View source for Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza

{{Short description|Countess of Paris (1911&ndash;2003)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name        = Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza
| title       = [[Count of Paris|Countess of Paris]]
| image       = Comtesse de Paris 1995.jpg
| caption     = Isabelle in 1995
| succession   = [[Orléanist|Consort of the Orléanist pretender to the French throne]]
| reign = 25 August 1940 – 19 June 1999
| reign-type   = Pretendence
| spouse      = {{marriage|[[Henri, Count of Paris (1908–1999)|Prince Henri, Count of Paris]]|1931|1999|end=d.}}
| issue       = {{plainlist|
* Princess Isabelle, Countess of Schönborn-Buchheim
* [[Henri, Count of Paris (1933–2019)|Prince Henri, Count of Paris]]
* Princess Hélène, Countess of Limburg-Stirum
* Prince François, Duke of Orléans
* [[Princess Anne, Duchess of Calabria|Anne, Dowager Duchess of Calabria]]
* [[Diane, Duchess of Württemberg|Diane, Dowager Duchess of Württemberg]]
* Prince Michel, Count of Évreux
* Prince Jacques, Duke of Orléans
* [[Princess Claude of Orléans|Princess Claude, Mrs Gandolfi]]
* Princess Chantal, Baroness de Sambucy de Sorgue
* Prince Thibaut, Count of La Marche
}}
| house         = [[House of Orléans-Braganza|Orléans-Braganza]]
| father        = [[Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará]]
| mother        = [[Countess Elisabeth Dobrzensky of Dobrzenicz]]
| birth_name    = Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza
| birth_date    = 13 August 1911
| birth_place   = [[Château d'Eu]], [[Eu, Seine-Maritime]], [[French Third Republic|France]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2003|7|5|1911|8|13|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Paris]], France
| burial_place  = [[Chapelle royale de Dreux]]
| full name     = Isabelle Marie Amélie Louise Victoire Thérèse Jeanne 
}}

'''Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza''' (Isabelle Marie Amélie Louise Victoire Thérèse Jeanne; 13 August 1911 – 5 July 2003) was the consort of the [[Orléanist]] pretender to the French throne, [[Henri, Count of Paris (1908–1999)|Henri, Count of Paris]], and the daughter of [[Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará]], pretender to the throne of the [[Empire of Brazil]].

==Early life==
[[File:Elisabeth Dobrzensky de Dobrzenicz com sua filha Isabel ao colo.jpg|thumb|left|Isabelle in her mother's arms, {{circa|1911}}]]
[[File:Petropolis, Collegio ND de Sion (J David, 1906) 1.jpg|thumb|left|Colégio Nossa Senhora de Sion (Ecole Notre-Dame-de-Sion; right), Petrópolis, Brazil, 1906]]

Born on 13 August 1911, Isabelle Marie Amélie Louise Victoire Thérèse Jeanne of Orléans-Braganza was the eldest daughter of ''[[Don (honorific)|Dom]]'' [[Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará]], erstwhile heir to the throne of the [[Empire of Brazil]], and his wife, [[Countess Elisabeth Dobrzensky of Dobrzenicz]]. Her father was the eldest son of [[Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil]], the elder daughter and heiress of Emperor [[Pedro II of Brazil]], and [[Gaston, Count of Eu]], grandson of King [[Louis Philippe I]] of France. Isabelle was born in a pavilion on the grounds of the [[Château d'Eu]], her paternal grandfather's home in the town of [[Eu, Seine-Maritime|Eu]] in the [[Seine-Maritime]] [[department of France]] in [[Normandy]]. She was named after her paternal grandmother, the Princess Imperial.<ref name="enache">Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Thérèse de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. p. 71. French. {{ISBN|2-908003-04-X}}.</ref>

In 1891, Dom Pedro de Alcântara became [[Prince Imperial of Brazil]] to royalists when his mother became [[pretender|claimant]] to the throne upon the death of the emperor in exile. In 1908, he renounced his succession rights, and those of his descendants, to marry [[Bohemian nobility|Bohemian noblewoman]] Countess Elisabeth Dobrzensky of Dobrzenicz. Though his mother withheld dynastic consent, his parents attended his wedding.<ref name="pdm148">de Montjouvent, Philippe. ''Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance''. Editions du Chaney, 1998, Charenton, France. pp. 148–152. French. {{ISBN|2-913211-00-3}}.</ref> However, with the agreement of the [[Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926)|Duke of Orléans]], Head of the [[House of Orléans]] to which he belonged paternally, he and his descendants retained the right to use the title [[Brazilian imperial family|Prince/ss of Orléans-Braganza]].<ref name="pdm148"/>

After the deaths of her maternal grandparents, Isabelle's parents moved from the ''Pavillon des Ministres'' on the castle grounds into the main ''Chateau''. They spent the winter months in a townhouse in [[Boulogne-sur-Seine]]. In 1924, her father's cousin, [[Adam Karol Czartoryski|Prince Adam Czartoryski]], placed at the family's disposal, apartments in the palatial ''[[Hôtel Lambert]]'' on the [[Île Saint-Louis]] in [[Paris]], where Isabelle and her siblings undertook their studies.<ref name="pdm49">de Montjouvent, Philippe. ''Le Comte de Paris et sa Descendance''. Editions du Chaney, 1998, Charenton, France. pp. 49–59. French. {{ISBN|2-913211-00-3}}.</ref> The family travelled extensively and much of Isabelle's youth was spent visiting her maternal relatives at their large estate at [[Chotěboř]], [[First Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]], [[Attersee (town)|Attersee]], [[First Austrian Republic|Austria]], and [[Goluchow]], [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]]. With her father, Isabelle visited [[Naples]], [[Constantinople]], [[Rhodes]], [[Smyrna]], [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], [[Cairo]], [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] and [[Jerusalem]].<ref name="pdm49"/>

In 1920, Brazil lifted the law of banishment against its former dynasty and invited them to bring home the remains of Pedro II, although Isabelle's grandfather, the Count of Eu, died at sea during the voyage. But after annual visits over the next decade, her parents decided to [[repatriation|repatriate]] their family to [[Petrópolis]] permanently, where Isabelle attended day school at Notre-Dame-de-Sion while the family took up residence at the old imperial [[Grão Pará Palace]].<ref name="pdm49"/> Until then, Isabelle was privately educated by governesses and tutors.

==Marriage==
Isabelle first met her third cousin, [[Henri, Count of Paris (1908–1999)|Prince Henri of Orléans]], heir to the Head of the [[House of Orléans]], in 1920 at the home of the [[Princess Françoise of Orléans (1844–1925)|Duchess of Chartres]], Henri's grandmother who was also a cousin of both of Isabelle's grandparents. In the summer of 1923, Henri was a guest at the ''Chateau d'Eu'', at which time Isabelle, aged 12, resolved that she would one day marry him. However, he took no apparent notice of her at the wedding of his sister, [[Princess Anne of Orléans|Anne]], to the [[Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta|Duke of Aosta]] at Naples in 1927. During a visit to his parents' home, the ''Manoir d'Anjou'' in [[Brussels]], over Easter 1928, Henri began to show interest in Isabelle, and still more at a family reunion in July 1929.<ref name="pdm49"/>

Henri proposed to Isabelle on 10 August 1930 while taking part in a hunt at Count Dobržensky's Chotěboř home. The couple kept their engagement a secret until a family gathering at Attersee later that summer, but were obliged by the [[Prince Jean, Duke of Guise|Duke of Guise]] to wait until Henri finished his studies at [[Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)|Louvain University]] before the betrothal was officially announced 28 December 1930.<ref name="pdm49"/>

On 8 April 1931, Isabelle and Henri were married at [[Palermo Cathedral]]; she was 19, and he was 22.<ref name=nyt1>{{Citation| title = Countess Has Daughter| newspaper = [[The New York Times]]| location = Brussels| date = 5 December 1938}}</ref><ref name=nyt3>{{Citation | last = Cortesi | first = Arnaldo| title = Royal Cousins Wed in Palermo Today| newspaper = [[The New York Times]]| location = Rome| date = 8 April 1931}}</ref><ref name=nyt4/>  The wedding was held in Sicily, since the law of banishment against the heirs of France's former dynasties had not yet been abrogated.<ref name=nyt3/> The two families selected Palermo because Henri's family owned a palace there, which had been the location of three earlier weddings.<ref name=nyt3/> The wedding gave rise to several royalist demonstrations, and the road leading to the cathedral was lined with hundreds of visitors from France who viewed Henri as the rightful heir to the French throne.<ref name=nyt4>{{Citation| last = Cortesi| first = Arnaldo| title = Legitimists Cheer at Royal Wedding| newspaper = [[The New York Times]]| location = Palermo| date = 9 April 1931| access-date = <!-----3 August 2010----->}}</ref> He was greeted with such cries as "Vive le roi, Vive la France" along with other monarchist cries and songs.<ref name=nyt4/> These supporters were joined by  1,200 guests including members of the bride and groom's families, along with representatives of other royal dynasties.<ref name=nyt4/>

==Later life==
[[File:Isabelle d'Orléans et Bragance.jpg|thumb|Isabelle at a book signing, 1998]]
[[File:Tombeau d'Isabelle d'Orléans-Bragance (1911–2003) 2.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Isabelle in the [[Royal Chapel of Dreux]]]]
Henri became pretender to the throne of France upon the death of his father, the Duke of Guise, in 1940. In 1947, Henri and Isabel's family took up residence at the ''Quinta do Anjinho'', an estate in [[Sintra]], on the [[Portuguese Riviera]].<ref>{{cite book| last=Valynseele| author-link=:fr:Joseph Valynseele| first=Joseph| title= ''Les Prétendants aux Trônes d'Europe''| year=1967| publisher=Saintard de la Rochelle| location=France| language=fr| pages=179, 186–187, 198, 201, 204, 207–209, 212}}</ref> In 1950, the law of banishment was repealed and the family moved to Paris. With five of their children they took part in the ship tour organized by King [[Paul of Greece]] and Queen [[Frederica of Hanover|Frederica]] in 1954, which became known as the "[[Cruise of the Kings]]" and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe.

Isabelle, called ''Madame'', and her husband used the French Royal [[coat of arms]]. She survived her late husband by four years.

==Issue==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!width="18%"|Name!! width="14%"|Birth!! width="14%"|Death!! width="62%"|Notes
|-
|Princess Isabelle Marie Laure Victoire || 8 April 1932||   || married Friedrich Karl, Count of [[House of Schönborn#Counts of Schönborn-Buchheim|Schönborn-Buchheim]].
|-
| Prince [[Henri, Count of Paris (1933–2019)|Henri Philippe Pierre Marie]] ||  14 June 1933|| 21 January 2019 || married [[Duchess Marie Thérèse of Württemberg]].
|-
|  Princess Hélène Astrid Léopoldine Marie<ref name=nyt2>{{Citation 
  | title = Princess Is Christened
  | newspaper = The New York Times
  | location = Brussels
  | date = 16 October 1934
  | access-date = <!-----3 August 2010----->}}</ref> || 17 September 1934<ref name=nyt2/>|| || married Count Evrard de [[House of Limburg-Stirum|Limburg-Stirum]].
|-
| Prince François Gaston Michel Marie, Duke of Orléans || 15 August 1935 || 11 October 1960 || Died fighting for France in Algeria.
|-
| Princess [[Princess Anne, Duchess of Calabria|Anne Marguerite Brigitte Marie]] || 4 December 1938<ref name=nyt1/> ||  || married [[Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria]].
|-
| Princess [[Diane, Duchess of Württemberg|Diane Françoise Maria da Gloria]] ||  24 March 1940||  || married [[Carl, Duke of Württemberg]].
|-
| Prince Michel Joseph Benoît Marie || 25 June 1941 ||  || married Béatrice Pasquier de Franclieu.
|-
| Prince Jacques Jean Yaroslaw Marie, Duke of Orléans || 25 June 1941 ||  || married Gersende de [[House of Sabran|Sabran-Pontevès]].
|-
|[[Princess Claude of Orléans|Princess Claude Marie Agnès Catherine]] || 11 December 1943 ||  || married [[Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (b. 1943)|Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta]].
|-
| Princess Jeanne de ''Chantal'' Alice Clothilde Marie || 9 January 1946 ||  || married (Baron) François Xavier de Sambucy de Sorgue.
|-
| Prince Thibaut Louis Denis Humbert || 20 January 1948 || 23 March 1983 || married Marion Mercedes Gordon-Orr.
|-
|}

==Selected publications==
*{{cite book |title=Tout m'est bonheur |author=Isabelle, comtesse de Paris | year=1978  | isbn=2221001079 | place=Paris | publisher=Éditions Robert Laffont}}
*{{cite book |title=Moi, Marie-Antoinette |author=Isabelle, comtesse de Paris| year=1993 | publisher= R. Laffont | place=Paris | isbn=2221074858}}
*{{cite book |title=La reine Marie-Amélie grand-mère de l'Europe |author=Isabelle, comtesse de Paris | year=1998 | place=Paris | publisher=Perrin | isbn=2262014515}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book| title= La comtesse de Paris| first=Françoise | last=Laot | publisher=Plon | place=Paris | isbn= 2259024890| year=1992 }}
*{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Douglas |title=Obituary: Isabelle, Comtesse de Paris |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/jul/12/guardianobituaries1 |access-date=12 September 2020 |work=the Guardian |date=12 July 2003 |language=en}}
*{{cite news |title=Isabelle Countess of Paris |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/isabelle-countess-of-paris-km2533d8c6s |access-date=12 September 2020 |work=[[The Times]] |date=4 August 2003 |language=en}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Orléans-Braganza]]| 13 August|1911| 5 July|2003 |[[House of Orléans]]}}
{{s-pre}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Princess Isabelle of Orléans (1878–1961)|Isabelle of Orléans]]}}
{{S-tul|title=[[List of Queens and Empresses of France|Queen consort of France]]|years= 25 August 1940 – 19 June 1999}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Württemberg]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Princesses of Orléans-Braganza}}
{{Princesses of Orléans by marriage}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isabelle Of Paris, Countess}}
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:House of Orléans-Braganza]]
[[Category:Countesses of Paris]]
[[Category:Princesses of France (Orléans)]]
[[Category:People from Eu, Seine-Maritime]]
[[Category:Burials at the Chapelle royale de Dreux]]