Amélie of Leuchtenberg
Amélie of Leuchtenberg ( born July 31, 1812 in Milan, † January 26, 1873 in Lisbon ), known by its full name Amélie Auguste Eugénie, also Amelia and Amalia was through her marriage to Emperor Peter I. 1829-1831 Empress of Brazil. After the abdication of her husband, she went with him first to France, then to Portugal and held the title of Duchess of Braganza.
She survived her husband for almost 40 years and married, although at his death only 22 years old, never again. The widow commuted between Portugal and Bavaria and spent the last years of her life - especially after the very painful for her death of her only child Maria Amalia - completely withdrawn at the Palace of Janelas Verde near Lisbon.
Family
Amélie was the fourth child and youngest daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleon's adopted son from his first marriage, and Princess Augusta of Bavaria, daughter of the Bavarian king Maximilian I. in Milan to the world. Your complete name was Amélie Auguste Eugénie de Beauharnais Napoleone. She was granddaughter of the former Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais and also members of the Bavarian royal family.
In 1829 she married the Brazilian Emperor Peter I., the former King Peter IV of Portugal. Through the connection, she received the title of Empress of Brazil ( as a wife, not as regent in its own right ). ( † 1853 * 1831) Maria Amalia: The marriage produced a daughter emerged
Life
Childhood and youth
Amélie spent the first years of life in Milan, where her father resided as Viceroy of Italy. After the abdication of Napoleon and the First Empire, the family went to Bavaria and sought refuge with Amélie's grandfather. The raised her father on November 14, 1817 in Duke of Leuchtenberg and Prince of Eichstätt, so the family had to earn a living. At the same time, the parents placed the name from Beauharnais to hide their connection to the disgraced Napoleon, and covered with their children, the Palais Leuchtenberg in Munich (now the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance ), in which Amélie spent the rest of her childhood.
Amélie's mother knew her daughters despite the taint of the Napoleonic descent all advantageous to marry: in 1823 had Amélie's oldest sister Josephine married the Swedish king Oscar I, and the second oldest Leuchtenberg daughter Eugénie was married to the Duke Constantine of Hohenzollern - Hechingen since 1826. When, in 1827 the widow of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, who had a year before his first wife, Princess Maria Leopoldine of Habsburg Austria lost, the Marques of Barbacena sent as envoy to Europe to look for him a second wife suggested, Amélie's finest hour. To Pedro's reputation, it was because of his extramarital escapades, especially with his mistress, Domitília de Castro Canto e Melo, Marchioness of Santos (Portuguese Marquesa de Santos), not for the best. According to many of his first wife had died of grief about it. For this reason, the Marques had received from Barbacena at all European courts refusals concerning His Ansinnens. To make matters worse, that the Emperor of Austria, Francis I, the search for a new bride for Pedro boycotted. He wanted to prevent possible sons from a second marriage of his son instead Leopoldine son could climb the Brazilian throne. Finally Barbacena been representations to Amélie Joséphine grandmother. After lengthy negotiations, the marriage contract was finally signed on 30 May 1829 in Canterbury. He obliged the emperor, among other things, to separate himself from his mistress. Amélie's honor guardian king Ludwig I. ratified the treaty on 25 July 1829 in Munich.
Empress of Brazil
At the age of 17, just two days after her birthday, married Amélie per procurationem on August 2, 1829 in the chapel of the Palais Leuchtenberg Pedro I of Brazil. The groom was represented at the ceremony by Amélie's favorite uncle Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria. Pedro donated on the occasion of his marriage to Amélie Rose the north, whose motto is " Love and Loyalty" is. To allow host a lavish wedding ceremony in Munich, Pedro I had made a large sum of money to send to Bavaria, but the bride had insisted on a simple celebration and used the surplus establishing a charitable foundation.
Two days after the wedding, leaving the newly crowned Empress of Brazil their home town to travel with her husband to South America. To Item 12 clock noon left a convoy of eight coaches and two luggage carts Munich. Amélie was accompanied on the trip by her brother Auguste. About Augsburg, Ulm and Ostend went to Portsmouth, where the first meeting with Maria da Gloria, the eldest daughter of Pedro I 's first marriage took place. Amélie was just seven years older than her step- daughter. From Portsmouth it was on August 30th of the year continued to Brazil. On the trip there Amélie was by the scientist Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, a recognized Brazil experts, prepared for life in their new home, by teaching them to know about the country, their new subjects, as well as the habits and customs while the Brazilian Countess of Itapagipe was responsible for their new empress during the crossing to teach the Portuguese language.
The vessel arrived on October 16, 1829 in the harbor of Rio de Janeiro. Even before Amélie put her foot on the Brazilian mainland, they had already met on the ship for the first time her husband. Your official entry into the capital they held until the following day amidst great rejoicing of the Brazilian population. On the afternoon of October 17, 1829 presided over by the Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, José Caetano da Silva Coutinho, a second wedding ceremony in the imperial chapel, where a Te Deum was sung, who had composed himself Emperor Pedro I.. After the ceremony, another ceremony took place in the city palace of the imperial family. Other receptions and festivities followed, with which the first few months were filled after the wedding of the emperor and empress. It drew together with Amélie four stepchildren in the official imperial residence Paço de São Cristóvão. There Amélie them was a very caring mother and took care catered to the half- orphans. The education of their stepdaughters they monitored themselves, but they refused to let educate the illegitimate children of her husband and his former mistress Domitília on the farm. Dearly loved by her stepchildren, their reputation was not so good at the Brazilian courtiers. Although she had the coterie of Domitília de Castro Canto e Melo from the imperial court, and then, however, to install their own Bavarian favorites. They also replaced the rather loose practices in the palace by the rigid etiquette European courts and led French as a language of the court, which resulted in utter consternation among Brazilians. They gave her the contemptuous nickname of " the stranger ".
Exile in France
Various financial and political problems forced Pedro I on April 7, 1831 in favor of his son Pedro II abdicate. That same night left Amélie and her husband with the eldest daughter Maria da Gracia in secret the imperial residence to go aboard a British warship, which lay in the harbor of Rio de Janeiro. This brought them to Europe, where she initially resided as Duke and Duchess of Braganza in London. The trip proved to be very difficult for Amélie, because she was four months pregnant. Since life in the British capital in the long run but was too expensive, the couple went to Paris, where it found shelter at Louis -Philippe and his wife Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. In the French capital Amélie brought on December 1, 1831 their only child, daughter Maria Amalia to the world, for the French royal couple took over the sponsorship.
Shortly after she left her husband towards Portugal to go to war against his brother Michael. This had the Portuguese throne usurped, and Pedro sent per se, in the so-called Miguelistenkrieg this for the legitimate ruler, his daughter Maria da Gracia, recapture, and succeeded him. Amélie followed her husband in September 1833 to Portugal, where the couple the Palácio Nacional de Queluz moved near Lisbon. Heavy characterized by tuberculosis, Pedro died there on September 24, 1834, leaving Amélie back as 22 - year-old widow with a small daughter.
Life in Portugal and Bavaria
Another stroke of fate had to cope with in March 1835, the ex- Empress. Her beloved brother Auguste, who just about four months ago Amélie's stepdaughter Maria da Gracia, which was now Portuguese and Mary II Queen, had married, died of the Spanish flu. She retired then into the palace of Janelas Verde ( Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga today ) and devoted himself exclusively to the education of her daughter Maria Amalia. You did not even at the second wedding of Mary II and Ferdinand of Saxe- Coburg and Gotha in part. From 1838 Amélie held on in Bavaria and met her family again. Among their whereabouts also Seeon was in the Chiemgau region of Bavaria, the castle from 1852 to 1933 the seat of the lights Berger was.
The Duchess of Braganca intended, with Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph Maria of Austria, brother of the Emperor of Austria to betroth her now 20 - year-old daughter, as Maria Amalia also signs of tuberculosis were identified. Her mother pulled thereupon with her in August 1852 because of the mild climate to Funchal on Madeira, but Amélie's daughter died on 4 February 1853 the same disease as her father. The Duchess then founded in memory of her daughter to a hospital for the care of tuberculosis patients.
After the death of Amélie's stepdaughter Mary II of England, to which the contact was gradually demolished, boarded the son of Mary V. Peter the Portuguese throne. He and his wife Stephanie of Hohenzollern- Sigmaringen cultivated a close relationship with Amélie and visited them regularly, but the ex- Empress again lost his two beloved people by a premature death. Peter V. died in 1861 just two years after he had lost his wife. This stroke of fate and heart disease ensured that Amélie did not leave her apartments in the palace of Janelas Verde and lived completely withdrawn. One of the few distractions in the last years of her life was in the middle of 1871, the reunion with her step- son, Pedro II, who was with his wife Teresa Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily on a trip to Europe.
In March 1872 Amélie was so seriously ill that she never recovered from it. She died in circles a handful of very close friends on January 26, with 61 years in Lisbon. Sole heir was her only surviving sister Josephine. In addition, Amélie had testamentary intent around 30 charities throughout Europe and decided that all of their documents should be brought in connection with the reign of her husband, and with the history of Brazil to Rio de Janeiro. Thanks to this disposal has an extensive archive for the first emperor of Brazil, the Imperial Museum Petrópolis.
Amélie of Leuchtenberg was first da Casa de Bragança buried in the braganzischen family vault Panteão in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, before her remains were transferred in 1982 to Brazil to them in a crypt under the Independence Monument in Ipiranga, a suburb of São Paulo to bury with her husband and his first wife page.