Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza

Dom Duarte Pio João Miguel Gabriel Rafael de Bragança is the son of the Duke of Bragança, Dom Duarte Nuno, grandson of D. Miguel I, King of Portugal and Maria Francisca of Orleans and Bragança, Princess of Brazil, great-grandchild of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, also known as Pedro IV of Portugal.

During a period of exile that affected the Royal Family, he was born in Switzerland but in Portuguese territory: at the Portuguese Embassy in Bern, on May 15, 1945. His godfather was His Holiness Pope Pius XII and his godmother was Queen Dona Amélia of Orleans and Bragança, then widow of D. Carlos I, King of Portugal.

With the Royal Family allowed to return to Portugal in the 1950s, he studied at Colégio Nuno Álvares (Caldas da Saúde) in Santo Tirso between 1957 and 1959.

In 1960 he entered the Military College, later continuing his studies at the Higher Institute of Agronomy and at the Institute for Development at the University of Geneva.

He performed his military service in Angola as Lieutenant Pilot Aviator of the Air Force between 1968 and 1971. During this period he got to know in depth the populations of the then Overseas Provinces, establishing friendly relations, in particular, with traditional chiefs and spiritual leaders of the various religions, circumstances those that created additional difficulties with the authorities in Lisbon.

As President of the “Timor 87” Campaign, he developed activities to support Timor and the Timorese residing in Portugal and other countries, an initiative that had the merit of giving greater prominence to the Timorese Cause.

Under the presidency of Dom Duarte, numerous notable personalities from different quarters of Portuguese society at the time participated in this campaign, achieving the construction of a neighborhood for displaced Timorese.

Through the Dom Manuel II Foundation, the institution he presides over, he continued this commitment through financial aid to carry out projects in the fields of education, culture and the promotion of human development in Timor and other Portuguese-speaking countries.

He made contacts at various levels, including a visit to the Indonesian Governments, and to Timor Under occupation, which decisively contributed to a change in the attitude of the Indonesian Government and to the awakening of consciences in relation to the independence process of that territory.

He is Honorary President and member of several institutions, currently being a member of the Supreme Council of Former Students of the Military College and Honorary President of the Infante D. Henrique Award, a program aimed at young people whose International President HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.

From a very young age he dedicated his attention to the defense of the environment, belonging since the age of ten to the League for the Protection of Nature.

Expressing a deep interest and love for Portugal and for the entire presence of Portugal in the world, alone or accompanied by his family, he travels annually through various regions of the country, Portuguese-speaking countries and Portuguese communities all over the world at the invitation of local officials.

Awarded by multiple honorary orders, the Duke of Bragança is linked by family ties to several Royal Houses in Europe, namely: Luxembourg, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Liechenstein, Italy, Spain, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria Thurn and Taxis, Bourbom Parma, Loewenstein etc.

He regularly visits countries with a close historical relationship with Portugal, often at the invitation of the respective Governments or Heads of State with whom he maintains friendly ties, such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, China, Morocco, Russia, the United States, etc.

He married on May 13, 1995, to Mrs. Isabel de Herédia, and is the father of: Dom Afonso de Santa Maria, Príncipe da Beira, born on March 25, 1996 and baptized in Braga on June 1, 1996, Mrs. Maria Francisca born on 3 March 1997 and baptized in Vila Viçosa on 31 May 1997 Dom Dinis born on 25 November 1999 and baptized in Porto on 19 February 2000.