Honors

As member of the House of Orleans-Braganza, he is recipient of the following orders:

-Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Pedro I

-Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Rose

He is a recipient of the following foreign orders:

-Castroan Royal Family of the Two Sicilies : Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George

House: Orleans-Braganza

Religion: Roman Catholic

(https://royalty.miraheze.org)