#empress leopoldine of brazil

[roehenstart]

The Family of Franz I of Austria. By Bernhard von Guérard.

The painting depicts Emperor Franz I. (1768-1835) with his third wife Maria Ludovica (1787-1816), who married in 1808 and their eight children: to the right, at the back seven-year-old Marie Luise (1791-1847), later Empress of the French, with her sister the seven-year-old Karolina Ferdinanda (1801-1832), later Queen of Saxony, and her brother the fifteen-year-old heir to the throne, Ferdinand (1793-1875), later Emperor Ferdinand I. To the left in the picture is seated the four-year-old Maria Anna (1804-1858), holding out her hand to her brother Franz Karl (1802-1878), who is two years older than her, and will be the father of Emperor Franz Joseph. At the back, the two girls embracing are Maria Klementina (1798-1881) at the age of ten and Leopoldine (1797-1826), later Empress of Brazil, who is a year older. On the lap of the Empress is the three-year-old Johann Nepomuk (1805-1809).

[archduchessofnowhere]

Marie Louise’s sister Leopoldine kept her fully supplied with news of her nephew, whom she described as “life incarnate.” The little Prince [Napoleon II] seems to have been very fond of the future Empress of Brazil. She found this “very flattering” and could have “played with him for hours on end.” “Yesterday I had a delightful experience,” she wrote on July 31, “for he called me and I had to go and join him in the garden, where he told me a story of which I did not understand a word, as he had a big croissant in his mouth”.

(...) The delightful and little-known Leopoldine, the future Empress of Brazil, had also promised her sister to watch over “Franz,” whom she considered “too sweet for words,” and to protect him “against the spiteful remarks which are already being made about him.” Certain members of the Court chose in fact to regard him simply as “the Ogre’s son.” “I am always afraid,” wrote Marie Louise, “that people will forget that it is not his fault that he has such a father. . . .” “I am entirely of your opinion,” replied Leopoldine, “and it makes me choke with anger to hear certain self-important people being as spiteful as they can about him to dear Papa [Emperor Franz I]. Neipperg will be able to give you the details, because I have discussed the subject at length with him; as for myself, one of these days I shall certainly place the child officially under my protection.” She was especially critical of the methods employed by Dietrichstein [Napoleon II's tutor], whom she called “the abominable Count Moritz.” She would have liked to see much more of her “adorable” nephew— “Papa’s darling and mine too”— but unfortunately “there are people who will not always allow it, and whose eyes I should like to scratch out.” When the boy, for some reason or other, was prevented from going to play in his little garden, Rainer [Archduke of Austria], faithful to his promise, intervened; and the following month— May, 1816— Leopoldine could tell her sister that Francis was “blooming like a rose” and “taking the air a great deal, in accordance with Uncle Rainer’s prescriptions.”

Castelot, André (1960). King of Rome: a biography of Napoleon's tragic son (translation by Robert Baldick)

[royaltyandpomp]

THE EMPRESS

H.I.M. Empress Leopoldine of Brazil, née Archduchess of Austria  (179-1826)

[germanaustriannoblesandroyals]

House of Habsburg & of Braganza: Archduchess Maria Leopoldine (Leopoldina) of Austria

Leopoldine Josepha Carolina was born as fifth child and fourth daughter to Holy Roman Emperor Francis II and his second wife Princess Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. Her mother died when she was ten but she formed a close relationship with her stepmother Archduchess Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, Princess of Moden, who her father married only a year after his second wife’s death. Only when she sailed to Brazil, Leopoldine would begin to use the name of Maria Leopoldina.

Leopoldine was raised with her sisters. She studied the typical subjects for Habsburg woman: French, Italian, drawing, playing the piano, riding and shooting. Leopoldine was especially interested in science, most of all botany and mineralogy.

On May 13th, 1817, Leopoldine was married by proxy to the then Prince Pedro of Portugal, who resided in Brazil, in Vienna. Exactly three months later her ship set sail and arrived 81 days later, on November 5th, Rio de Janeiro. Here she met her husband for the very first time. But he was not the fairytale prince she had imagined. At the age of only 18, he had had already several affairs and lived with his French marriage in a quasi-marital situation. However, their marriage would produce nine pregnancies of which 7 were carried to term. Among their children were two monarchs.

However, Leopoldina was influential in the matter of politics. Unlike her, Pedro was also not a very educated man and relied heavily on her advice. He discussed every decision with her up until the indepence of Brazil. Pedro had become Prince-Regent of Brazil in 1821 when his father had to return to Portugal to strengthen his power there. In January 1822, during a expedition to Sao Paulo, a letter reached Pedro from Leopoldina, who he had left behind in Rio de Janeiro as regent in his absence. She advised him to declare Brazil’s independency from Portugal. And he did. They were crowned the first Emperor and Empress of Brazil on December 1st, 1822.

Unfortunately their marriage soon turned sour and abusive. Pedro continued to have affairs and one of them, Domitila de Castro, even bore him a daughter he demanded to be raised alongside his legitimate children. To embarrass Leopoldina, Pedro made Domitila the highest-ranking lady-in-waiting of his wife and gave her the title of Marchioness of Santos. The couples disagreements turned from psychologial to physical. Pretty soon Pedro began to beat his wife. His humiliations at court pushed Leopoldina in too a severe depression.

Maria Leopoldina was pregnant again when she had another fight with her husband on December 1st, 1826. Supposedly, he kicked her so strongly in the stomach that she went into premature labor. Only ten days later, the not yet 30-year-old Empress was dead.

// Letízia Colin as Leopoldina in Novo Mundo (2017)

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Requested by @elizabethbennetz

[caroline-klaus]

Luise Heyer as Maria Leopoldina of Austria, the Empress Consort of Brazil, Queen Consort of Portugal and Archduchess of Austria

Dona Maria Leopoldina of Austria (22 January 1797 – 11 December 1826) was born Caroline Josepha Leopoldine Franziska Ferdinanda of Habsburg-Lorraine in Vienna, Austria, Holy Roman Empire. She was the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Franz II and Empress Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. In 1817 the Archduchess married Prince Dom Pedro of Braganza (12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), heir to Portugal, later the Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and King Dom Pedro IV of Portugal. The couple had 7 children: Queen Maria II of Portugal, Miguel, Prince of Beira, João Carlos, Prince of Beira, Princess Januária of Brazil, Princess Paula of Brazil, Princess Francisca of Brazil and Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil. On September 2, 1822 while she was the Acting Princess Regent of the Kingdom of Brazil in the absence of her husband Maria Leopoldina signed the Decree of Independence, declaring Brazil separate from Portugal. She died at age 29 in 1826 after a miscarriage. As Acting Regent Maria Leopoldina was the first woman to govern an independent Brazil, the first empress consort of the country, the first empress of the Americas and the first woman to govern an independent American country.

Victoria Guerra as Amélia of Leuchtenberg, the Empress Consort of Brazil and Duchess of Braganza

Dona Amélia of Leuchtenberg (31 July 1812 – 26 January 1873) was born Amélie Auguste Eugénie Napoléonne de Leuchtenberg in Milan, Kingdom of Italy. She was the daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg and Princess Augusta of Bavaria, Duchess of Leuchtenberg. She was the second wife of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil after their marriage in 1829 and they had one child, the Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil. After Dom Pedro I abdicated the Brazilian crown, Amélia accompanied her husband back to Europe. They held the titles of Duke and Duchess of Braganza until Pedro’s dead in 1834. Amélia died in Lisbon at the age of 60 in 1873.

A VIAGEM DE PEDRO | PEDRO, BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA (2021). Dir. Laís Bodanzky

[royal-confessions]

“Empress Leopoldine of Brazil brought beauty (among other stuff) to the Brazilian Royal Family” - Submitted by Anonymous

[historywithlaura]

TERESA CRISTINA & PEDRO II

The Royal Wedding of a Princess of the Two Sicilies and the Emperor of Brazil

(married 1843)

pictured above is a portrait of the Emperor and Empress of Brazil, from 1843

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SERIES - On this day September Edition: Teresa Cristina and Pedro were married on 4 September 1843.

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TERESA CRISTINA MARIA GIUSEPPA GASPARE BALDASSARRE MELCHIORE GENNARA FRANCESCA DA PAOLA DONATA BONOSA ANDREA D'AVELLINO RITA LUITGARDA GELTRUDA VENANZIA TADDEA SPIRIDIONE ROCCA MATILDE was the youngest daughter of Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Infanta María Isabel of Spain. She was a member of the HOUSE OF BOURBON-TWO SICILIES and was from her birth in 1822 a PRINCESS OF THE TWO SICILIES.

PEDRO DE ALCÂNTARA JOÃO CARLOS LEOPOLDO SALVADOR BIBIANO FRANCISCO XAVIER DE PAULA LEOCÁDIO MIGUEL GABRIEL RAFAEL GONZAGA was the third son of Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil and his first wife Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria. He was a member of the Brazilian branch of the HOUSE OF BRAGANZA and had been PEDRO II, the EMPEROR OF BRAZIL since his father's abdication in 1831.

When the Emperor was coming of age the Regency Council sought to find a wife for him. And when Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies heard of the news he proposed his sister's hand and a portrait of the Princess was sent to Brazil.

The Council convinced the Emperor to accept the offer and they were married by proxy on 30 May 1843, in Naples, in a ceremony where one of the Princess' older brothers Leopoldo, Count of Syracuse represented the Emperor.

pictured above is a painting of the proxy wedding ceremony of the Princess of the Two Sicilies and the Emperor of Brazil (represented by the Count of Syracuse), by Alessandro Ciccarelli from 1846

After their wedding by proxy the new EMPRESS CONSORT OF BRAZIL sailed to Brazil, arriving at the Imperial capital Rio de Janeiro in September 1843.

On her arrival the Emperor rushed to meet her in her ship but was disappointed with her appearance. Although feeling deceived they were married the next day, on 4 September 1843, in a lavish religious ceremony at the Royal Chapel, in Rio de Janeiro.

They had four children (check the list below), two boys and two girls. However both their sons died young leaving their eldest daughter Princess Isabel as heir to the Imperial throne.

It was certain not a love marriage but they managed to live in good terms, besides the Emperor having had affairs with other women.

In November 1889 a military coup proclaimed the Republic of Brazil and the Monarchy was abolished. Two days later the Imperial Family was forced to flee into exile to Europe, arriving in Portugal by December 1889.

At the time of their arrival, Lisbon was being prepared for the acclamation of Carlos I, the new King of Portugal, a grandnephew of the former Emperor of Brazil, so they left to Oporto.

By the end of December 1889 the Provisional Government of Brazil passed a law banishing all members of the former Imperial Family to ever set foot in Brazil.

This news shattered the former Empress of Brazil, who was already sick, and she died on 28 December 1889.

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Following her death the former Emperor moved to Paris and died there in 1891, almost two years later. He never remarried.

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Because of the Banishment Law their descendants were not allowed to return to Brazil until 1920, when the law was revoked.

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TERESA CRISTINA and PEDRO II had four children...

Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil - died aged two;

Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil - wife of Gaston, Count of Eu;

Princess Leopoldina of Brazil - wife of Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; and

Pedro Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil - died aged seventeen months.

pictured above is a family portrait of the Brazilian Imperial Family depicting the Emperor and Empress of Brazil with their two surviving children Princess Leopoldina and the Princess Imperial, by François-René Moreaux from 1857

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Check my post about TERESA CRISTINA's mother!

Her mother was María Isabel, an Infanta of Spain from her birth in 1789.

[lukeskywaker4ever]

2nd Regnant Queen and 29th Monarch of Portugal (9th of the Bragança Dynasty): Queen Maria II of Portugal, “The Educator/The Good Mother”

Reign: 26 May 1834 – 15 November 1853 Acclamation: 20 September 1834 Predecessor: Pedro IV

Maria II (4 April 1819 In Rio de Janeiro – 15 November 1853 in Lisbon) "the Educator" ("a Educadora") or "the Good Mother" ("a Boa Mãe"), reigned as Queen of Portugal from 1826 to 1828, and again from 1834 to 1853. Born in Rio de Janeiro, she was the first child of King Pedro IV of Portugal (Pedro I of Brazil) and his first wife, Queen Maria Leopoldina, and thus a member of the House of Bragança. One of the two surviving children born when Pedro was still heir apparent to Portugal, she inherited Portuguese titles and was placed in the line of succession to the former Portuguese throne, even after becoming a member of the Brazilian Imperial Family, from which she was excluded in 1835 after her definitive ascension to the Portuguese throne. 

Maria II was born Maria da Glória Joana Carlota Leopoldina da Cruz Francisca Xavier de Paula Isidora Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga on 4 April 1819 in the Palace of São Cristóvão 

in Rio de Janeiro, Kingdom of Brazil. She was the eldest daughter of the Prince Pedro de Alcântara, future King of Portugal as Pedro IV and first Emperor of Brazil as Pedro I, and his first wife Maria Leopoldina (née Archduchess Caroline Josepha Leopoldine of Austria), herself a daughter of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor. She was titled Princess of Beira upon her birth. Born in Brazil, Maria was the only European monarch to have been born outside of Europe, though she was still born in Portuguese territory.

The death of Maria's grandfather, King João VI, in March 1826 sparked a succession crisis in Portugal. The king had a male heir, Pedro, 

but Pedro had proclaimed the independence of Brazil in 1822 with himself as Emperor. The late king also had a younger son, Miguel, 

but he was exiled to Austria after leading a number of revolutions against his father and his liberal regime.

Before his death, the king had nominated his favourite daughter, Isabel Maria, to serve as regent until "the legitimate heir returned to the kingdom" — but he had failed to specify which of his sons was the legitimate heir: Pedro, the liberal Emperor of Brazil, or Miguel, the absolutist exiled prince.

Most people considered Pedro to be the legitimate heir, but Brazil did not want him to unite Portugal and Brazil's thrones again. Aware that his brother's supporters were ready to bring Miguel back and put him on the throne, Pedro decided for a more consensual option: he would renounce his claim to the Portuguese throne in favour of his daughter Maria (who was only seven years old), and that she was to marry her uncle Miguel, who would accept the liberal constitution and act as a regent until his niece reached majority.

Miguel pretended to accept, but upon his arrival in Portugal he immediately deposed Maria and proclaimed himself king, abrogating the liberal constitution in the process. During his reign of terror, Maria traveled to many European courts, including her maternal grandfather's in Vienna, as well as London and Paris.

Maria's first reign was interrupted by the absolutist uprising led by her uncle, fiancé and regent Miguel, who proclaimed himself King of Portugal on 23 June 1828. Then began the Liberal Wars that lasted until 1834, the year in which Maria was restored to the throne and Miguel exiled to Germany.

The Marquis of Barbacena, 

arriving in Gibraltar with the princess on 3 September 1828, was informed by an emissary of what was happening in Portugal. He had the foresight to understand that Miguel had come from Vienna determined to put himself at the head of the absolutist movement, advised by Prince Klemens von Metternich, 

who was directing European politics, and so it was dangerous for the young Queen to go to Vienna. Taking responsibility, he changed the direction of the journey, and departed for London, where he arrived on 7 October. English policy was not conducive to its purpose. The Duke of Wellington's 

office openly sponsored Miguel, so the asylum the Marquis had sought was not safe. Maria II was received in court with the honors due to her high hierarchy, but the British prevented their subjects there emigres to go to reinforce the garrison of the island Terceira.

Miguel's coup d'état had not gone unrevealed. On 16 May 1828, the garrison of Porto revolted, and in Lagos an infantry battalion. The revolts were stifled. Saldanha, Palmela, and others, who had come to take charge of the movement in Porto, re-embarked on Belfast ship, which had brought them; the Porto garrison, reinforced by the academic volunteers of Coimbra and other liberal troops, emigrated to Galiza and from there to England. At the head of a small liberal expedition, the Marquis of Saldanha attempted to disembark in Terceira, Azores, but was not allowed to take the English cruise, whose vigilance he could not avoid for some time after the Count of Vila Flor, later of Terceira, was able to disembark. In time, because in August 1829 appeared in front of the island a huge Miguelist squad that sent to soil a body of disembarkation. Then there was the Battle of August 11 in the village of Praia, where the miguelists were defeated. When the emigrants in England received the news of the victory, they felt great enthusiasm. They soon lost hope of knowing that the young queen was returning to the Brazilian Empire to her father. In fact, the situation of Maria II in the English court, next to the ministry in the power, became embarrassing and humiliating. The Queen left London to meet her future stepmother, Amélie of Leuchtenberg. 

They left together on 30 August 1829 for Rio de Janeiro, arriving on 16 October.

The constitutional cause was thought to have been lost. The dispersed emigres (France, England and Brazil) were divided into rival factions. Only Terceira Island recognized the constitutional principles, and even there appeared miguelists guerillas. France was ready to recognize Miguel's government when the revolution of July broke out in Paris in 1830, which encouraged the Portuguese liberals.

In 7 April 1831, Pedro IV abdicated the imperial crown of Brazil on behalf of his son Pedro II, 

Maria's younger brother, and came to Europe with his daughter and his second wife, to support his daughter's rights to the crown from Portugal and joined the forces loyal to Maria in the Azores in their war against Miguel. He took the title of Duke of Bragança, and Regent in her name.

Almost at the same time the regency of the Ilha Terceira, named by Pedro and composed of the Marquis of Palmela, the Count of Vila Flor and José António Guerreiro, prepared an expedition that soon took possession of the Azores. While extending the constitutional territory, Pedro disembarked in France, being welcomed with sympathy by the new government and by Louis Philippe I. 

Miguel's government had defied the immunities of French subjects, had not at once satisfied the complaints of the French government, which had sent a squadron commanded by Admiral Roussin to force the bar of Lisbon and impose humiliating conditions of peace.

Pedro left his daughter in Paris to finish her education, delivered to her stepmother, Empress Amélie, with good masters, and left for the Azores at the head of an expedition organized on the island of Belle Isle, bringing his supporters together. Arriving in the Azores on 3 March 1832, he formed a new ministry, assembled a small army, whose command he gave to the Count of Vila Flor, and carried him aboard a squadron which he delivered to the English officer Sartorius, and departed for mainland Portugal. July 8 at Memória Beach in Matosinhos. It was followed by the Siege of Porto and a series of battles until, on 24 July 1833, the Duke of Terceira entered victorious in Lisbon, having won the Battle of Cova da Piedade the day before. Porto and Lisbon, the main cities, were in the power of the liberals. Pedro came to Lisbon, and summoned his daughter from Paris, forcing his brother, Miguel to abdicate in 1834. Maria was thereupon restored to the throne, and obtained an annulment of her betrothal. Soon after her restoration to the throne, her father died from tuberculosis.

On 7 February 1833, in order to protect the Queen, the 2nd Lancers Regiment was created, first known as the Regimento de Lanceiros da Rainha (Queen's Lancers Regiment), with the motto Morte ou Glória, "Death or Glory" (the same as the 17th Lancers, since Lt. Col. Sir Anthony Bacon was its first commander), a fortunate coincidence since the queen's name was Maria da Glória.

Occupying the Portuguese throne, Maria II was still heir presumptive to her brother Pedro II as Princess Imperial of Brazil, until her exclusion from the Brazilian line of succession by law no. 91 of 30 October 1835.

Maria married Auguste, Duke of Leuchtenberg, 

son of Eugène de Beauharnais 

and grandson of the Empress Josephine of France, 

on 26 January 1835, at the age of fifteen. However, he died only two months later, on 28 March 1835.

On 9 April 1836, she married the cultured and able Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In accordance with Portuguese law, Ferdinand received the title of king upon the birth of their first child and heir, Pedro.

In 1842, Pope Gregory XVI 

presented Maria with a Golden Rose.

Maria's reign saw a revolutionary insurrection on 16 May 1846, but this was crushed by royalist troops on 22 February 1847, and Portugal otherwise avoided the European Revolution of 1848. Maria's reign was also notable for a public health act aimed at curbing the spread of cholera throughout the country. She also pursued policies aimed at raising the levels of education throughout the country.

From her first pregnancy, at the age of eighteen, Maria II faced problems in giving birth, with prolonged and extremely difficult labor. An example of this was her third gestation, whose labor lasted 32 hours, after which a girl was baptized in articulo mortis with the name of Maria (1840).

At 25 years of age and in her fifth gestation, the sovereign became obese and her births became even more complicated. In 1847, the fetal distress that preceded the birth of her eighth child – the Infante Augusto, Duke of Coimbra – brought to the world a child "quite purple and with little breathing".

The dangerous routine of successive pregnancies, coupled with obesity (which eventually caused her heart problems) and the frequency of dystocic births (worrisome, especially as a multiparous woman) led doctors to warn the queen about the serious risks she would face in future pregnancies. Indifferent to the warnings, Maria II merely replied: "If I die, I die at my post."

On 15 November 1853, thirteen hours after the onset of labor of the stillborn infant Eugenio, her eleventh child, Maria II died at the age of 34. The announcement of death was published in the Government Gazette of November 16, 1853:

“Paço das Necessidades, November 15, 1853, at half an hour after noon.

Her Majesty the Queen began to notice announcements of childbirth at nine-thirty on the night of the day. Difficulties appeared in the progress of the same childbirth, which forced the doctors to resort to operations, for which the extraction of an infant was obtained, of time, which received the baptism before being extracted.

The result of these operations took place at ten o'clock in the morning. Unfortunately, after an hour and a half, Her Majesty, exhausted from all strength, declared "I surrender my soul to God after having received all the sacraments."

In a letter dated November 28, 1853, the Duchess of Ficalho, the queen's maid, reported the outcome to her brother, the 2nd Earl of Lavradio:

“At two o'clock after midnight from the 14th to the 15th, I was ordered to go to the Palace, where I arrived at about three o'clock. I found the Empress in the Queen's room, where I immediately entered, thinking Her Majesty troubled and even little then we left the immediate room and asked Teixeira what he thought, telling us: "Your Majesty is going well, but slowly." I did not like it, and it was like that, until Teixeira called the doctors, who were out and who had not seen the Queen, and as soon as they examined her, the horrible operation was decided: the doctors were Teixeira, Farto, Kessler, Elias and Benevides. Kessler immediately dismissed the case as very dangerous. The operation was begun. I climbed onto the bed. On the right side, the Empress, full of tears; the Queen, with no fainting, but with a very bad opinion, and, complaining that she was suffering enough, said in her natural voice: "O Teixeira, if I am in danger, tell me, do not deceive me."

Queen Maria II is remembered as a good mother and a kind person who always acted according to her convictions in her attempt to help her country. She was later given the nickname "The Good Mother."

She was buried in the Bragança Pantheon,in Monastery of São Vicente de Fora. : 

Maria first married Auguste Charles, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg, son of Eugène de Beauharnais, grandson of Empress Josephine, who died soon after arriving in Portugal. She then married Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, son of Prince Ferdinand Georg August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág.

Pedro (16 Setember 1837 - 11 November 1861) Succeeded his mother as Pedro V,  King of Portugal.

Luís (31 October 183819 October 1889) Succeeded his brother, Pedro, as  King of Portugal.

Infanta Maria (4 October 1840) Stillborn daughter.

Infante João (16 March 1842 - 27 December 1861) Duke of Beja

Infanta Maria Ana (21 August 1843 - 5 February 1884) Married King George of Saxony and was the mother of King Frederick August III of Saxony.

Infanta Antónia (17 February 1845 - 27 December 1913) Married Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern, and was the mother of King Ferdinand I of Romania.

Infante Fernando of Portugal (23 July 1846 - 6 November 1861) Died of cholera at age 15.

Infante Augusto (4 November 1847 - 26 September 1889) Duke of Coimbra

Infante Leopoldo (7 May 1849) Stillborn son.

Infanta Maria da Glória (3 February 1851) Stillborn daughter

Infante Eugénio (15 November 1853) Died some hours after the death of his mother.

[heavyarethecrowns]

Consorts Spam

Maria Leopoldine of Austria, Future Empress of Brazil

[tiny-librarian]

Miniatures featuring the four youngest surviving daughters of Francis II and Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. On the left are Maria Leopoldine (Future Empress of Brazil) and Maria Clementina (Future Princess of Salerno). On the right are Marie Caroline (Future Crown Princess of Saxony) and Marie Anne.

[immanuelfruhmann]

The Confeitaria Colombo is a great place with long tradition. Established in 1894 this elegant Grand Café in the heart of Rio, in Rio’s city center and old town, has splendid decor on the ceiling and on the wall, combined with art from the old days and lots of antiquities referring to the widely beloved Leopoldina, the Habsburg princess and later Empress of Brazil (also known as Maria Leopoldine of Austria born in 1797 in Vienna and died in 1826 in Quinta da Boa Vista, Rio de Janeiro).

This grandeur full of gold, silver and glamor, makes this place so special giving your stay in Rio very much of a grandezza note of elegance and style. The desserts are marvelous for the looks and for the taste. By the way I had a brigadeiro, this very special Brazilian dessert full of chocolate and covered in chocolate, but there are so many fancy pastries here at the Confeitaria Colombo to choose from.

But see for yourself:

The silver in the showcase

The bar

Tha salon has two floors

The goodies in the showcase

The goodies in the showcase

The salon

The symbol of the Confeitaria Colombo

Historical pictures

The facade of this Grand Café in the pedestrian street

Empress Leopoldina from the Austrian-Hungarian line

Empress Leopoldina

The line of the wall reminds of the old days

This famous Brigadeiro full of chocolate

Another Brazilian cutie

The logo

The salon

Plenty of tarts and puddings in the showcase

The famous Brigadeiros

And here is the famous slideshow:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Bottom Line: The Confeitaria Colombo, located in the Rua Gonçalves Dias, 32 – Centro, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, 20050-030, is a Grand Café with long tradition and such an elegant place in the center of old town of Rio with delicious pastries and tarts.  

From Rio with Love! Dr. Dr. Immanuel Fruhmann

Confeitaria Colombo – An Elegant Grand Café in the Old Town of Rio The Confeitaria Colombo is a great place with long tradition. Established in 1894 this elegant Grand Café in the heart of Rio, in Rio's city center and old town, has splendid decor on the ceiling and on the wall, combined with art from the old days and lots of antiquities referring to the widely beloved Leopoldina, the Habsburg princess and later Empress of Brazil (also known as Maria Leopoldine of Austria born in 1797 in Vienna and died in 1826 in Quinta da Boa Vista, Rio de Janeiro).

[archduchessofnowhere]

In the spring of 1817 Leopoldine left Schönbrunn to become Empress of Brazil. "Nothing remains for me to do," she wrote to Marie Louise on April 4, "except weep with you and curse the word politics for causing me so much suffering. Prince Metternich is accompanying me as far as Leghorn as my official escort; you can imagine how delighted I am!?... We unfortunate princesses are like dice whose… happiness or unhappiness depends on the throw." Before taking the road to Leghorn, Leopoldine went and gave her beloved, curly-headed nephew a farewell kiss. She would often speak of her "treasure" in the letters - the unhappy letters of an exile - which she was to write from Brazil.

Castelot, André (1960). King of Rome: a biography of Napoleon's tragic son (translation by Robert Baldick)

[caroline-klaus]

♕ JANUARY 22, 1797 – BIRTH OF MARIA LEOPOLDINA OF AUSTRIA, EMPRESS OF BRAZIL

Dona Maria Leopoldina of Austria (22 January 1797 – 11 December 1826) was born Caroline Josepha Leopoldine Franziska Ferdinanda of Habsburg-Lorraine at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, Holy Roman Empire. She was the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Franz II and Empress Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily and among her siblings were Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria and Marie Louise of Austria, Empress of the French, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1817 the Archduchess married Prince Dom Pedro of Braganza, heir to Portugal, later the Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and King Dom Pedro IV of Portugal. The couple had 7 children: Queen Maria II of Portugal, Miguel, Prince of Beira, João Carlos, Prince of Beira, Princess Januária of Brazil, Princess Paula of Brazil, Princess Francisca of Brazil and Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil. During her time in Brazil Leopoldina gave advice to Dom Pedro in important political decisions that reflected in the future of the nation, such as the Dia do Fico and the subsequent opposition and disobedience to the Portuguese Cortes. She was one of the main articulators of the process of Independence of Brazil that took place between 1821 and 1822. On September 2, 1822 while she was the Acting Princess Regent of the Kingdom of Brazil in the absence of her husband Maria Leopoldina received a decree from Portugal that overturned the Brazilian government and demanded the immediate return of Pedro and his family to Lisbon. She summons the Council of State and signs on the same day the Decree of Independence, declaring Brazil separate from Portugal. Leopoldina send her husband the news, along with a letter urging him to proclaim the independence. On September 7, 1822 the letter reached Dom Pedro and he declared the independence of Brazil.

In 1826 Maria Leopoldina became Queen Consort of Portugal during her husband's brief reign as King Dom Pedro IV. Despite being usually remembered as a melancholic and humiliated woman by the extramarital affairs of Pedro I Leopoldina achieved much more. She had great influence in Brazilian politics and the respect and admiration of Brazilians, particurlarly of the poor and her popularity was even larger than that of Pedro. She died at age 29 on December 11, 1826 after a miscarriage. Maria Leopoldina was the first woman to govern an independent Brazil, the first empress consort of the country, the first empress of the Americas and the first woman to govern an independent American country.

Letícia Colin as Princess Maria Leopoldina of Austria, the Empress Consort of Brazil, Queen Consort of Portugal and Archduchess of Austria in “Novo Mundo” (2017). | Portrait of Maria Leopoldina - Archduchess of Austria by Joseph Kreutzinger.

[caroline-klaus]

♕ JANUARY 22, 1797 – BIRTH OF MARIA LEOPOLDINA OF AUSTRIA, EMPRESS OF BRAZIL

Dona Maria Leopoldina of Austria (22 January 1797 – 11 December 1826) was born Caroline Josepha Leopoldine Franziska Ferdinanda of Habsburg-Lorraine at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, Holy Roman Empire. She was the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Franz II and Empress Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily and among her siblings were Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria and Marie Louise of Austria, Empress of the French, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1817 the Archduchess married Prince Dom Pedro of Braganza, heir to Portugal, later the Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and King Dom Pedro IV of Portugal. The couple had 7 children: Queen Maria II of Portugal, Miguel, Prince of Beira, João Carlos, Prince of Beira, Princess Januária of Brazil, Princess Paula of Brazil, Princess Francisca of Brazil and Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil. During her time in Brazil Leopoldina gave advice to Dom Pedro in important political decisions that reflected in the future of the nation, such as the Dia do Fico and the subsequent opposition and disobedience to the Portuguese Cortes. She was one of the main articulators of the process of Independence of Brazil that took place between 1821 and 1822. On September 2, 1822 while she was the Acting Princess Regent of the Kingdom of Brazil in the absence of her husband Maria Leopoldina received a decree from Portugal that overturned the Brazilian government and demanded the immediate return of Pedro and his family to Lisbon. She summons the Council of State and signs on the same day the Decree of Independence, declaring Brazil separate from Portugal. Leopoldina send her husband the news, along with a letter urging him to proclaim the independence. On September 7, 1822 the letter reached Dom Pedro and he declared the independence of Brazil.

In 1826 Maria Leopoldina became Queen Consort of Portugal during her husband's brief reign as King Dom Pedro IV. Despite being usually remembered as a melancholic and humiliated woman by the extramarital affairs of Pedro I Leopoldina achieved much more. She had great influence in Brazilian politics and the respect and admiration of Brazilians, particurlarly of the poor and her popularity was even larger than that of Pedro. She died at age 29 on December 11, 1826 after a miscarriage. Maria Leopoldina was the first woman to govern an independent Brazil, the first empress consort of the country, the first empress of the Americas and the first woman to govern an independent American country.

Letícia Colin as Princess Maria Leopoldina of Austria, the Empress Consort of Brazil, Queen Consort of Portugal and Archduchess of Austria in “Novo Mundo” (2017).

[historywithlaura]

AMÉLIE OF LEUCHTENBERG

Empress of Brazil

(born 1812 - died 1873)

pictured above is a portrait of the Dowager Duchess of Braganza, painted by Friedrich Dürk circa 1839

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AMÉLIE AUGUSTE EUGÉNIE NAPOLÉONE was born on 31 July 1812 in Milan, the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, under control of the French Empire.

At the time of her birth, her adoptive step-grandfather Napoléon I, Emperor of the French, was the King of Italy and her father, the designated Viceroy.

One of the daughters of Eugène of Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy, and Princess Auguste of Bavaria, she was a member of the HOUSE OF BEAUHARNAIS, a family of French noble origins.

Besides her family connections, on her birth, she did not receive any titles and was simply known as AMÉLIE OF BEAUHARNAIS.

Loyal subjects of the French Empire, her family lived in the Kingdom of Italy until the fall of her step-grandfather in 1814.

After the abdication of her step-grandfather, her father tried to be crowned King of Italy but was not successful. So her family decided to leave Italy and moved to the Kingdom of Bavaria under the protection of her maternal grandfather Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria.

With the fall of the French Empire, her family lost its status. So, in 1817, her maternal grandfather decided to grant her father titles in the Kingdom of Bavaria. Her father was created as Duke of Leuchtenberg and received a princely title. While she, at the age of 5, became a PRINCESS OF LEUCHTENBERG. From then on, her Royal House also became known as the House of Leuchtenberg.

In a span of two years in the 1820s, she lost both her father and maternal grandfather. Her father died in 1824, when she was 11 years old. While her grandfather died in 1825, having been succeeded by her uncle as Ludwig I, King of Bavaria.

When her father died, only her eldest sister was already married. So, the task of arranging the marriage of the other siblings fell to her mother.

By 1829, her marriage to the widower PEDRO I, first EMPEROR OF BRAZIL, was negotiated. His parents were the late João VI, King of Portugal, and Infanta Carlota Joaquina of Spain. When she married by proxy in Bavaria, she was 17 years old, while her husband was 30.

She became known as AMÉLIA, the second EMPRESS CONSORT OF BRAZIL. Also, becoming a member of the Brazilian Royal Family, a branch of the Portuguese HOUSE OF BRAGANZA.

As was tradition in the House of Braganza, the full name of her husband was PEDRO DE ALCÂNTARA FRANCISCO ANTÓNIO JOÃO CARLOS XAVIER DE PAULA MIGUEL RAFAEL JOAQUIM JOSÉ GONZAGA PASCOAL CIPRIANO SERAFIM OF BRAGANZA AND BOURBON.

Her husband was the widower of Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria, the father of seven legitimate children, and of illegitimate children. With him, she had one child.

Check details about her child at the end of this post!

The timing of her marriage was terrible concerning the politics of the House of Braganza. Her father-in-law died not long ago, and her husband had briefly succeeded as Pedro IV, King of Portugal, before abdicating in favour of her stepdaughter Maria da Glória, Princess of Grão-Pará. But the Portuguese throne had been usurped by her brother-in-law Infante Miguel of Portugal, who was ruling as King Miguel I.

Before leaving Europe, she met her stepdaughter, Maria II, the deposed Queen of Portugal, and both traveled together to Brazil.

However, there were also political tensions in Brazil. So, by April 1831, less than two years after her arrival, her husband decided to abdicate the Brazilian throne to fight her brother-in-law in Portugal. After which, her infant stepson succeeded as Emperor Pedro II.

Only 18 years old at the time of the abdication, the former Empress of Brazil was pregnant when she left Brazil with her husband and stepdaughter soon after.

Arriving in France by June 1831, her husband, in need of the support of European leaders, assumed the style of Duke of Braganza. Which she shared as DUCHESS OF BRAGANZA.

A brief History... on the DUCHY OF BRAGANZA

It was first created in the 15th century for an illegitimate son of João I, King of Portugal. In the 17th century, the Dukes of Braganza acceded to the Portuguese throne, and the Duchy was merged to the Crown. Since then, it became a title reserved to the heir to the Portuguese throne. Emperor Pedro I had been the Portuguese heir for almost 10 years, between 1816 and his accession as King Pedro IV in 1826. So it was natural for him to assume this title, even though it was not his right anymore.

While her husband went to Portugal, she settled in Paris with two of her stepdaughters, the deposed Queen of Portugal and Isabel Maria of Alcântara, Duchess of Goiás, an illegitimate daughter of her husband, who had been sent to study in Europe.

France was at that time a Kingdom again, with Louis Phillippe I reigning as King of the French.

There, in November 1831, she gave birth to her only daughter, Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil.

It was only by May 1834 that her husband was able to force her brother-in-law to abdicate. And that her stepdaughter could accede to the Portuguese throne.

So, with peace in Portugal, she moved with her husband and young daughter to Lisbon, where she was known as EMPRESS AMÉLIA, Duchess of Braganza.

But, unfortunately, a couple of months later, her husband fell ill dying in October 1834. She was just 22 years old when she became a widow, and the DOWAGER DUCHESS OF BRAGANZA.

Following the death of her husband, she decided to stay in Portugal to support her stepdaughter, Queen Maria II.

Not long after, by December 1834, the Queen married to her brother Auguste, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg. However, in 1835, her brother unfortunately died, just months after arriving in Portugal.

Given that her stepdaughter needed an heir, another marriage was soon arranged, and the first child was born in 1837. A son named Pedro de Alcântara, Prince Royal of Portugal, immediately became the Duke of Braganza, among other titles.

Even though the Portuguese heir became the rightful Duke of Braganza, it did not impact her own style as Dowager Duchess of Braganza.

Over the next years, she struggled to have her daughter recognized as a Princess of Brazil by the Brazilian Regency Council, from which she was also denied an allowance. A condition that changed when her stepson Emperor Pedro II was declared of age in 1841.

Although she settled in Portugal, she frequently visited Bavaria and even sent her daughter to study there.

Tragedy followed her life, and in the 1850s, she lost her mother, daughter, and stepdaughter. She was 38 years old when her mother died in 1851. Her daughter died after being ill for over a year, in February 1853, aged only 21. And, Queen Maria II died in November 1853 following a difficult childbirth.

Having survived her daughter for almost 20 years, by the 1870s, her health deteriorated.

Empress Amélia, Dowager Duchess of Braganza, died at the age of 60, at the Palace of Janelas Verdes, her residence in Lisbon, the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal. She had never remarried.

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Upon her death, as she had no surviving children, she bequeathed her belongings to her relatives.

Her stepson, Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, inherited documents once owned by her late husband.

Her sister Joséphine of Leuchtenberg, Queen Consort of Sweden, her only surviving sibling, inherited the majority of her jewels.

To this day, the Swedish Royal Family still owns these jewels. The most famous being the Braganza Tiara, named after her.

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AMÉLIE and her husband, PEDRO, had one child.

Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil - unmarried.

pictured above is a portrait of the Dowager Duchess of Braganza with her daughter, painted by Friedrich Dürck circa 1840

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COLLECTION: On this day, July edition - #otdJuly

Amélie of Beauharnais was born on 31 July 1812.

[historywithlaura]

DOMITILA OF CASTRO

Marchioness of Santos

(born 1797 - died 1867)

pictured above is a portrait of the Marchioness of Santos, by Francisco Pedro do Amaral from c. 1826

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SERIES - On this day November Edition: Domitila died on 3 November 1867.

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DOMITILA was born in 1797, at the city of São Paulo in the state colony of Brazil, part of the Portuguese Empire. Her full name was DOMITILA OF CASTRO CANTO AND MELO.

She was one of the daughters of João of Castro Canto and Melo (an Army officer born at the Azores archipelago in Portugal) and Escolástica Bonifácia of Oliveira Ribas Toledo, a Brazilian born.

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A brief History... of Brazil...

To give some context... I will alternate Domitila's History with the History of Brazil.

By 1808 the Portuguese Royal Family arrived in the state colony of Brazil, fleing from Napoléon I, Emperor of the French.

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Aged 15, in 1813, the young Domitila was married to FELÍCIO, an Army officer whose full name was Felício Pinto Coelho of Mendonça, and they had three children (check the list below). His parents were Felicio Moniz Pinto Coelho and Mariana Manuela Furtado Leite of Mendonça.

It was an abusive marriage and after giving birth to two children she tried to leave him, but she eventually reconciled with him and they had another child.

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Meanwhile in 1815, João, Prince Regent of Portugal elevated the state colony of Brazil to Kingdom of Brazil, acting in the name of his mother Maria I, Queen of Portugal.

But months later, already in 1816, the Queen died and the former Prince Regent of Portugal succeeded as João VI, King of Portugal and Brazil.

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As the abusive behaviour of Domitila's husband continued, after he made an attempt to her life she had no choice other than separate definitely from him and fight for her children's custody.

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From here, DOMITILA's History starts to intertwine with the early History of the Empire of Brazil...

In 1821 the Portuguese Royal Family left Brazil and returned to Portugal, leaving the King's son Dom PEDRO DE ALCÂNTARA FRANCISCO ANTÓNIO JOÃO CARLOS XAVIER DE PAULA MIGUEL RAFAEL JOAQUIM JOSÉ GONZAGA PASCOAL CIPRIANO SERAFIM as the Prince Regent of Brazil. And in 1822 Domitila met him and became his mistress.

Around the time she met the Prince Regent of Brazil, he declared the independence of Brazil from Portugal becoming PEDRO I, the first Emperor of Brazil.

Although the Emperor was married he was known for having many mistresses and Domitila was/is the most famous. They had at least five children (check the list below) together, of whom two girls survived into adulthood. And in 1825 he made her VISCOUNTESS OF SANTOS.

From March to May 1826 her lover was also PEDRO IV, the King of Portugal, until he abdicated. And by October 1826 he elevated her to MARCHIONESS OF SANTOS.

Her lover's wife Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria died in November 1826 after a miscarriage, and the Brazilian people who loved their Empress blamed Domitila and her relationship with the Emperor.

So when her lover decided to remarry many Royal Families around Europe were reticent to give their daughters' hand in marriage to a foreign Monarch who had no respect for his late wife.

Finally by 1829 her lover found a match and was forced to end the relationship with Domitila. She left the Court in Rio de Janeiro and moved back to São Paulo, where she gave birth to their last children, who was raised by her.

After the Emperor of Brazil abdicated in 1831 and moved to Europe, Domitila's eldest daughter with him Isabel Maria de Alcântara Brasileira, Duchess of Goiás went with him to study there. She was the only surviving child of Domitila and the Emperor who was granted a title and as she left Brazil really young she only knew about her origins as an adult.

Soon after moving to São Paulo Domitila found a new lover RAFAEL, the President of the São Paulo Province whose full name was Rafael Tobias of Aguiar. His parents were Antônio Francisco of Aguiar and Gertrudes Eufrosina Aires. She had six children (check the list below) with him before their marriage in 1842, and they stayed together for 24 years until his death in 1857.

The Marchioness of Santos outlived her second husband by ten years, dying aged 69, on 3 November 1867, in her hometown.

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DOMITILA and her first husband FELÍCIO had three children...

Francisca Pinto Coelho of Mendonça and Castro - wife of José of Castro of Canto and Melo;

Felício Pinto Coelho of Mendonça and Castro - probably married; and

João Pinto Coelho of Mendonça and Castro - died around three months.

With her second husband RAFAEL she had six children...

Rafael Tobias of Aguiar and Castro - husband of Ana Cândida of Oliva Gomes;

João Tobias of Aguiar and Castro - husband of Ana Barros of Aguiar;

Gertrudes of Aguiar and Castro - died aged three;

Antônio Francisco of Aguiar and Castro - husband of Placidina Adélia of Brito;

Brasílico of Aguiar and Castro - husband of Júlia Augusta of Vasconcelos Tavares; and

Heitor of Aguiar and Castro - died around four years old.

And she also had illegitimate children...

With PEDRO I, Emperor of Brazil...

Isabel Maria of Alcântara, Duchess of Goiás - wife of Ernst, 2nd Count of Treuberg;

Pedro of Alcântara Brasileiro - died aged three months;

Maria Isabel of Alcântara Brasileira, Duchess of Ceará - died aged two months; and

Maria Isabel of Alcântara - wife of Pedro Caldeira Brant, Count of Iguaçu.