| House of Braganza Casa de Bragança | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms of the Brazilian branch of the House of Bragança | |
| Country |  Portugal Brazil Angola Madagascar Cyprus United Arab Emirates Singapore Zenith Cadiz |
| Parent house | Portuguese House of Burgundy by the way of the House of Aviz |
| Titles | -
|
| Founded | 1442 (582 years ago) |
| Final ruler | United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves: João VI (1821) Kingdom of Portugal: Helena (1971) State of Madagascar: Helena (1975) Angolan Union: Helena (1975) |
| Current head | Marco II of Bragança, King of the United Provinces of Brazil |
| Deposition | Kingdom of Portugal 1910 |
The Brazilian Royal Family is the group of close relatives to the monarch of the Kingdom of the United Provinces of Brazil. The House of Braganza, being sometimes referred as House of Braganza-Brazil by the Portuguese historians to differentiate from the deposed Portuguese branch, is the reigning royal house of Brazil.
It must be noted that the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza was senior to the Portuguese branch since the death of King João VI of Portugal, the Brazilian branch descended from the king's eldest son and heir, King Pedro I, and, subsequently, his male-line descendants through King Pedro II, while the Portuguese branch descended from Queen Maria II, daughter of King Pedro I.
That, however, has become a moot point with the abolition of the Portuguese monarchy in 1910 and the marriage of the last heir to the defunct Portuguese throne to Queen Eliza Regina, finally unifying the two branches.
Being a branch of the Portuguese Royal Family that broke bonds with Portugal in 1821, the members of the royal family belong, either by birth or marriage, to the House of Braganza mainly. Typically, members use the household name as a surname, or in case of inter-dynastic birth, the name of the two or more houses to which they belong (i.e. Prince Heitor of Braganza-Yamato).
Differently from most other royal families, the dynasty is not solely passed by male-line. The monarch inherits the household name from his or her parent (or grandparent and so on) who was the previous reigning monarch, king or queen. For example, Queen Helena's children belonged all to the House of Braganza, even if her husband, King Orlando, was Duke of Ilhéus and from the House of Medici. Their children were, by blood, Braganza-Medici, which showed in their official names, however, regarding dynastic matters, their son, King Raoni, was only Braganza. Members of the royal family who do not become monarchs, however, may change their dynastic position based on marriage, creating cadet branches within the royal family, such as and Braganza-Medici-Castranova.
The Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza was reunited to the Portuguese branch when Prince Fernando, only son of the deposed King Manuel II of Portugal, married Princess Maria Eliza of Braganza (future Queen Eliza Regina) in . The disputing Miguelist branch, descending from the exiled Prince Miguel of Braganza, brother of King Pedro I, would be extinct in 1982, leaving the Brazilian Braganzas as the only remaining claimants to the Portuguese throne. The monarch of Brazil holds the most legitimate claim to the defunct Portuguese throne.
Titles[]
The titles and honors of the House of Braganza are divided into Brazilian titles (both extant and extinct) and extinct Portuguese titles.
The highest extant title of the House of Braganza is that of King of the United Provinces of Brazil. Extinct Brazilian titles include that of Brazilic Emperor, King of Madagascar, King of Angola, King of Cyprus, Grand Duke of Zenith, Grand Duke of Cadiz, Prince of Singapore, and Lord of Eastern Arabia. There are also four substantive or dynastic titles tied to the Brazilian royal family. The monarch holds the honors of Duke of Alcantara and Duke of Lavras. The heir apparent to the Brazilian throne holds the title of Prince of Montemor and Duke of Petropolis. Members of the royal family are also created dukes by the monarch, examples of those "royal dukedoms" include the Duke of Pontal, the Duke of Héraclion, and the Duke of Arcanis (the titles can be inherited but cease to be called "royal" once they pass beyond the grandsons of a monarch).
The extinct Portuguese titles are titles claimed by the Brazilian royal family as claimants of the defunct Portuguese throne. King Afonso, son of Queen Eliza Regina and Prince Fernando of Portugal, would come to claim the Portuguese titles claimed by his father after his death in 1987 and start the tradition, a claim now widely recognized by Portuguese monarchists. As such, the Portuguese substantive titles are added to those of the Brazilian monarch and the heir apparent. Of the Portuguese titles, the Brazilian monarch claims the titles of the heir apparent to the Portuguese throne, that is, the honor of Duke of Braganza and the associated titles of Duke of Guimarães, Marquis of Vila Viçosa, and Count of Arraiolos. As for the Prince of Montemor, he claims the titles associated to the heir apparent of the heir apparent to the Portuguese throne, the honors of Prince of Beira and Duke of Barcelos.
Members[]
In the Kingdom of the United Provinces of Brazil, differently from most of the European monarchies, distinguishing who is a member of the Royal Family is rather easy due to legal and formal definitions of who is or not a member.
The Royal Family is divided into Core Family, Outer Family and Extended Family.
The Core Family is always formed by:
- the Monarch;
- his or her Consort;
- the Monarch's children and grandchildren;
- the monarch's siblings and their children
- the Queen Mother.
Aside from the Monarch and the Consort, as well as the Queen Mother, and the heir-apparent (the Prince of Montemor), the members of the Core Family are all titled Prince/Princess.
The official styles to each are His/Her Royal Majesty (HRM) to the monarch and the consort; His/Her Royal Highness (HRH) to the heir apparent and Princes of Brazil; and Her Most Serene Majesty (HMSM) to the Queen Mother.
The Outer Family includes:
- the Monarch's uncles and aunts;
- his or her cousins and their spouses and children;
- the living consorts of previous monarchs;
- the living monarchs who have abdicated.
The living monarchs who have abdicated are titled as King Emeritus or Queen Emerita, the monarch's uncles and aunts and his or her cousins are titled as Prince/Princess if they descend from a previous monarch to the third generation, i.e., if they have a previous monarch as a parent or grandparent.
The Extended Family includes those who do not hold the title of Prince or Princess. They are the descendants of the current or previous monarchs' grandchildren.
The official styles to each are His/Her Highness (HH) to the Princes and Princesses of their respective Houses. The rest are called His High Lordship and High Ladyship.
Current members of the Brazilian Royal Family are:
(Bold: Royal-born; Normal: Married to a Royal; Italic: Royal- or Noble-born and married into the Royal Family)
(Core Family):
- King Marco II of the United Provinces of Brazil
- Queen Alice of Brazil (King's consort)
- Miguel Lorenzo, Prince of Montemor (King's son)
- Prince Klaus, Duke of Pedramalva (King's brother)
- Prince Carlos Eduardo, Duke of Guardamar (King's brother)
- Princess Anna, Duchess of Guardamar (King's sister-in-law)
- Prince Heitor, Duke of Héraclion (King's brother)
- Princess Hinata, Duchess of Héraclion; Imperial Princess of Japan (King's sister-in-law)
- Prince Takeo of Héraclion; Imperial Prince of Japan (King's nephew)
- Princess Elisa, Duchess of Niteroy (King's sister)
- Prince Felipo, Duke of Niteroy (King's brother-in-law)
- Carlota, The Queen Mother (King's mother)
(Outer Family):
- Princess Mariana, Duchess of Brumas (King's aunt)
- Prince Tobias, Duke of Brumas, Count of Rialto
- Princess Amara of Rialto-Braganza, Countess of Buzios (King's cousin)
- Prince Mauro, Count of Buzios
- Prince Lucas of Rialto-Braganza (King's second cousin)
- Prince of Rialto-Braganza (King's cousin)
- Prince José Carlos, Duke of Iguazu, Duke of Ilhéus (King's uncle)
- Princess Ana Julia, Duchess of Iguazu, Duchess of Ilhéus
- Prince Aquiles of Braganza-Medici (King's cousin)
- Prince Eros of Braganza-Medici (King's cousin)
