Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Amélie of Orléans, Queen of Portugal; Source: Wikipedia

Princess Amélie of Orléans was the Queen Consort of King Carlos I of Portugal. She was born Marie Amélie Louise Hélène d’Orléans on September 28, 1865, the eldest of eight children of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris, and Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans. Although a French princess, she was born in Twickenham, London, England where her family had been living in exile since the French monarchy of the House of Orléans had fallen.

Amélie had seven siblings:

Following the fall of the Second French Empire, the family was able to return to France in 1871. Amélie developed a love of the arts, particularly theater and opera, and became an accomplished painter. As she became older, her family began to search for a suitable husband. After several proposed marriages into the Austrian and Spanish royal families did not work out, she became engaged to the future King Carlos I of Portugal, the eldest son of King Luís of Portugal and Princess Maria Pia of Savoy.

Wedding of Amélie and Carlos, 1886. Source: Wikipedia

Amélie and Carlos met in Chantilly, France, where both were guests at a hunting party, and their engagement was announced on February 7, 1886. In mid-May of that year, Amélie’s father threw a lavish engagement party in Paris. The extravagance of the event led to the family again being sent into exile just a month later. After the party, Amélie traveled to Lisbon, Portugal where she and Carlos were married on May 22, 1886, at the Church of St. Dominic.

Queen Amélie and her two sons, c1890. Source: Wikipedia

Amélie and Carlos settled at Belém Palace in Lisbon, and had three children:

Queen Amélie (center) with Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom and Dowager Queen Maria Pia, 1905. Source: Wikipedia

Amélie quickly became fluent in Portuguese and was greatly admired in her new country. In October 1889, just a month before the birth of their younger son, Carlos and Amélie became King and Queen of Portugal following the death of King Luís. As Queen, Amélie took great interest in the well-being of the Portuguese people, establishing hospitals, sanatoriums, pharmacies, kitchens, and nurseries. She also founded the Royal Institute of Aid to the Shipwrecked in 1892, as well as the National Coach Museum in 1905, the Pasteur Institute in Portugal, and the National Assistance for Tuberculosis in 1899. However, along with her philanthropic efforts, she was also greatly criticized for her lavish spending, particularly in the midst of Portugal’s two bankruptcies.

On February 1, 1908, upon their return to Lisbon from a stay at the Palace of Vila Viçosa, the royal family was the target of an assassination. King Carlos and The Prince Royal, Luís Filipe, were both killed, and Manuel was injured. Remarkably, Queen Amélie was unharmed and is credited with likely having saved the life of her younger son. When one of the shooters had come into the carriage, she reportedly waved her bouquet of flowers around, trying to hit him and keep him from taking any more shots. After the shooting, she was kept under close security, along with her son and mother-in-law, at the Palace of Necessidades. She later withdrew to the Pena National Palace, which would be her last home in Portugal.

Dowager Queen Amélie with her son, King Manuel II, 1910. source: Wikipedia

Now Dowager Queen, Amélie offered her full support to her son, King Manuel II. However, the political climate in Portugal was tenuous at best, and soon the monarchy would come to an end. In October 1910, the monarchy was deposed during the Republican Revolution. Amélie went into exile along with her son, and mother-in-law, settling in Twickenham, London. After her son’s marriage in 1912, the Dowager Queen moved to France, settling at the Château de Bellevue in Le Chesnay, close to the Palace of Versailles.

Her son, King Manuel II, died in 1932, leaving Amélie the last living member of her family. At the onset of World War II, the Portuguese government invited her to return and live in the country, but she declined, preferring to remain in France where she received diplomatic immunity. She did, however, make a visit to Portugal in May and June of 1945. During this trip, she visited Lisbon, made a pilgrimage to Fatima, and returned to many of her former homes. She also visited several of the pharmacies and other organizations that she had founded.

Just six years later, Queen Amélie died in Le Chesnay, France on October 25, 1951. Her remains were returned to Portugal, where she was buried in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza, at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon.

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