Prince August Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Prince August Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (6 December 1867 – 11 October 1922), known in Brazil as Dom Augusto Leopoldo, was a prince of the Empire of Brazil and of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. He was the second of four sons born to German Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Leopoldina of Brazil.

The second grandson of the Emperor Pedro II, the prince was, for some years between the presumptive heirs to the Imperial Crown of Brazil. Their descendants would form the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Imperial House of Brazil.

Biography

Early life

Born ''Prince August Leopold Philipp Maria Michael Gabriel Raphael Gonzaga of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Duke in Saxony'', in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he was the second son of Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Leopoldina of Braganza, Princess of Brazil. His paternal grandparents were Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Princess Clémentine of Orléans (daughter of King Louis Philippe I of France) and his maternal grandparents were Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and Empress Teresa Cristina (daughter of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies). Wehrs, 278-279 His elder brother was Prince Pedro Augusto of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; his two younger brothers were Prince Joseph and Ludwig Gaston.

His birth was announced by the Emperor to the nation in the Speech from the Throne of 9 May 1868:

Back in Europe, Princess Leopoldina reported from her youngest sister. The prince, however, had little contact with his mother, who died on 7 February 1871 when he was a little over three years old. His father decided to settle definitively in Austria-Hungary, where his children were in the care of their paternal grandmother. Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil had not yet had any children at the time of her sister's death and the lack of heirs had already caused concern among the Brazilians. In a letter dated 4 March 1871 the Brazilian ambassador to Vienna, Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen (future Viscount of Porto Seguro), said to the Emperor:

In his first trip to Europe, still in 1871, Emperor Pedro II decided to bring his grandchildren to Brazil, to create them as eventual heirs to the throne.Defrance, 233-234 A family council determined that Princess Leopoldina's two eldest children would be cared for by their maternal grandparents, being raised and educated in Brazil. Thus, on 1 April 1872, Dom Pedro Augusto and Dom Augusto Leopoldo, accompanied by the imperial couple, arrived in Rio de Janeiro, where they were received with great enthusiasm.

The re-acclimatization to the native homeland was difficult for the brothers. Accustomed to the luxury of the palaces of Vienna and Styria, they began to live in the modest and old-fashioned Palace of São Cristóvão, where they played little because of the rigid routine of studies imposed by their grandfather.Del Priore, 60 They had as preceptor the then rector of the ''Externato Dom Pedro II'', Manuel Pacheco da Silva (future Baron of Pacheco), and they spent the days training mount and studying French classics, rhetoric, history, geography, languages and music.

Although his older brother enjoyed the status of Pedro II's favorite grandson, due to their affinity for studies, other chroniclers noted that Augusto's temper, completely opposite to that of his grandfather, made him the monarch's favorite.

Career

Having inherited from his father and grandfather's love for the Navy, he entered as an aspirant at the Naval Academy in December 1882, at the age of fifteen.Lessa, 125 With a school curriculum described as brilliant, Augusto formed a marine guard in 1886.

In the Imperial Brazilian Navy, Prince Augusto arrived at the post of second lieutenant (equivalent, now the first lieutenant), serving on board the ''Niterói'' Corvette, the battleship Riachuelo and the Cruiser ''Almirante Barroso'', in addition to being the helper of orders of Admiral Eduardo Wandenkolk, future republican leader.

Republic and exile

On 15 November 1889 the prince was in the East, on board ''Almirante Barroso'' (who was on his first circumnavigation trip), when a coup d'état ended the monarchist regime in Brazil.Lessa, 129 Communication difficulties prevented the crew from learning about what happened before December. Telegrams of Admiral Wandenkolk - now Minister of the Navy of the provisional government - instructed the commander of the cruiser to replace the imperial insignia of the flags and to induce Augusto to resign. After consulting his grandfather and his uncle, the Count d'Eu, the prince decides not to resign, but to request a license of two months. In telegram, the minister responds to the request: "Prince resignation service, I grant leave. Wandenkolk."

Dom Augusto disembarked in Colombo, Ceylon, where the crew offered him a farewell dinner. Excited, the prince distributed his belongings among his companions.Lessa, 130

After a few months, he joined his family and remained with Emperor Pedro II until his death on 5 December 1891. After that, he settled in Vienna, where he obtained, through his father, the special permission of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria to join the Austro-Hungarian Navy.Lessa, 131 Having conducted the entrance examinations, Prince Augusto was admitted to the Austrian naval reserve without prejudice to his status as a Brazilian citizen, as he explained in a letter dated 6 May 1893 to Baron of Estrela, his attorney in Brazil:

In the service of the Austrian Navy (where he obtained the patent of Kapitän zur See, equivalent to sea-captain), Augusto had the opportunity to visit other countries, where he continued to be received with the deference reserved for members of ruling houses. In 1897, on board the armored bodyguard ''Wien'', he visited Portugal, where he was received by King Carlos I, and Great Britain, where he was received more than once by Queen Victoria.

With the aggravation of the psychiatric problems of his brother, the prince came to be contemplated by the Brazilian monarchists to assume the throne of Brazil during the frustrated plans of restoration of the regime. He even participated in a restoration attempt by which he returned to Brazil in 1893, but was prevented from landing on national territory.

Marriage and issue

On 30 May 1894, August Leopold married Archduchess Karoline Marie of Austria, in Vienna. His bride was the fourth child and second daughter of Archduke Karl Salvator of Austria, Prince of Tuscany, and his wife Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.Lessa, 130 The ceremony was officiated by Anton Josef Gruscha, cardinal-archbishop of Vienna, and was attended by Emperor Franz Joseph I, Empress Elisabeth (widely known as 'Sissi'') and other princes and sovereigns. The couple were the godfathers of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The couple had eight children:
* August Clemens Karl Joseph Maria Michael Gabriel Raphael Gonzaga (27 October 1895, Pula – 22 September 1908, Gerasdorf)
* Klementine Maria Teresa Josepha Leopoldine Viktoria Raphaele Gabriele Gonzaga (23 March 1897, Pula – 7 January 1975, Lausanne), married Eduard von Heller on 17 November 1925.
* Maria Karoline Philomena Ignatia Pauline Josepha Michaela Gabriela Raphaela Gonzaga (10 January 1899, Pula – 6 June 1941, Hartheim bei Linz), had been living in an institution for the mentally disabled in Schladming; in 1941, under the Nazi Action T4 euthanasia policy, the patients were removed to the concentration camp of Schloss Hartheim and gassed.
* Rainer Maria Joseph Florian Ignatius Michael Gabriel Raphael Gonzaga (4 May 1900, Pula – after 7 January 1945), believed to have been killed in action at Budapest.
* Philipp Josias Maria Joseph Ignatius Michael Gabriel Raphael Gonzaga (18 August 1901, Walterskirchen – Vienna，18 October 1985), married morganatically on 23 April 1944 to Sarah Aurelia Halasz; their only son and four grandchildren were barred from the succession of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry.
* Theresia Christiane Maria Josepha Ignatia Benizia Michaela Gabriele Raphaele Gonzaga (23 August 1902, Walterskirchen – 24 January 1990, Villach), married on 6 October 1930 to Lamoral, Freiherr von Taxis di Bordogna e Valnigra; their descendants assumed the surname ''Tasso de Saxe-Coburgo e Bragança''.
* Leopoldine Blanka Maria Josepha Ignatia Pankrazia Michaela Gabriele Raphaele Gonzaga (13 May 1905, Schloß Gerasdorf – 24 December 1978, Hungary)
* Ernst Franz Maria Joseph Ignatius Thaddeus Felix Michael Gabriel Raphael Gonzaga (25 February 1907, Gerasdorf – 9 June 1978, Gröbming, Styria), married morganatically on 4 September 1939 to Irmgard Röll. This marriage was childless.

Last years

In his last years, Dom Augusto acquired his paternal family's soft spot for art collections, happening to collect works done in ivory. He never fully adapted to life in Europe, continuing to maintain close relationships with other Brazilians. Gerasdorf Castle, his residence on the outskirts of Vienna, was decorated with objects and photos of Brazil.

The repeal of the Law of Banishment, which prevented the landing of any member of the old ruling family in Brazil, brought to the prince great joy and hope to revisit the native land. He was preparing to return to the country with the whole family for the celebrations of the centenary of the Independence of Brazil in 1922, but fell seriously ill and could not make the dream trip.

Dom Augusto Leopoldo died in Schladming, Austria on 11 October 1922, at the age of 54. His body was buried in the crypt of St. Augustinkirche, in Coburg.

Titles and honors

Titles and styles

* 6 December 1867 – 11 October 1922: ''His Highness'' Prince Augusto Leopoldo of Brazil, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of SaxonyBragança (1959), 87, 90

Honors

Prince Augusto Leopoldo was a recipient of the following orders:Bragança (2008), 166Del Priore, 124

;Brazilian honours
* Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross
* Grand Cross of the Order of Pedro I
* Grand Cross of the Order of the Rose

;Foreign honours
* Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword, ''5 February 1903''
* Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold
* Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order
* Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
* Grand Cross of the Order of St. Alexander

Ancestry

Sources

*Defrance O., "These Princes who came from Brazil" in Royalty Digest Quarterly n°2 - 2012, pp. 1–13.
*Almanak Administrativo, Mercantil e Industrial do Império do Brazil para 1889 - 46º Anno
*Bragança, ''Dom'' Carlos Tasso de Saxe-Coburgo e. ''A Princesa Leopoldina'', ''in'' Revista do Instituto Historico e Geografico Brasileiro, vol. 243, 1959, p. 70-93 (ISSN 0101-4366)
*''La Médicis des Cobourg, Clémentine d’Orléans''
Bruxelles, Racine, 2007 ()
*Defrance O., "These Princes who came from Brazil" in Royalty Digest Quarterly n°2 - 2012, pp. 1-13.
*Del Priore, Mary. ''O Príncipe Maldito'', Rio de Janeiro, Objetiva, 2007 ()
*Lessa, Clado Ribeiro de. ''O Segundo Ramo da Casa Imperial e a nossa Marinha de Guerra'', ''in'' Revista do Instituto Historico e Geografico Brasileiro, vol. 211, 1951, p. 118-133 (ISSN 0101-4366)
*Lyra, Heitor. ''História de Dom Pedro II - Declínio (1880-1891)'', Belo Horizonte, Itatiaia; São Paulo, Ed. da Universidade de São Paulo, 1977, p. 37, 145, 173 ()
*''Sessão Imperial da abertura da 2ª sessão da 13ª legislatura'', ''in'' Annaes do Senado do Império do Brasil, Segunda Sessão em 1868 da 13ª Legislatura, de 27 de abril a 30 de maio, volume I, p. 28-30
*Vinholes, L.C
''Intercâmbio Cultural e Artístico nas relações Brasil-Japão - Centenário do Tratado de Amizade, de Comércio e Navegação 05.11.1895 - 05.11.1995''
''in'' Revista Iberoamericana nº 33, Vol. XVII, nº 2, Instituto Iberoamericano da Universidade Sofia, Tóquio, 1995, p. 17-36
*Wehrs, Carlos. ''A Princesa Leopoldina de Bragança e Bourbon e a Casa Ducal de Saxe-Coburg'', ''in'' Revista do Instituto Historico e Geografico Brasileiro, vol. 437, 2007, p. 275-289 (ISSN 0101-4366)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:August Leopold, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
1867 births
1922 deaths
People from Rio de Janeiro (city)
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry
Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur