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| Amélie of Orléans | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Unsigned portrait, used onpostcards | |||||
| Queen consort of Portugal | |||||
| Tenure | 19 October 1889 –1 February 1908 | ||||
| Born | (1865-09-28)28 September 1865 Twickenham,London, England | ||||
| Died | 25 October 1951(1951-10-25) (aged 86) Le Chesnay,Seine-et-Oise,France | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue Detail |
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| House | Orléans | ||||
| Father | Prince Philippe, Count of Paris | ||||
| Mother | Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans | ||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Amélie of Orléans (French:Marie Amélie Louise Hélène; 28 September 1865 – 25 October 1951) was the lastQueen of Portugal as the wife ofCarlos I of Portugal. She was regent of Portugal during the absence of her husband in 1895.
She was the eldest daughter ofPrince Philippe, Count of Paris andPrincess Marie Isabelle d'Orléans, and a "Princess of Orléans" by birth.
Amélie's paternal grandparents werePrince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans, andDuchess Helena of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Her maternal grandparents werePrince Antoine, Duke of Montpensier, and theInfanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain. The Dukes of Orléans and Montpensier were siblings, both sons of KingLouis-Philippe I of France, andMaria Amalia of the Two Sicilies.
On 22 May 1886, Amélie marriedCarlos, Prince Royal of Portugal. He was the eldest son of KingLuís I of Portugal andMaria Pia of Savoy. He was at the time theheir apparent to the throne. The bride was 19-years old and the groom about twenty-three. The marriage had been arranged by their families after several attempts to arrange a marriage for her with a member of the Austrian or Spanish dynasties. At first, the marriage was not popular and Queen Maria Pia was expecting to marry Carlos toArchduchess Marie Valerie of Austria,Princess Mathilde of Saxony,Princess Viktoria of Prussia orPrincess Victoria of Wales. However, Amélie and Carlos came to live quite harmoniously with each other.
They had three children:
On 19 October 1889, King Luís 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.
Amélie played an active role as a queen, and somewhat softened the growing criticism towards the monarchy with her personal popularity, though she did receive some criticism for her expenses. She was active in many social projects, such as the prevention and treatment oftuberculosis and the foundation of charity organisations,sanatoriums anddrugstores. She was considered less formal than her mother-in-law Maria Pia, learned Portuguese well and was described as calm and mild. She was interested inliterature,opera andtheatre, was a diarist and also painted. During the absence of her spouse in 1895, she acted as regent. In 1902, she made a cruise on theMediterranean Sea that was much criticised for its luxury.
In 1892,Pope Leo XIII gave aGolden Rose to Amélie.
On 1 February 1908, the royal family returned from the palace ofVila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled in the royal train toBarreiro and from there took a boat to cross theTagus River. They disembarked at Cais das Colunas in the principal square of downtown Lisbon, theTerreiro do Paço. On their way to thePalace of Necessidades, the carriage carrying Carlos and his family passed through theRua do Arsenal. While crossing the square and turning to the street, several shots were fired from the crowd by at least two men (Alfredo Luís da Costa andManuel Buiça), among others. The King died immediately, his heir Prince Dom Luís Filipe was mortally wounded and Infante Dom Manuel was hit in the arm. Queen Amélie remained unharmed as she tried to defend her youngest son, the new kingManuel II, with the flower bouquet she kept in her hand.
The two assassins were shot on the spot by members of the royal bodyguard and later were recognized as members of thePortuguese Republican Party and of their masonic left-wing organisationCarbonária. About twenty minutes later, Prince Luís Filipe died and the next day Manuel was acclaimed King of Portugal, the last of theBraganza dynasty.
Manuel II was deposed in a military coup, later known as the5 October 1910 revolution, which resulted in the establishment of thePortuguese First Republic. Queen Amélie left Portugal with the rest of the royal family and went into exile. She lived most of her remaining life in France. During theSecond World War the Portuguese government invited her to return to Portugal, but she declined the offer. She visited Portugal for the last time in 1945.
In 1949, Amélie left her Portuguese possessions to her godson,Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, at Prime MinisterAntónio de Oliveira Salazar's request.
She died at 9:35 AM on 25 October 1951 fromuremia. She was given a state funeral and buried at thePantheon of the Braganzas located in theMonastery of São Vicente de Fora, in Lisbon, Portugal.
Knight Grand Cross of theRoyal Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (House of Braganza)[1][2]
Knight Grand Cross with Collar of theRoyal Order of Christ (House of Braganza)[3]
RecipientSash of the Three Orders,9 May 1909 (House of Braganza)[4]
7th Grand Mistress Dame Grand Cross of theRoyal Order of Queen Saint Isabel (House of Braganza)[5][6]
Dame of theImperial and Royal Order of the Starry Cross (Austrian Imperial and Royal Family)[7]
Dame Grand Cross ofObedience of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta[5]
867th Dame Grand Cross of theOrder of Queen Maria Luisa,25 October 1886 (Kingdom of Spain)[8]
Dame Grand Cordon of theImperial Order of Saint Catherine,1895 (Russian Imperial Family)[9]{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Amélie of Orléans Cadet branch of theHouse of Bourbon Born: 28 September 1865 Died: 25 October 1951 | ||
| Portuguese royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Queen consort of Portugal and the Algarves 19 October 1889 – 1 February 1908 | Monarchy abolished |
