Amélie of Orléans

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Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal

Amélie (Marie Louise Hélène) of Orleans (28 September 1865 - 25 October 1951) was the eldest daughter of Philippe, comte de Paris and his wife and cousin Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans. She was Queen consort of Portugal, and was known by her subjects by the name of Maria Amélia.

1 Family
2 Marriage
3 Queen consort
4 Ancestry
5 External links

[edit] Family

Her paternal grandparents were Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans and Duchess Helena Luisa Elizabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Her maternal grandparents were Antoine, Duke of Montpensier and Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain.

The Dukes of Orléans and Montpensier were siblings, both sons of Louis-Philippe of France and Maria Amalia of the Two Sicilies.

[edit] Marriage

On 22 May 1886, Amélie married Prince Carlos of Portugal. He was the eldest son of Luís I of Portugal and Maria Pia of Italy. He was at the time the Heir apparent to the throne. The bride was almost twenty-one years old and the groom about twenty-three.

They had three children:

Luís Filipe, Duke of Braganza (21 March 1887 - 1 February 1908).
Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal (born and deceased on 14 December 1887).
Manuel II of Portugal (19 March 1889 - 2 July 1932).

[edit] Queen consort

In 1892 Pope Leo XIII gave a Golden Rose to Amélie.

On 19 October 1889, her father-in-law died and Carlos succeeded him on the throne. Amélie became the new Queen consort of Portugal. However her husband became known for his extramarital affairs while the popularity of the Portuguese monarchy started to wane in the face of a bankrupt economy, industrial disturbances, socialist and republican antagonism and press criticism.

In 1907, Carlos forced the Parliament of Portugal to dissolve and authorised João Franco, already Prime Minister of Portugal since 1906, to establish an authoritarian government. This did little to help the image of the Royal Family.

On 1 February 1908 the royal family returning from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by coach to Almada and from then took a boat to cross the Tagus River and disembarked in Cais do Sodré in downtown Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the carriage with Carlos I and his family passed through Terreiro do Paço. While crossing the square, shots were fired from the crowd by at least two men: Alfredo Costa, Manuel Buiça. The king died immediately, his heir Luís Filipe was mortally wounded, Prince Manuel hit in the arm and Amélie surprisingly unharmed.

The assassins were shot on the spot by members of the bodyguard and later were recognized as members of the Portuguese Republican Party. About twenty minutes later, Prince Luis Filipe died and the next day, Manuel was acclaimed king of Portugal, the last one of the Braganza dynasty. Amélie became Queen Dowager.

Manuel II of Portugal was deposed by a military coup, later known as the 5 October 1910 revolution, resulting in the establishment of the Portuguese First Republic. Amélie left Portugal with the rest of the royal family and went into exile. She was the last Queen consort of Portugal as the monarchy has never been restored.