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Amélie of Leuchtenberg

April 12, 2024

Amélie of Leuchtenberg (Portuguese: Amélia Augusta Eugénia Napoleona de Leuchtenberg; French: Amélie Auguste Eugénie Napoléonne de Leuchtenberg; 31 July 1812 – 26 January 1873) was Empress of Brazil as the wife of Pedro I of Brazil.

Amélie of Leuchtenberg
Duchess of Braganza
Empress consort of Brazil
Tenure2 August 1829 – 7 April 1831
Born(1812-07-31)31 July 1812
Milan, Kingdom of Italy
Died26 January 1873(1873-01-26) (aged 60)
Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Burial
Monument to the Independence of Brazil, São Paulo
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1829; died 1834)​
IssuePrincess Maria Amélia of Brazil
Names
Amélia Augusta Eugénia Napoleona de Beauharnais
HouseBeauharnais
FatherEugène, Duke of Leuchtenberg
MotherPrincess Augusta of Bavaria
Signature

She was the granddaughter of Josephine de Beauharnais, Empress of the French. Her father, Eugène de Beauharnais, was the only son of Empress Josephine and her first husband Alexandre, Viscount of Beauharnais. He thus became a stepson of Napoleon Bonaparte when his mother married the future emperor. The mother of Empress Amélie was Princess Augusta, daughter of Maximilian I, King of Bavaria.

Family, childhood and youth edit

Amélie was the fourth child of General Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg and his wife Princess Augusta of Bavaria. Her father was the son of Joséphine de Beauharnais and her first husband, Viscount Alexandre de Beauharnais. When Joséphine remarried, to Napoleon Bonaparte, Eugène was adopted by the latter and made viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy. Amélie's mother was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his first consort, Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt.[1] Among Amélie's siblings were Josephine of Leuchtenberg, queen consort of King Oscar I of Sweden, and Auguste de Beauharnais, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg, prince consort of Queen Maria II of Portugal (stepdaughter of Amélie). Napoleon III was Amélie's first cousin.

After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814, Eugène de Beauharnais, having been granted the title Duke of Leuchtenberg by his father-in-law, settled in Munich. The possibility occurred to Amélie's mother, Augusta, of marrying Amélie to the Emperor of Brazil, to guarantee the pretensions of the House of Leuchtenberg to royal status.[1]

Marriage edit

 
Amélie at age 17, by Friedrich Wilhelm Spohr, 1829.

After the death of his first wife, the Austrian archduchess Maria Leopoldina, in December 1826, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil (and King Pedro IV of Portugal) sent the Marquis of Barbacena to Europe to find him a second wife. His task was not easy; several factors complicated the search. First, Dom Pedro had stipulated four conditions: a good family background, beauty, virtue and culture. Conversely, the emperor of Brazil did not have a particularly good image in Europe: his relationship with the Marchioness of Santos was notorious, and few eligible princesses were expected to be eager to leave the courts of Europe to marry a widower who had a tarnished reputation as a husband, becoming step-mother to his five children. To make matters worse, the former father-in-law of Dom Pedro, Francis I of Austria, had a low opinion of his son-in-law's political views, and apparently acted to prevent a new marriage to ensure that his grandchildren would inherit the throne of Brazil if they survived infancy.[2]

After refusals by eight princesses turned the ambassador into an object of scorn in the courts of Europe[citation needed], Barbacena, in agreement with the Emperor, lowered his requirements, seeking for Dom Pedro a wife merely "good and virtuous." Amélie now became a good possibility, but their encounter was brought about not by Barbacena, but by Domingos Borges de Barros, Viscount of Pedra Branca, minister in Paris, to whom she had been pointed out.[3] She came from a distinguished and ancient line on her mother's side, the Wittelsbachs, but her father, an exile who shared in the disgrace of Napoleon Bonaparte's deposition as emperor, was not an optimal marital match. However, that was her sole "defect". The princess was tall, very beautiful, well proportioned, with a delicate face. She had blue eyes[4] and brownish-golden hair.[5] António Teles da Silva Caminha e Meneses, Marquis of Resende, sent to verify the beauty of the young lady, praised her highly, saying that she had "a physical air that like that the painter Correggio gave us in his paintings of the Queen of Sheba".[2] She was also cultured and sensitive. A contemporary piece in The Times of London affirms that she was one of the best educated and best prepared princesses in the German world.[6]

The marriage contract was signed on 29 May 1829 in England, and ratified on June 30 in Munich by Amélie's mother, the Duchess of Leuchtenberg, who had tutored her daughter personally. On 30 July of that year, in Brazil, a treaty of marriage between Pedro I and Amélie of Leuchtenberg was promulgated. Upon confirming the marriage, Dom Pedro definitively broke his links to the Marchioness of Santos and, as evidence of his good intentions, instituted the Order of the Rose, with the motto "Amor e Fidelidade" ("Love and Fidelity"). A proxy marriage ceremony on 2 August in the chapel of the Palais Leuchtenberg in Munich was a simple affair with few in attendance,[2] as Amélie insisted on donating to a Munich orphanage the appreciable amount Dom Pedro had sent for a ceremony with full pomp.[1] Dom Pedro was represented by the Marquis of Barbacena. Amélie was barely seventeen years old; Dom Pedro was thirty.[2]

Amélie's mother foresaw the difficulties her daughter might face, and prepared her carefully. Besides a good dowry and trousseau, she gave her a great deal of advice, recommending that she be demonstrative of her feelings and overcome any timidity so as not to discourage her husband, that she be loving toward her stepchildren, and above all that she remain faithful, as empress, to the interests of the Brazilians. Scientist Carl Friedrich von Martius was sent with her on the journey to teach her about Brazil, and Ana Romana de Aragão Calmon, Countess of Itapagipe, to familiarize her with her husband's personality and the customs of the Brazilian court, and to teach her Portuguese.[2]

Arrival in Brazil and life as empress edit

 
The Emperor's Second Marriage, painted by Jean-Baptiste Debret.

Amélie sailed to the New World from Ostend, the Netherlands on the frigate Imperatriz, arriving in Rio de Janeiro on 15 October 1829, after a crossing that went more rapidly than planned. Tradition says that upon hearing that the ship was approaching, Dom Pedro embarked on a tugboat to meet it on the far side of the bar, and that he collapsed with emotion upon seeing his wife on deck.[2] Among those accompanying her on board were Barbacena and the 10-year-old Maria II of Portugal in whose favor her father had renounced his rights to the Portuguese throne back in 1826. Barbacena, on that same trip, had received the mission to bring Maria to the care of her grandfather, Austrian emperor Francis I, but in the middle of the journey learned that the throne of the latter had been usurped by Miguel, brother of Dom Pedro, and decided instead to take her to England, which he considered a safer place. After concluding the imperial marriage contract, they embarked again for Brazil together with Amélie's entourage, including Amélie's brother, Auguste de Beauharnais, 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg.[3] Shortly after the newlyweds' first encounter, Dom Pedro's children by his first marriage were brought out to their new stepmother's ship for the couple and children to lunch together.[1]

The following day at noon, under a heavy rain, Amélie disembarked and was received with a solemn procession. She then went with Dom Pedro to the Imperial Chapel to receive the nuptial blessings. All were dazzled by her beauty, highlighted by a long white gown and a robe embroidered in silver, in the French fashion. After the ceremony came a public celebration with fireworks, and a grand state banquet for the court.[1]

 
Portrait of Empress Amélie by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1829.

In January 1830 the new empress was formally presented in court, with a dance at which all of the ladies dressed in pink, the empress's favorite color. The following day, the couple began their honeymoon, spending six weeks at the ranch of Father Correa, in Serra da Estrela, future locale of the city of Petrópolis.[3]

On their return they encountered a court troubled by problems caused by the emperor's intimate confidante Chalaça (Francisco Gomes da Silva). Barbacena took the opportunity to rid himself of his old foe, recommending that he leave for Europe, in which he counted on the support of the new empress, anxious to break one more link to her husband's adventurous past. She had already shown a strong attitude in refusing from the outset to receive at court Isabel Maria de Alcântara, Duchess of Goiás, Dom Pedro's daughter by the Marchioness of Santos, and demanding that Isabel Maria be sent to school in Switzerland.[3]

Upon settling into the imperial palace, the Paço de São Cristóvão, and perceiving what she considered an inadequate standard of protocol, Amélie established French as the court language and adopted a ceremonial modeled after European courts. She sought to update the cuisine and fashion, redecorated the palace, acquired new tableware and silverware, and attempted to refine the manners of the court. She achieved at least a partial success in this last, and the elegance of the Empress, always impeccably dressed, became internationally famous.[7]

Their marriage was a happy one, unlike Dom Pedro's first, and she reportedly had a good relationship with her legitimate stepchildren as well. Her beauty, good sense, and kindness promptly won the affections of both her husband and his children by his first marriage. She made sure that the latter had a good family environment and received a good education. Shortly after the marriage, a French traveler reported "it appears that the empress continues to exercise her influence over the children of Dom Pedro. The happy results are already apparent, she has already made considerable renovations to the palace, and order has commenced to reign; the princesses' education is supervised and directed personally by the empress", with the same care going to the heir to the throne, little Prince Pedro de Alcântara (later Emperor Pedro II of Brazil); the proof of this last being that he soon began to call her "mamãe" ("mommy").[1] Amélie always expressed her affection for Pedro II, and maintained a correspondence with him until the end of her life, trying to instruct and support him. Nearly six decades of their correspondence survive. Dom Pedro II reciprocated her kindness, soliciting her help in arranging marriages for his own daughters and visiting her in Lisbon in 1871.[8][9]

Her presence was also important in restoring her husband's popularity and giving him courage during a difficult period for the new empire, but the popular enthusiasm generated by the marriage was short-lived.[2] José Bonifácio advised her on what her husband would need to do to reconcile with the people of Brazil, but nothing worked.[6] The precarious economic situation and political turbulence precipitated the inevitable crisis and on 7 April 1831, Dom Pedro abdicated the throne in favor of his young son.[2]

Return to Europe edit

 
The Duke and Duchess of Braganza (right) with Queen Maria II of Portugal, Pedro's eldest daughter, just a few months before his death, 1834.

After Dom Pedro I abdicated the crown, Amélie accompanied her husband back to Europe. They now held the titles of Duke and Duchess of Braganza. She was three months pregnant and suffered badly from nausea on the sea voyage.[2] After resupplying the ship at Faial Island in the Azores, they arrived at Cherbourg, in France, on 10 June 1831. They were received with the honors appropriate to reigning monarchs, greeted with a 21-gun cannon salute and by a detachment of 5,000 soldiers of the National Guard. The prefecture of the city offered them a palace as accommodation, but a mere ten days after their arrival Dom Pedro left for London, leaving behind Amélie, who was reunited with Maria da Glória the 23rd of the same month.[10]

Amélie soon established residence in Paris, with Maria da Glória and with Dom Pedro's illegitimate daughter Isabel Maria, Duchess of Goiás, whom Amélie ended up adopting as her own daughter.[11] On 30 November 1831 Amélie gave birth to Princess Maria Amélia, who would prove to be her only child.[2] Her father expressed his happiness in a letter to young Dom Pedro II: "Divine Providence has seen fit to diminish the sadness my paternal heart feels for the separation from V.M.I. (Vossa Majestade Imperial, "Your Imperial Majesty") giving to me a daughter and, to V.M.I., another sister and subject".[12]

Meanwhile, Dom Pedro I, as Duke of Braganza, began a bloody battle against his brother Dom Miguel I of Portugal for the Portuguese crown, in the name of his daughter Maria da Glória.[2] Upon receiving the news of the Duke's victory in Lisbon, Amélie left with her daughter and stepdaughter for Portugal, arriving in the capital on 22 September 1833.[13] With Miguel defeated and exiled from Portugal, Dom Pedro and his family established themselves first at Ramalhão Palace and later at Queluz National Palace.[14]

Widowhood and final years edit

 
Amélie with her daughter, Princess Maria Amélia, 1840.

The venturesome life of Dom Pedro had undermined his health; he contracted tuberculosis, and died 24 September 1834.[14] Amélie respected the provisions of his will. He had wished that Maria Isabel de Alcântara, Countess of Iguaçu, his illegitimate daughter by the Marchioness of Santos, be given a good European education like her sister, the Duchess of Goiás. However, the Marchioness declined to send the girl. Dom Pedro also stipulated legacies for his other illegitimate children, reducing the inheritance of Amélie and her own daughter; the provision showed that Dom Pedro loved all his children, legitimate or not.[15]

Amélie never remarried; she moved to the Palácio das Janelas Verdes ("Palace of Green Windows," also known as the Palácio de Alvor-Pombal, now housing Portugal's National Museum of Ancient Art) and dedicated herself to charitable works and to her daughter's education. Maria Amélia showed herself to be very intelligent and to be a talented musician.[2] Occasionally, Amélie visited Bavaria with her daughter. Despite being established in Portugal, they were not considered part of the Portuguese royal family. Amélie solicited recognition for herself and her daughter as members of the Brazilian imperial family, thereby entitled to a pension, but Dom Pedro II was still a minor and the Brazilian Regency feared possible influence by the empress-widow Amélie in state business, as well as the possibility of her adherence to political factions that might harm the government. They refused to recognize her daughter Maria Amélie as a Brazilian princess and forbade her to set foot in the country. This situation changed when Dom Pedro II reached majority. His relations with them were good, and on 5 July 1841 Amélie and Maria Amélia were recognized as members of the Brazilian imperial family.[16] Prior to that, Maria Amélia's status and place in the line of succession had been doubtful, because she was conceived in Brazil while her father, Pedro I, was still the emperor, but was born abroad, after his abdication, and Brazil's Constitution invested the Imperial Parliament to settle doubts pertaining to the imperial succession. Soon after the start of his personal reign, Pedro II requested that Parliament should recognize his sister's rights. On 5 July 1841, Pedro II finally signed into law the statute approved by the Brazilian Parliament, recognizing Maria Amélia as a Brazilian princess.

 
Photograph by Francisco Augusto Gomes, 1861. Amélie wore black in mourning for her husband Pedro I for the rest of her life.[17]

Princess Maria Amélia became engaged to Archduke Maximilian of Austria (later Emperor Maximilian of Mexico) at the beginning of 1852, but shortly afterward began to show symptoms of tuberculosis. Because of the disease, she and her mother moved to Funchal, on Madeira Island, in search of healthier airs, arriving on 31 August 1852. Nonetheless, the princess died there of tuberculosis at the age of 22 on 4 February 1853.[2][18] Her death profoundly affected her mother, who visited Maria Amélia's tomb every year on the anniversary of her death, and financed the construction of a still-extant hospital in Funchal named "Princesa Dona Maria Amélia", and left her properties in Bavaria to Archduke Maximilian, "whom [she] would have been happy to have as a son-in-law, if God had saved her beloved daughter Maria Amélia."[19] After Maria Amélia's death, Amélie settled again in Lisbon.

Health issues, death, and burial edit

Amélie suffered from angina pectoris since 1834, at the time of her husband's death, and had lesions on her lungs.[20] By 1871, she was in serious health condition. Pedro II was constantly informed about it.[20] She has had fever, bronchitis symptoms, and breathing problems.[20] She even was given her last rites, but her health had an improvement after she learned that she would be visited by her sister Josephine, Queen of Sweden, and by Pedro II.[20] By 1872, she presented edema at her lower extremities, suffered from dyspnea, and capillary bronchitis.[20] Amélie died on January 26, 1873, at the age of 60 after suffering a congestive heart failure.[20] She was buried in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza.[20] Under the terms of her will, her sister, Queen Josephine, was her primary heir (receiving, among other things, the Braganza tiara),[citation needed] but many documents pertaining to Pedro I were willed to Brazil, where they reside in the Historic Archive of the Imperial Museum of Brazil in Petrópolis.[2] In 1982, her remains were transported to the Imperial Crypt and Chapel in the Monument to the Independence of Brazil in São Paulo.[21]

Exhumation edit

Between February and September 2012, researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil exhumed the remains of Amélie, Pedro I, and as well as those of Maria Leopoldina, Pedro's first wife. They were surprised to find that the body of Amélie had been mummified. Skin, hair and internal organs were preserved. Examinations at the Hospital das Clínicas found an incision in the empress' jugular vein. Aromatics such as camphor and myrrh were injected into the incision during the embalming process. "It certainly helped to nullify the decomposition", said Brazilian forensic archaeologist Valdirene Ambiel, responsible for the research. She added that another contributing factor was the casket, saying it was so hermetically sealed that there were no micro-organisms in it. Before the reburial, scientists reembalmed her remains using a method similar to the first one.[22][23]

Arms edit

Styles of
Empress Amélia of Brazil
 
Reference styleHer Imperial Majesty
Spoken styleYour Imperial Majesty
Alternative styleMadam[24]
  •  
    Coat of Arms of Amélie of Leuchtenberg as Empress of Brazil

Ancestry edit

Descendants edit

With Dom Pedro I of Brazil, formerly also Pedro IV of Portugal:

Cultural representations edit

Amélie of Leuchtenberg is the protagonist of a novel by Ivanir Calado, Imperatriz no Fim do Mundo: Memórias Dúbias de Amélia de Leuchtenberg ("Empress at the End of the World: Dubious Memoirs of Amélie of Leuchtenberg," 1997), and has been played on film and television by:

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Barman, Roderick J. (2002). Citizen Emperor: Pedro II and the Making of Brazil, 1825–1891. Stanford University Press. pp. 25–27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Witte, Claudia Thomé. "O casamento com D. Pedro I e toda a trajetória no Brasil da princesa bávara Amélia de Leuchtenberg" 2016-11-06 at the Wayback Machine. In: Revista de História online, 9 June 2010. In Portuguese. Accessed 1 February 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Lustosa, Isabel. D. Pedro I. Companhia das Letras, 2006, pp. 284–286. In Portuguese.
  4. ^ Torres 1947, p. 34.
  5. ^ Torres 1947, p. 53.
  6. ^ a b Pinheiro Neto, João. Pedro e Domitila: Amor em tempo de paixão. Mauad Editora Ltda, 2002, pp. 243–244. In Portuguese.
  7. ^ Del Priore, Mary. "Amor e fidelidade num casamento imperial: Dom Pedro I e Dona Amélia. In: Gazeta Imperial, August 2011, year XVI, number 189, pp. 8–9. In Portuguese.
  8. ^ Carvalho, José Murilo de. D. Pedro II: ser ou não ser. Companhia das Letras, 2007, pp. 16–17. In Portuguese.
  9. ^ Schwarcz, Lília Moritz. As barbas do imperador. Companhia das Letras, 1998, pp. 52; 380. In Portuguese.
  10. ^ Lustosa, p. 305
  11. ^ Sousa, Octávio Tarquínio de. A vida de D. Pedro I. Rio de Janeiro: José Olympio, 1972. vol. 3, pp. 273–274. In Portuguese
  12. ^ Almeida, Sylvia Lacerda Martins de. Uma filha de D. Pedro I: Dona Maria Amélia. São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 1973, p. 42. In Portuguese.
  13. ^ Sousa, p. 275
  14. ^ a b Almeida, p. 54
  15. ^ Lewin, Linda. Surprise Heirs: Illegitimacy, inheritance rights, and public power in the formation of Imperial Brazil, 1822–1889. Stanford University Press, 2003, pp. 155–156.
  16. ^ Lyra, Heitor. História de Dom Pedro II (1825–1891): Ascensão (1825–1870). Belo Horizonte: Itatiaia, 1977. vol. 1, pp. 42–43; 279. In Portuguese.
  17. ^ Loés, João (22 February 2013). "A volta de Dom Pedro I". istoe.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  18. ^ Almeida, pp. 57; 73; 85; 111
  19. ^ Almeida, pp. 90; 152–157
  20. ^ a b c d e f g Ambiel, Valdirene do Carmo."Estudos de Arqueologia Forense Aplicados aos Remanescentes Humanos dos Primeiros Imperadores do Brasil Depositados no Monumento à Independência" (PDF). Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia Pós-Graduação da USP: 55–56. 2013.
  21. ^ Tirapeli, Percival e Silva, Manoel Nunes da. São Paulo artes e etnias. UNESP, 2007, p. 124
  22. ^ "Cientistas exumam corpo de d. Pedro I". Gazeta do Povo. February 18, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  23. ^ "Restos da imperatriz consorte: O impressionante corpo mumificado de Dona Amélia". aventurasnahistoria.uol.com.br. September 24, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  24. ^ Barman 2002, p. 40.

Bibliography edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amélie de Beauharnais von Leuchtenberg.
  • Torres, Lígia Lemos (1947). Imperatriz Dona Amélia (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Elvino Pocai.
Amélie of Leuchtenberg
Born: 31 June 1812 Died: 26 January 1873
Brazilian royalty
Vacant
Title last held by
Maria Leopoldina of Austria 		Empress consort of Brazil
2 August 1829 – 7 April 1831 		Vacant
Title next held by
Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies

April 12, 2024
amélie, leuchtenberg, portuguese, amélia, augusta, eugénia, napoleona, leuchtenberg, french, amélie, auguste, eugénie, napoléonne, leuchtenberg, july, 1812, january, 1873, empress, brazil, wife, pedro, brazil, duchess, braganzaempress, consort, braziltenure2, . Amelie of Leuchtenberg Portuguese Amelia Augusta Eugenia Napoleona de Leuchtenberg French Amelie Auguste Eugenie Napoleonne de Leuchtenberg 31 July 1812 26 January 1873 was Empress of Brazil as the wife of Pedro I of Brazil Amelie of LeuchtenbergDuchess of BraganzaEmpress consort of BrazilTenure2 August 1829 7 April 1831Born 1812 07 31 31 July 1812Milan Kingdom of ItalyDied26 January 1873 1873 01 26 aged 60 Lisbon Kingdom of PortugalBurialMonument to the Independence of Brazil Sao PauloSpousePedro I of Brazil m 1829 died 1834 wbr IssuePrincess Maria Amelia of BrazilNamesAmelia Augusta Eugenia Napoleona de BeauharnaisHouseBeauharnaisFatherEugene Duke of LeuchtenbergMotherPrincess Augusta of BavariaSignatureShe was the granddaughter of Josephine de Beauharnais Empress of the French Her father Eugene de Beauharnais was the only son of Empress Josephine and her first husband Alexandre Viscount of Beauharnais He thus became a stepson of Napoleon Bonaparte when his mother married the future emperor The mother of Empress Amelie was Princess Augusta daughter of Maximilian I King of Bavaria Contents 1 Family childhood and youth 2 Marriage 3 Arrival in Brazil and life as empress 4 Return to Europe 5 Widowhood and final years 5 1 Health issues death and burial 6 Exhumation 7 Arms 8 Ancestry 9 Descendants 10 Cultural representations 11 References 12 BibliographyFamily childhood and youth editAmelie was the fourth child of General Eugene de Beauharnais Duke of Leuchtenberg and his wife Princess Augusta of Bavaria Her father was the son of Josephine de Beauharnais and her first husband Viscount Alexandre de Beauharnais When Josephine remarried to Napoleon Bonaparte Eugene was adopted by the latter and made viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy Amelie s mother was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his first consort Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse Darmstadt 1 Among Amelie s siblings were Josephine of Leuchtenberg queen consort of King Oscar I of Sweden and Auguste de Beauharnais 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg prince consort of Queen Maria II of Portugal stepdaughter of Amelie Napoleon III was Amelie s first cousin After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814 Eugene de Beauharnais having been granted the title Duke of Leuchtenberg by his father in law settled in Munich The possibility occurred to Amelie s mother Augusta of marrying Amelie to the Emperor of Brazil to guarantee the pretensions of the House of Leuchtenberg to royal status 1 Marriage edit nbsp Amelie at age 17 by Friedrich Wilhelm Spohr 1829 After the death of his first wife the Austrian archduchess Maria Leopoldina in December 1826 Emperor Pedro I of Brazil and King Pedro IV of Portugal sent the Marquis of Barbacena to Europe to find him a second wife His task was not easy several factors complicated the search First Dom Pedro had stipulated four conditions a good family background beauty virtue and culture Conversely the emperor of Brazil did not have a particularly good image in Europe his relationship with the Marchioness of Santos was notorious and few eligible princesses were expected to be eager to leave the courts of Europe to marry a widower who had a tarnished reputation as a husband becoming step mother to his five children To make matters worse the former father in law of Dom Pedro Francis I of Austria had a low opinion of his son in law s political views and apparently acted to prevent a new marriage to ensure that his grandchildren would inherit the throne of Brazil if they survived infancy 2 After refusals by eight princesses turned the ambassador into an object of scorn in the courts of Europe citation needed Barbacena in agreement with the Emperor lowered his requirements seeking for Dom Pedro a wife merely good and virtuous Amelie now became a good possibility but their encounter was brought about not by Barbacena but by Domingos Borges de Barros Viscount of Pedra Branca minister in Paris to whom she had been pointed out 3 She came from a distinguished and ancient line on her mother s side the Wittelsbachs but her father an exile who shared in the disgrace of Napoleon Bonaparte s deposition as emperor was not an optimal marital match However that was her sole defect The princess was tall very beautiful well proportioned with a delicate face She had blue eyes 4 and brownish golden hair 5 Antonio Teles da Silva Caminha e Meneses Marquis of Resende sent to verify the beauty of the young lady praised her highly saying that she had a physical air that like that the painter Correggio gave us in his paintings of the Queen of Sheba 2 She was also cultured and sensitive A contemporary piece in The Times of London affirms that she was one of the best educated and best prepared princesses in the German world 6 The marriage contract was signed on 29 May 1829 in England and ratified on June 30 in Munich by Amelie s mother the Duchess of Leuchtenberg who had tutored her daughter personally On 30 July of that year in Brazil a treaty of marriage between Pedro I and Amelie of Leuchtenberg was promulgated Upon confirming the marriage Dom Pedro definitively broke his links to the Marchioness of Santos and as evidence of his good intentions instituted the Order of the Rose with the motto Amor e Fidelidade Love and Fidelity A proxy marriage ceremony on 2 August in the chapel of the Palais Leuchtenberg in Munich was a simple affair with few in attendance 2 as Amelie insisted on donating to a Munich orphanage the appreciable amount Dom Pedro had sent for a ceremony with full pomp 1 Dom Pedro was represented by the Marquis of Barbacena Amelie was barely seventeen years old Dom Pedro was thirty 2 Amelie s mother foresaw the difficulties her daughter might face and prepared her carefully Besides a good dowry and trousseau she gave her a great deal of advice recommending that she be demonstrative of her feelings and overcome any timidity so as not to discourage her husband that she be loving toward her stepchildren and above all that she remain faithful as empress to the interests of the Brazilians Scientist Carl Friedrich von Martius was sent with her on the journey to teach her about Brazil and Ana Romana de Aragao Calmon Countess of Itapagipe to familiarize her with her husband s personality and the customs of the Brazilian court and to teach her Portuguese 2 Arrival in Brazil and life as empress edit nbsp The Emperor s Second Marriage painted by Jean Baptiste Debret Amelie sailed to the New World from Ostend the Netherlands on the frigate Imperatriz arriving in Rio de Janeiro on 15 October 1829 after a crossing that went more rapidly than planned Tradition says that upon hearing that the ship was approaching Dom Pedro embarked on a tugboat to meet it on the far side of the bar and that he collapsed with emotion upon seeing his wife on deck 2 Among those accompanying her on board were Barbacena and the 10 year old Maria II of Portugal in whose favor her father had renounced his rights to the Portuguese throne back in 1826 Barbacena on that same trip had received the mission to bring Maria to the care of her grandfather Austrian emperor Francis I but in the middle of the journey learned that the throne of the latter had been usurped by Miguel brother of Dom Pedro and decided instead to take her to England which he considered a safer place After concluding the imperial marriage contract they embarked again for Brazil together with Amelie s entourage including Amelie s brother Auguste de Beauharnais 2nd Duke of Leuchtenberg 3 Shortly after the newlyweds first encounter Dom Pedro s children by his first marriage were brought out to their new stepmother s ship for the couple and children to lunch together 1 The following day at noon under a heavy rain Amelie disembarked and was received with a solemn procession She then went with Dom Pedro to the Imperial Chapel to receive the nuptial blessings All were dazzled by her beauty highlighted by a long white gown and a robe embroidered in silver in the French fashion After the ceremony came a public celebration with fireworks and a grand state banquet for the court 1 nbsp Portrait of Empress Amelie by Joseph Karl Stieler 1829 In January 1830 the new empress was formally presented in court with a dance at which all of the ladies dressed in pink the empress s favorite color The following day the couple began their honeymoon spending six weeks at the ranch of Father Correa in Serra da Estrela future locale of the city of Petropolis 3 On their return they encountered a court troubled by problems caused by the emperor s intimate confidante Chalaca Francisco Gomes da Silva Barbacena took the opportunity to rid himself of his old foe recommending that he leave for Europe in which he counted on the support of the new empress anxious to break one more link to her husband s adventurous past She had already shown a strong attitude in refusing from the outset to receive at court Isabel Maria de Alcantara Duchess of Goias Dom Pedro s daughter by the Marchioness of Santos and demanding that Isabel Maria be sent to school in Switzerland 3 Upon settling into the imperial palace the Paco de Sao Cristovao and perceiving what she considered an inadequate standard of protocol Amelie established French as the court language and adopted a ceremonial modeled after European courts She sought to update the cuisine and fashion redecorated the palace acquired new tableware and silverware and attempted to refine the manners of the court She achieved at least a partial success in this last and the elegance of the Empress always impeccably dressed became internationally famous 7 Their marriage was a happy one unlike Dom Pedro s first and she reportedly had a good relationship with her legitimate stepchildren as well Her beauty good sense and kindness promptly won the affections of both her husband and his children by his first marriage She made sure that the latter had a good family environment and received a good education Shortly after the marriage a French traveler reported it appears that the empress continues to exercise her influence over the children of Dom Pedro The happy results are already apparent she has already made considerable renovations to the palace and order has commenced to reign the princesses education is supervised and directed personally by the empress with the same care going to the heir to the throne little Prince Pedro de Alcantara later Emperor Pedro II of Brazil the proof of this last being that he soon began to call her mamae mommy 1 Amelie always expressed her affection for Pedro II and maintained a correspondence with him until the end of her life trying to instruct and support him Nearly six decades of their correspondence survive Dom Pedro II reciprocated her kindness soliciting her help in arranging marriages for his own daughters and visiting her in Lisbon in 1871 8 9 Her presence was also important in restoring her husband s popularity and giving him courage during a difficult period for the new empire but the popular enthusiasm generated by the marriage was short lived 2 Jose Bonifacio advised her on what her husband would need to do to reconcile with the people of Brazil but nothing worked 6 The precarious economic situation and political turbulence precipitated the inevitable crisis and on 7 April 1831 Dom Pedro abdicated the throne in favor of his young son 2 Return to Europe edit nbsp The Duke and Duchess of Braganza right with Queen Maria II of Portugal Pedro s eldest daughter just a few months before his death 1834 After Dom Pedro I abdicated the crown Amelie accompanied her husband back to Europe They now held the titles of Duke and Duchess of Braganza She was three months pregnant and suffered badly from nausea on the sea voyage 2 After resupplying the ship at Faial Island in the Azores they arrived at Cherbourg in France on 10 June 1831 They were received with the honors appropriate to reigning monarchs greeted with a 21 gun cannon salute and by a detachment of 5 000 soldiers of the National Guard The prefecture of the city offered them a palace as accommodation but a mere ten days after their arrival Dom Pedro left for London leaving behind Amelie who was reunited with Maria da Gloria the 23rd of the same month 10 Amelie soon established residence in Paris with Maria da Gloria and with Dom Pedro s illegitimate daughter Isabel Maria Duchess of Goias whom Amelie ended up adopting as her own daughter 11 On 30 November 1831 Amelie gave birth to Princess Maria Amelia who would prove to be her only child 2 Her father expressed his happiness in a letter to young Dom Pedro II Divine Providence has seen fit to diminish the sadness my paternal heart feels for the separation from V M I Vossa Majestade Imperial Your Imperial Majesty giving to me a daughter and to V M I another sister and subject 12 Meanwhile Dom Pedro I as Duke of Braganza began a bloody battle against his brother Dom Miguel I of Portugal for the Portuguese crown in the name of his daughter Maria da Gloria 2 Upon receiving the news of the Duke s victory in Lisbon Amelie left with her daughter and stepdaughter for Portugal arriving in the capital on 22 September 1833 13 With Miguel defeated and exiled from Portugal Dom Pedro and his family established themselves first at Ramalhao Palace and later at Queluz National Palace 14 Widowhood and final years edit nbsp Amelie with her daughter Princess Maria Amelia 1840 The venturesome life of Dom Pedro had undermined his health he contracted tuberculosis and died 24 September 1834 14 Amelie respected the provisions of his will He had wished that Maria Isabel de Alcantara Countess of Iguacu his illegitimate daughter by the Marchioness of Santos be given a good European education like her sister the Duchess of Goias However the Marchioness declined to send the girl Dom Pedro also stipulated legacies for his other illegitimate children reducing the inheritance of Amelie and her own daughter the provision showed that Dom Pedro loved all his children legitimate or not 15 Amelie never remarried she moved to the Palacio das Janelas Verdes Palace of Green Windows also known as the Palacio de Alvor Pombal now housing Portugal s National Museum of Ancient Art and dedicated herself to charitable works and to her daughter s education Maria Amelia showed herself to be very intelligent and to be a talented musician 2 Occasionally Amelie visited Bavaria with her daughter Despite being established in Portugal they were not considered part of the Portuguese royal family Amelie solicited recognition for herself and her daughter as members of the Brazilian imperial family thereby entitled to a pension but Dom Pedro II was still a minor and the Brazilian Regency feared possible influence by the empress widow Amelie in state business as well as the possibility of her adherence to political factions that might harm the government They refused to recognize her daughter Maria Amelie as a Brazilian princess and forbade her to set foot in the country This situation changed when Dom Pedro II reached majority His relations with them were good and on 5 July 1841 Amelie and Maria Amelia were recognized as members of the Brazilian imperial family 16 Prior to that Maria Amelia s status and place in the line of succession had been doubtful because she was conceived in Brazil while her father Pedro I was still the emperor but was born abroad after his abdication and Brazil s Constitution invested the Imperial Parliament to settle doubts pertaining to the imperial succession Soon after the start of his personal reign Pedro II requested that Parliament should recognize his sister s rights On 5 July 1841 Pedro II finally signed into law the statute approved by the Brazilian Parliament recognizing Maria Amelia as a Brazilian princess nbsp Photograph by Francisco Augusto Gomes 1861 Amelie wore black in mourning for her husband Pedro I for the rest of her life 17 Princess Maria Amelia became engaged to Archduke Maximilian of Austria later Emperor Maximilian of Mexico at the beginning of 1852 but shortly afterward began to show symptoms of tuberculosis Because of the disease she and her mother moved to Funchal on Madeira Island in search of healthier airs arriving on 31 August 1852 Nonetheless the princess died there of tuberculosis at the age of 22 on 4 February 1853 2 18 Her death profoundly affected her mother who visited Maria Amelia s tomb every year on the anniversary of her death and financed the construction of a still extant hospital in Funchal named Princesa Dona Maria Amelia and left her properties in Bavaria to Archduke Maximilian whom she would have been happy to have as a son in law if God had saved her beloved daughter Maria Amelia 19 After Maria Amelia s death Amelie settled again in Lisbon Health issues death and burial edit Amelie suffered from angina pectoris since 1834 at the time of her husband s death and had lesions on her lungs 20 By 1871 she was in serious health condition Pedro II was constantly informed about it 20 She has had fever bronchitis symptoms and breathing problems 20 She even was given her last rites but her health had an improvement after she learned that she would be visited by her sister Josephine Queen of Sweden and by Pedro II 20 By 1872 she presented edema at her lower extremities suffered from dyspnea and capillary bronchitis 20 Amelie died on January 26 1873 at the age of 60 after suffering a congestive heart failure 20 She was buried in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza 20 Under the terms of her will her sister Queen Josephine was her primary heir receiving among other things the Braganza tiara citation needed but many documents pertaining to Pedro I were willed to Brazil where they reside in the Historic Archive of the Imperial Museum of Brazil in Petropolis 2 In 1982 her remains were transported to the Imperial Crypt and Chapel in the Monument to the Independence of Brazil in Sao Paulo 21 Exhumation editBetween February and September 2012 researchers at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil exhumed the remains of Amelie Pedro I and as well as those of Maria Leopoldina Pedro s first wife They were surprised to find that the body of Amelie had been mummified Skin hair and internal organs were preserved Examinations at the Hospital das Clinicas found an incision in the empress jugular vein Aromatics such as camphor and myrrh were injected into the incision during the embalming process It certainly helped to nullify the decomposition said Brazilian forensic archaeologist Valdirene Ambiel responsible for the research She added that another contributing factor was the casket saying it was so hermetically sealed that there were no micro organisms in it Before the reburial scientists reembalmed her remains using a method similar to the first one 22 23 Arms editStyles of Empress Amelia of Brazil nbsp Reference styleHer Imperial MajestySpoken styleYour Imperial MajestyAlternative styleMadam 24 nbsp Coat of Arms of Amelie of Leuchtenberg as Empress of BrazilAncestry editAncestors of Amelie of Leuchtenberg8 Francois de Beauharnais marquis de La Ferte Beauharnais4 Alexandre vicomte de Beauharnais9 Henriette de Pyvart de Chastulle2 Eugene Duke of Leuchtenberg10 Joseph Gaspard Tascher de la Pagerie5 Josephine Tascher de La Pagerie11 Rose Claire des Vergers de Sannois1 Amelie of Leuchtenberg12 Frederick Michael Count Palatine of Zweibrucken6 Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria13 Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach3 Princess Augusta of Bavaria14 Prince George William of Hesse Darmstadt7 Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse Darmstadt15 Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen Dagsburg FalkenburgDescendants editWith Dom Pedro I of Brazil formerly also Pedro IV of Portugal Princess Maria Amelia of Brazil 1831 1853 Cultural representations editAmelie of Leuchtenberg is the protagonist of a novel by Ivanir Calado Imperatriz no Fim do Mundo Memorias Dubias de Amelia de Leuchtenberg Empress at the End of the World Dubious Memoirs of Amelie of Leuchtenberg 1997 and has been played on film and television by Maria Claudia in the film Independencia ou Morte Independence or Death 1972 Cida Marques in the miniseries Entre o Amor e a Espada Between Love and the Sword 2001 Claudia Abreu in the miniseries O Quinto dos Infernos The Fifth Hell 2002 References edit a b c d e f Barman Roderick J 2002 Citizen Emperor Pedro II and the Making of Brazil 1825 1891 Stanford University Press pp 25 27 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Witte Claudia Thome O casamento com D Pedro I e toda a trajetoria no Brasil da princesa bavara Amelia de Leuchtenberg Archived 2016 11 06 at the Wayback Machine In Revista de Historia online 9 June 2010 In Portuguese Accessed 1 February 2012 a b c d Lustosa Isabel D Pedro I Companhia das Letras 2006 pp 284 286 In Portuguese Torres 1947 p 34 Torres 1947 p 53 a b Pinheiro Neto Joao Pedro e Domitila Amor em tempo de paixao Mauad Editora Ltda 2002 pp 243 244 In Portuguese Del Priore Mary Amor e fidelidade num casamento imperial Dom Pedro I e Dona Amelia In Gazeta Imperial August 2011 year XVI number 189 pp 8 9 In Portuguese Carvalho Jose Murilo de D Pedro II ser ou nao ser Companhia das Letras 2007 pp 16 17 In Portuguese Schwarcz Lilia Moritz As barbas do imperador Companhia das Letras 1998 pp 52 380 In Portuguese Lustosa p 305 Sousa Octavio Tarquinio de A vida de D Pedro I Rio de Janeiro Jose Olympio 1972 vol 3 pp 273 274 In Portuguese Almeida Sylvia Lacerda Martins de Uma filha de D Pedro I Dona Maria Amelia Sao Paulo Companhia Editora Nacional 1973 p 42 In Portuguese Sousa p 275 a b Almeida p 54 Lewin Linda Surprise Heirs Illegitimacy inheritance rights and public power in the formation of Imperial Brazil 1822 1889 Stanford University Press 2003 pp 155 156 Lyra Heitor Historia de Dom Pedro II 1825 1891 Ascensao 1825 1870 Belo Horizonte Itatiaia 1977 vol 1 pp 42 43 279 In Portuguese Loes Joao 22 February 2013 A volta de Dom Pedro I istoe com br in Portuguese Retrieved 25 January 2023 Almeida pp 57 73 85 111 Almeida pp 90 152 157 a b c d e f g Ambiel Valdirene do Carmo Estudos de Arqueologia Forense Aplicados aos Remanescentes Humanos dos Primeiros Imperadores do Brasil Depositados no Monumento a Independencia PDF Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia Pos Graduacao da USP 55 56 2013 Tirapeli Percival e Silva Manoel Nunes da Sao Paulo artes e etnias UNESP 2007 p 124 Cientistas exumam corpo de d Pedro I Gazeta do Povo February 18 2013 Retrieved December 3 2022 Restos da imperatriz consorte O impressionante corpo mumificado de Dona Amelia aventurasnahistoria uol com br September 24 2021 Retrieved December 4 2022 Barman 2002 p 40 Bibliography edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amelie de Beauharnais von Leuchtenberg Torres Ligia Lemos 1947 Imperatriz Dona Amelia in Portuguese Sao Paulo Elvino Pocai Amelie of LeuchtenbergHouse of BeauharnaisBorn 31 June 1812 Died 26 January 1873Brazilian royaltyVacantTitle last held byMaria Leopoldina of Austria Empress consort of Brazil2 August 1829 7 April 1831 VacantTitle next held byTeresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Amelie of Leuchtenberg amp oldid 1216006822, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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