Princess Maria Antónia Of Bragança

Princess Maria Antónia of Braganza, (''Maria Antónia Micaela Rafaela Gabriela Adelaide Xavier Josefa Expedita Gregoria'') (12 March 1903, Viareggio, Lucca, Toscana, Italy – 6 February 1973, Water Mill, Suffolk, New York) was a member of the House of Braganca. She married Sidney Ashley Chanler, the grandson of John Winthrop Chanler and Margaret Astor Ward.

Family

Maria Antónia was born at the Villa Arciducale in Viareggio, a Tuscan commune. Her namesake, the Duchess of Parma, was sister-in-law to the Villa's owner, Infanta Bianca of Spain, Archduchess of Austria. This hospitality was likely why Maria Antónia was named after her father's sister. Her parents, Miguel Januário, Duke of Braganza, and Princess Maria Theresa of Löwenstein, were the Miguelist claimants to the deposed Portuguese throne. Maria Antónia was thus an aunt to Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis and Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, as well as a first cousin, twice removed to Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, King Albert II of Belgium and Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Marriage and issue

Maria Antónia married American heir Sidney Ashley Chanler (1907–1994) on June 13, 1934, at Burg Seebenstein. Chanler was the son of novelist, politician, and explorer Rep. William A. Chanler and stage actress Minnie Ashley, thus making him a relative of the Stuyvesant family, the Astor family, the Livingston family, the Schuyler family, and the Dudley- Winthrop family, as well as a descendant of John Jacob Astor, Samuel Ward, Jr., Gen. John Armstrong, Gov. William Greene, Gov. William Greene Jr., Samuel Gorton, Robert Livingston, Gov. Richard Ward, Peter Stuyvesant, and others. They later divorced in December 1948. She never remarried, though he remarried twice.

During her marriage, Maria Antónia used the title and style of: ''Her Royal Highness'' Princess Maria Antónia of Braganza, Mrs. Chanler.

* Maria Mafalda Teresa de Bragança Chanler (1 Apr 1935 in Barrytown, New York), who married and divorced Baron Emanuel von Pereira-Arnstein (1931-1976) in 1962. She later wed Count Andrei Ivanovich Stenbock-Fermor on November 24, 1967. From this marriage, they had two children: Count Alexis Stenbock-Fermor (born 1968) and Countess Xenia Stenbock-Fermor (born 1969). Xenia and Camillo Costa have one child, Alexandre Costa (born on September 21, 1997, in Nice, France).
* Antony Ashley de Bragança Chanler (21 Feb 1938 in New York City – 23 Dec 2016), died unmarried and without issue.
* Robert Alain de Bragança Chanler (12 May 1941 in New York City – 2014 at the Casa Da Infanta in Ferragudo, Portugal), died unmarried.

Later life and death

After her divorce, Princess Maria Antónia spent her summers at her home on Cobb Road in Water Mill, New York, part of The Hamptons summer colony. She spent her winters at the Casa da Infanta in Ferragudo, Portugal. The primary resident of the home at this time was her younger sister, Princess Filipa de Bragança (1905-1990), with whom she had a close relationship.This information can be found in the archives of the East Hampton Library in East Hampton, NY. Their address book contain the Princess' residences.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Antonia de Braganca, Princess
Portuguese infantas
House of Braganza
1903 births
1973 deaths