Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza

Prince Dom Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza (Bertrand Maria José Pio Januário Miguel Gabriel Raphael Gonzaga de Orléans e Bragança; 2 February 1941) is the head of the Vassouras branch of the Imperial House of Brazil and pretender to the title of Emperor of Brazil since 2022.

Bertrand
Bertrand in 2022
Head of the Imperial House of Brazil (disputed)
Tenure	15 July 2022 – present
Predecessor	Luiz of Orléans-Braganza
Heir presumptive	Antônio of Orléans-Braganza
Born	(1941-02-02) 2 February 1941 (age 83) Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Vichy France
Names Bertrand Maria José Pio Januário Miguel Gabriel Raphael Gonzaga de Orléans e Bragança
House	Orléans-Braganza
Father	Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza
Mother	Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Born in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France, the third child of Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria. He was the third and last child of the couple to be born abroad, and came to Brazil at the age of four. In Brazil, he graduated in law from the University of São Paulo and became a student of Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira and a devoted member of Tradition, Family and Property and later the Instituto Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira.^[1] Prince Bertrand is an avid traditionalist conservative, anticommunist, and outspoken advocate of right-wing Christian policies. Chaste, the Prince succeeded his brother as Head of the Imperial House of Brazil and is the main activist and spokesperson for the restoration of the monarchy, having gained prominence in the national media and, on occasion, in the international media. He is frequently invited by public and private institutions, including the Federal Government, to participate in official events, as well as to participate in monarchic events and meetings and to travel the country campaigning for the monarchy.^[2][3]

Although Prince Bertrand and Prince Pedro Carlos are great-grandsons of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, of the House of Braganza, they disputed the leadership of the Brazilian Imperial Family due to a dynastic dispute regarding their parents, who were cousins. A member of the Brazilian Imperial House, Prince Bertrand is closely related to the House of Braganza and the House of Orléans (Orleanist claimants), both through his paternal lineage, and with the House of Wittelsbach, through his maternal lineage. He is the great-grandson of Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil and King Louis III of Bavaria.^[4][5][6]

Biography

Early life

 

Bertrand (third, from right) with his mother and siblings, 1957

The third son of Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria, his elder brothers are, in order, Luiz of Orléans-Braganza who claimed to be Head of the Brazilian Imperial Family until 2022 and Eudes of Orléans-Braganza, who renounced his dynastic rights to the Brazilian throne in order to marry a commoner.^{[citation needed]}

As with his two elder brothers, Bertrand was born in southern France, 1941, even though the exile imposed on the family had already been revoked, in 1920, due to the Second World War. He came to Brazil after the end of the conflict.^{[citation needed]}

In Brazil, the family settled first in the Grão-Pará Palace in the state of Rio de Janeiro,^{[citation needed][dubious ]} where he carried out part of his secondary studies in the Jesuit St. Ignatius College. Later his family moved to Paraná, where his father bought a farm and Bertrand spent his childhood. When he was 18 years old, he went to São Paulo, where he achieved a bachelor's degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo in 1964. He still lives in São Paulo.^{[citation needed]}

Education and beliefs

From a very young age he received Catholic formation, being guided by his father to the taste for the doctrinal study and the analysis of the national and international events. He participated with enthusiasm in the academic banks of the ideological struggles that marked Brazil in the first half of the sixties.^{[citation needed]} His formation was completed with frequent trips to Europe, one of which took place during the entire First Session of the Second Vatican Council, when he took close contact with the Catholic intelligentsia to Rome for the great event. A civil pilot, he is a reservist of the Brazilian Air Force.^{[citation needed]}

Bertrand is a Traditionalist Catholic and a member of Tradition, Family and Property,^[7] of traditionalist Catholic inspiration, founded and directed by the intellectual leader Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira until his death. There it diffuses from the catholic and monarchical ideals,^[8] seen by him as "distinct and harmonious facets of the same ideal."^{[This quote needs a citation]} His older brother, Luiz, was also part of the organization. After a spin-off occurred in the entity, he and his brother began to collaborate with members linked to the Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Institute (IPCO) and the Founders' Association.^{[citation needed]}

Besides Portuguese, his native language, Bertrand is fluent in French and Spanish.^{[citation needed]}

Later life

 

Bertrand in 2011

He is not married and has no issue, so his dynastic heir is his younger brother, Antonio of Orléans-Braganza, who is married to a Belgian aristocrat, Princess Christine of Ligne, with issue.^{[citation needed]}

Both he and his elder brother, Luiz, were engaged in monarchist proselytism in Brazil.^[8] They both played main roles during the campaign for the 1993 plebiscite, which represented the hitherto only real opportunity for a return of the monarchy since the proclamation of the republic, in 1889. In it, the people were asked to choose which form of government (presidential or parliamentary) and which form of state organization (republic or constitutional monarchy) Brazil should have. The monarchist cause was not successful, receiving only 13.4% of the vote.^[9][10]

Roles

In recent years, Bertrand is coordinator and spokesman of the movement Paz no Campo (Peace in the fields), and has traveled all over Brazil lecturing for farmers and entrepreneurs in defense of private property and free enterprise.^[11][12]

As the activist and spokesman of the Brazilian Imperial House for the restoration of the monarchy, Bertrand has gained prominence in the national media and, on some occasions, international media,^[13] with the rise and spread of monarchist movements throughout the country.^[14] He participates annually in public meetings with monarchists,^[15] in addition to attending other meetings and conducting lectures, often at the invitation of private institutions, municipal governments and legislative assemblies, mainly for public events related to Brazil's monarchical past.^[16] In 2016 he gave an interview to Mariana Godoy on her program on RedeTV!, gaining notoriety with the general public.^[17] On 22 September 2017 Bertrand participated in the program The Noite com Danilo Gentili, currently the largest talk show in the country, breaking the program's record of audience.^[18] Despite the campaign, politically the monarchist movement is still small, with 11% of support among the population, according to a survey.^[19]

Political opinions

Bertrand supports typically Traditionalist Catholic ideas: he opposes same-sex marriage, favours the illegality of abortion and is against the demarcation of indigenous territory in Brazil.^[20] He has also criticised the progressivism of Pope Francis, although he does recognize him as the legitimate pope.^{[citation needed]}

He is a climate change denialist and has published a book entitled "Psicose Ambientalista" ("Environmentalist Psychosis"), denouncing with what he calls "the hoaxes created by radical environmentalists and by eco-terrorists".^[21][22]

Honours

As Head of the Brazilian Imperial Family, Bertrand claims the following positions:^[23]

•   Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Christ
•   Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz
•   Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Saint James of the Sword
•   Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of the Southern Cross
•   Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Emperor Pedro I
•   Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of the Rose

Bertrand has also received other honours:^[23]

•   Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
•   Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre^[24]
•   Bailiff Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
•   Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa
•   Medal of the Pacifier Duke of Caxias (2009)^[25]
•   Grand Cross of the Order of Military Judicial Merit (2009)^[26]
•   Commander of the Order of Military Merit (Brazil) (2013)^[27]
•   Medal of Tiradentes (2018)^[28]
•   Medal of Honor (Special Class) of the Association of Monarchic Autarchs of Portugal^[29]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza

8. Prince Gaston, Count of Eu 4. Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza 9. Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil 2. Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza 10. Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta 5. Princess Maria di Grazia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies 11. Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies 1. Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza 12. Ludwig III of Bavaria 6. Prince Franz of Bavaria 13. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este 3. Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria 14. Karl Alfred, Duke of Croÿ 7. Princess Isabella Antonie of Croÿ 15. Princess Ludmilla of Arenberg

References

1. "Autor: Dom Bertrand de Orleans e Bragança". www.ipco.org.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2 June 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
2. "Bertrand do Brasil". Monarquia Wiki (in Portuguese). 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
3. "Dom Bertrand » Pró Monarquia". monarquia.org.br. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
4. "Trineto de d. Pedro 2º pede fim do laudêmio e aponta descaso em Petrópolis". noticias.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 6 February 2024.
5. "G1 > Edição São Paulo - NOTÍCIAS - A questão dinástica". g1.globo.com. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
6. "La familia real brasileña defiende los nuevos ideales". www.publico.es. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
7. "Bertrand of Orleans-Braganza Visits America 15 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine", TFP.org, 30 April 2001
8. Brooke, James (12 November 1989). "A Sour Anniversary for Brazil's Monarchists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
9. "1993 Brazilian Plebiscite 1 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine" by Scott Bailey, UCSD
10. 1993 Human Rights Report 11 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine, US State Department, 31 January 1994
11. . Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
12. Paz no campo significa "tolerância zero" com o MST e congêneres. In: Catolicismo 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, May 2007
13. "New Plan to Fix Brazil's Royal Mess: Restore the Monarchy". The Wall Street Journal. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
14. "'República está com dias contados', dizem monarquistas após protestos". BBC. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
15. "Monarchical meeting gather 250 people in Flamengo". O Globo. 10 June 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
16. "Prince Imperial of Brazil visits São Vicente". O Globo. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
17. . Rede TV!. 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
18. "Danilo Gentili recebe o Príncipe Dom Bertrand no The Noite". SBT. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
19. Instituto Paraná Pesquisas
20. "Monarquistas ocupam cargos em Brasília e reabilitam grupo católico ultraconservador" [Monarchists occupy posts in Brasília and rehabilitate ultraconservative Catholic group]. BBC Brasil. 4 April 2019.
21. ORLEANS E BRAGANÇA, D. Bertrand de. Psicose Ambientalista 28 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine. IPCO, 2012.
22. Miguel, Jean Carlos Hochsprung (13 April 2022). "The "mesh" of climate denialism and the obstruction of environmental governmentalization in Brazil". Sociedade e Estado (in Portuguese). 37: 293–315. doi:10.1590/s0102-6992-202237010013. ISSN 0102-6992. S2CID 248170487.
23. Pró-Monarquia. (2022). Anuário da Casa Imperial do Brasil. São Paulo: Pró-Monarquia, 25.
24. MARIE, Michelle (2012) (in Portuguese). Cavaleiros na Ordem Eqüestre do Santo Sepulcro de Jerusalém^{[permanent dead link]}.
25. [«Nº 27/2009 - Boletim do Exército». http://www.sgex.eb.mil.br] (in Portuguese).
26. [Príncipe D. Bertrand recebe Ordem do Mérito Judiciário Militar https://williamxaviercarvalho.blogspot.com/2009/04/principe-d-bertrand-recebe-ordem-do.html] (in Portuguese).
27. Judiciário prestigia comemoração do Dia do Exército (in Portuguese).
28. [«Proj. Lei 2015/2019 - Proj. de Resolução». Assembleia Legislativa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Consultado em 24 de outubro de 2022] (in Portuguese).
29. "Autarcas Monárquicos de Portugal". 13 April 2018. from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.

External links

 

Wikiquote has quotations related to Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bertrand de Orléans e Bragança.

• Dom Bertrand, Facebook.
• "Herdeiros do Porvir", imperial magazine, number 32, 2013. 12 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine
• "Príncipe imperial defende monarquia em MG e afirma que homossexualidade é um 'defeito'", Sul de Minas EPTV, 2017.

Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza House of Orléans-Braganza Cadet branch of the House of Orléans Born: 2 February 1941
Preceded by Luiz	Head of the Imperial House of Brazil (disputed) 15 July 2022 – present	Incumbent
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Luiz	— TITULAR — Emperor of Brazil One of two pretenders to the Brazilian throne 15 July 2022 – present Reason for succession failure: Empire abolished in 1889	Incumbent