Prince Carlos Tasso of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza

Prince Carlos Tasso of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza (Lamoral Carlos Eduardo Omodeo Augusto Leopoldo Antonio José Maria Tasso de Saxe-Coburgo e Bragança; 16 July 1937, Gmundem, Austria), Baron of Bordogna and Valnigra, is the current head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza, one of the three and the junior branch of the Imperial House of Brazil.

Early life
Prince Carlos Tasso was born at the Brazilian embassy in Austria and was registered as a Brazilian citizen. He is the first son of Princess Teresa Cristina of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza, the third daughter of Prince Augusto Leopoldo of Brazil, to the Italian aristocrat Baron Lamoral Taxis di Bordogna e Valnigra, of an Italian cadet branch of the German House of Thurn und Taxis. He has two sisters, Alice and Maria Cristina, and a younger brother, Filipe (who served as a lieutenant in the Brazilian navy). By his mother he is great-great-grandson of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. By his father, he is an agnatic member of the House of Thurn and Taxis, a old noble family traditionally responsible for the post office of the Holy Roman Empire. Nonetheless his membership in the house is through a cadet branch established by the Neapolitan poet Torquato Tasso.

Education and profession
His dedication to the study of Brazilian history began when he was still young. He studied in Austria, Italy and Brazil, at the traditional St. Ignatius College and at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, both institutions located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. He has published several works and to this day conducts historical and economic research on Brazil. Since 1966, he is a member of the Historical and Geographical Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (IHGRGS), the Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute, the Royal Spanish Academy, the Lisbon Academy of Sciences and is also involved with other cultural entities. Also, he was president of the Italian Rotary International between 1992 and 1993.[4]

He was a coffee grower in the state of Paraná, an activity that he does not practice anymore, worked in Frankfurt as director of Henniger International and owns an agricultural company based in the Castle of Villalta, northern Italy, inherited from his paternal ancestors.

Marriage and issue
On 15 December 1956, he married his first wife, the Brazilian Denise Pais de Almeida (1936), with whom he had no children. On 17 January 1969, Carlos Tasso married Walburga of Austria-Tuscany, Princess of Tuscany and Archduchess of Austria, daughter of Archduke George of Austria-Tuscany and Countess Maria Valleria of Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems, a great-granddaughter of the Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany. He and his second wife had eight children, who also retain Brazilian nationality.

The couple's children:
 * Prince Afonso Carlos (30 January 1970), married to Charlotte de Panafieu with issue.
 * Princess Theresa Christina (28 March 1971), married to Christian Marie José Roger André Hunt, with issue.
 * Prince José Tasso (5 October 1972), single
 * Princess Maria Leopoldina (28 April 1974), married to Alessandro Pavone, with issue.
 * Princess Carolina (17 January 1976), married to Sébastien Delcourt.
 * Prince Antonio Tasso (5 July 1979), married to Gabrielle Tardieu, Countess of Maleissye-Melun.
 * Prince Fernando Carlos	(11 October 1980 - 10 December 1990).
 * Princess Maria Aparecida, (12 July 1985), single.

Titles and styles

 * 16 July 1931 – 28 January 1966: His Highness Prince Carlos Tasso of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza
 * 28 January 1966 – present: His Highness Prince Carlos Tasso of Saxe-Coburg and Braganza, The Baron of Bordogna and Valningra

Honors

 * Flag of the Order of St. John (various).svg Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
 * Flag of Austria-Hungary (1869-1918).svg Austrian Imperial Family: Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
 * Flag of the Vatican City.svg Vatican: Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre