Dona Francisca (2 August 1824 – 27 March 1898) was a princess of the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

(as daughter of Emperor Dom Pedro I, who also reigned as King Dom Pedro IV of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, and his wife Maria Leopoldina of Habsburg), who became Princess of Joinville upon marrying François d’Orléans, son of the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

king Louis Philippe I. The couple had three children. Through their oldest daughter, Francisca and François are the ancestors of Jean, Count of Paris, the present Orléanist pretender to the French throne.

Biography

Francisca was born on 2 August 1824 in the Palace of São Cristóvão, in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, capital of the

. Her name in full was Francisca Carolina Joana Carlota Leopoldina Romana Xavier de Paula Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga. Through her father, Emperor Dom Pedro I, she was a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza (Portuguese: ''Bragança'') and was referred to using the honorific " Dona" (

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inf ...

) from birth. Her mother was the Archduchess Maria Leopoldina of Austria, daughter of Franz II, the last

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

. Through her, Francisca was a niece of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

and first cousin of Emperors Napoleon II of France, Franz Joseph I (Francis Joseph I) of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and Don Maximiliano I (Maximilian I) of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. Francisca married Prince François of Orléans, the third son of Louis Philippe I and his Italian

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Maria Amalia of Naples. François called the Prince of Joinville, and Francisca married in

on 1 May 1843. The bride was 19, the groom 25. Her portrait was painted when she arrived in Paris, in 1844, by Ary Scheffer (coll. Musée de la Vie romantique, Paris). Their only daughter Princess Françoise of Orléans married her first cousin

Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres (Robert Philippe Louis Eugène Ferdinand; 9 November 1840 – 5 December 1910), was the son of Prince Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans, and thus grandson of King Louis-Philippe of France. He fought for the Uni ...

and became the mother of the Orléanist pretender

Prince Jean, Duke of Guise Prince Jean of Orléans, Duke of Guise (Jean Pierre Clément Marie; 4 September 1874 – 25 August 1940), was the third son and youngest child of Prince Robert, Duke of Chartres (1840–1910), grandson of Prince Ferdinand Philippe and great-g ...

. Her son Pierre never married, but had two illegitimate children by a married woman. When the Orléans family fled France, they settled in England living at Claremont; It was there that Francisca gave birth to a still born daughter in 1849; the next year, the exiled King Louis Philippe I died himself. After the fall of the House of Bonaparte of the Second Empire, the Orléans family returned to France; Francisca herself died in Paris aged 73. Her husband outlived her by two years, dying in Paris in 1900. File:1844 portrait of Princess Francisca of Brazil (later Princess of Joinville) by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (Versailles).jpg, Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter in 1844. Currently desplayed at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. File:1846 portrait of the Princess of Joinville (Princess Francisca of Brazil) after Winterhalter.png, Portrait in 1846 by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. File:Francisca of Braganza 1868 (cropped).jpg, Francisca around age 44, c.1868

Issue

# Princess Françoise of Orléans (14 August 1844 – 28 October 1925) married her cousin

and had issue. # Prince Pierre, Duke of Penthièvre (4 November 1845 – 17 July 1919) never married, but had two children with Angélique Lebesgue. #Princess Marie Léopoldine of Orléans (30 October 1849) stillborn daughter born at Claremont.

Ancestry

Footnotes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Francisca Of Brazil, Princess 1824 births 1898 deaths House of Braganza Brazilian princesses Princesses of France (Orléans) 19th-century Brazilian people 19th-century Brazilian women Burials at the Chapelle royale de Dreux Princesses of Joinville Brazilian people of Austrian descent Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa Dames of the Order of Saint Isabel Daughters of emperors Daughters of kings