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Duarte Pio of Braganza (born May 15 1945, Berne), pron. IPA , is the 24th Duke of Braganza (Port. Duque de Bragança) and the pretender to the throne of Portugal.

Birth and education

Duarte Pio João Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança was born in Berne, Switzerland, the eldest son of Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza and his wife Maria Francisca de Orleans e Bragança, princess of Brazil. At the time of his birth Duarte Pio's family was banned from entering Portugal by the laws of exile of December 19 1834 and October 15 1910. In spite of the fact that Portugal had been a republic since 1910, Duarte Pio's birth took place in swiss territory; a small but vocal minority of Portuguese monarchists dispute these rights of succession.

Duarte Pio's godparents were Pope Pius XII and Queen Amelia of Portugal, the mother of Manuel II, the last reigning king of Portugal.

On May 27 1950 the National Assembly repealed the laws of exile of December 19 1834 and October 15 1910. In 1951 Duarte Pio visited Portugal for the first time accompanied by his aunt the Infanta Filippa. In 1952 he moved to Portugal permanently with his parents and brothers.

From 1957 to 1959 Duarte Pio was enrolled in the Colégio Nuno Álvares in Santo Tirso. In 1960 he entered the Military College in Lisbon. He attended the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (now part of the Technical University of Lisbon) where he received a degree in agricultural sciences. Later he attended the Graduate Institute of Development Studies of the University of Geneva.

Military service

From 1968 to 1971 Duarte Pio fulfilled his obligations as a Portuguese citizen by doing his military service as required by law. As part of his military service Duarte Pio was required to swear an oath of fidelity to the Portuguese republic. He was criticized for this by some monarchists, a few of whom even claimed that he had thereby lost his rights of succession.

Duarte Pio served as a pilot and lieutenant in the Portuguese Air Force in Angola which at the time was embroiled in the Portuguese Colonial War. In 1972 he participated with a multi-ethnic Angolan group in the organization of an independent list of candidates to the National Assembly. This resulted in his expulsion from Angola by the Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano. Duarte Pio, however, continued his contacts with various leaders in the Portuguese colonies.

Succession

On December 24 1976 Duarte Pio's father Duarte Nuno died; Duarte Pio succeeded as claimant to the Portuguese throne. Henceforth he used the title Duke of Braganza. Although the title has no legal recognition in Portugal, it is widely recognised socially even by members of the government.

A small number of Portuguese monarchists do not recognise Duarte Pio as claimant to the throne and Duke of Braganza. The dispute dates back to 1828 when Duarte Pio's great-grandfather Miguel I proclaimed himself king of Portugal. Miguel I was eventually exiled by his niece Queen Maria II. According to the law of banishment of 1834 and the Constitution of 1838, Miguel I and all his descendants were forever excluded from the succession to the throne. In 1842, however, the Constitutional Charter of 1826 was re-instated, and this constitution (which was in place until 1910 when the monarchy was overthrown) had no bar to the succession by members of Miguel's family.

Duarte Pio is the closest male-line relative to 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.

In 1912 and 1922 Duarte Pio's grandfather Miguel was reconciled with Manuel II, but this reconciliation was not accepted by all of their adherents. There are several monarchist organizations in Portugal which maintain that only the Cortes or the National Assembly could legally determine the rightful claimant if ever Portugal decided to restore the monarchy.

There is only one monarchist political party in Portugal, the People's Monarchist Party (Partido Popular Monárquico) but it does not support him. One monarchist group in Portugal that does support Duarte Pio is the Integralismo Lusitano.

Campaigner for East Timor

Duarte Pio was a public campaigner for the rights of East Timor. Formerly a Portuguese colony, it was forcibly occupied and subsequently ruled as an oppressed province by Indonesia. Even before the political leaders of the world considered Timor an issue, Duarte Pio organized several national and international campaigns for the cause of Timor. However, when the country got its independence, Duarte Pio was not invited to the national celebrations.

Ancestors

Marriage and family

On May 13 1995, Duarte Pio married Isabel de Herédia, a Portuguese businesswoman. This was the first marriage of a member of the Portuguese royal family to take place in Portugal since the marriage of King Luís I in 1862. The ceremony was celebrated in the Monastery of Jerónimos in Lisbon and presided over by Cardinal António Ribeiro, Patriarch of Lisbon. It was attended by the principal Portuguese political figures, including the the President of the Republic Mário Soares, the President of the Assembly_of_the_Republic, and the Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva. Also present were representatives of most European royal houses.

Duarte Pio and Isabel have three children:

• HRH Infante Afonso, Prince of Beira, Duke of Barcelos (born March 25 1996)
• HRH Infanta Maria Francisca (born March 3 1997)
• HRH Infante Dinis, Duke of Porto (born November 25 1999)

Just like his marriage, the births of Duarte Pio's children were occasions of widespread national rejoicing in Portugal.

Full Title

His Royal Highness, the Most Serene Lord, Duke of Braganza, of Guimarães and of Barcelos, Marquis of Vila Vicosa, 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.

External links

• Official Website of the Duke of Braganza
• Fundacao da Casa de Bragança Foundation of the House of Bragança.

Further reading

• Mendes, Nuno Canas. Duarte e Isabel, duques de Bragança: biografia autorizada. Mem Martins: Lyon Multimédia Edições, 1995.

• Morais, Jorge. D. Duarte: a primeira biografia. Lisbon: Chiado-Consultores de Informação, 1995.

• Fernandes, Clara Picão. Monarquia hoje?: diálogos com o Duque de Bragança. Lisbon: Editora Civilização, 1995.

In 2005 it was reported that Mendo Castro Henriques is working on a new book Dom Duarte e a Democracia to be published in 2006.

• Dukes of Braganza
• 1945 births
• Living people
• Pretenders to the Portuguese throne