Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 1, 2012



Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil (1831–1853) was the daughter of Dom Pedro I, founder of Brazil's independence and its first emperor, and Amélie of Leuchtenberg. The only child from her father's second marriage, Maria Amélia was born in France following Pedro I's 1831 abdication in favor of his son Dom Pedro II. Before Maria Amélia was a month old, Pedro I left for Portugal to restore its crown to his eldest daughter Dona Maria II. He defeated his brother Miguel I (who had usurped Maria II's throne), only to die a few months later of tuberculosis. Maria Amélia's mother took her to Portugal, where she lived most of her life without ever visiting Brazil. Brazil's government refused to recognize Maria Amélia as a member of its Imperial House because she was born abroad. When her half-brother Pedro II was declared of age in 1840, he intervened to restore her position. Maria Amélia was engaged to Archduke Maximilian of Austria in 1852, but marriage plans were thwarted when she contracted tuberculosis and was taken to the island of Madeira to recover. Her health deteriorated, and she died on 4 February 1853. Her body was interred in Portugal's royal Braganza Pantheon; almost 130 years later, her remains were moved to Brazil. (Full article...)

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