Claimant to the defunct Brazilian throne (1938–2022)
Prince Luiz Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (6 June 1938 – 15 July 2022) was the eldest son of Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria, and head of the Vassouras branch of the Imperial House of Brazil and pretender to the title of "Emperor of Brazil" from 1981 until his death in 2022.
The Vassouras branch claims the throne in opposition to the Petrópolis branch of the Orléans-Braganzas, headed by Pedro Carlos Orléans-Braganza. Although Luiz and Pedro Carlos respectively were and are great-grandchildren of Princess Isabel (daughter of Emperor Pedro II), of the House of Braganza, they disputed leadership over the Brazilian Imperial Family due to a dynastic dispute concerning their fathers, who were cousins. Luiz actively claimed the defunct throne and participated in matters concerning Brazil's imperial past.
Early life.
Luiz Gastão Maria José Pio was born on 6 June 1938 in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France, as the oldest son of Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, the Vassouras great-grandson of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, and his wife, Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria, granddaughter of King Ludwig III of Bavaria.
Prince Luiz was born after the revocation of the exile that had been imposed on the Imperial family by Brazil's first Republican government, the aftermath of World War I and World War II detained the entire family in Europe until 1945, when the Vassouras branch of the family was finally repatriated, settling first in the town of Petrópolis (Rio de Janeiro), then to Jacarezinho (Paraná).
In 1957, Prince Luiz returned to Europe to finish his studies, where he graduated in chemistry at the University of Munich. Returning to Brazil in 1967, his family having already moved to Vassouras (Rio de Janeiro), Luiz became a member of the Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, a traditionalist Catholic organization which opposes socialistic land reform and supports conservative politics based on Catholic social doctrine and the principles promoted by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Alongside Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, his Portuguese counterpart and second cousin, he opposed same-sex marital unions, as of a 2015 declaration.
Succession.
On 1981, he succeeded Prince Pedro Henrique as the claimant to the Brazilian throne in the Vassouras branch. According to Brazilian legitimist claims, he was "de jure" Emperor of Brazil ("Dom Luiz I of Brazil").
He and two of his younger brothers, Prince Bertrand and Prince Antônio, engaged in monarchist proselytism in Brazil. They played major roles during the campaign for the 1993 plebiscite, which represented the first official opportunity for a return of the monarchy to Brazil 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 13.2% of the vote against 66% for the republic.
Dom Luiz resided in a house with "no luxury nor splendor" in Higienópolis, a borough of São Paulo, Brazil.
Death.
Prince Luiz died in São Paulo on July 14, 2022 having been hospitalized for a month. On July 15, 2022, the President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro and the Minister of Foreign Affairs signed a decree declaring a national day of official mourning for the death of Luiz.
Honours.
As Head of the House of Orléans-Braganza, Prine Luiz Gastão held the following positions:
Prince Luiz has also been decorated with a number of other honours:
References.
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