When Amélie of Orléans returned to Portugal

Throughout the visit, the protagonist reinforced her request that luxuries and ostentation be avoided, stressing that she had come from a country ravaged by hunger and poverty. From a national perspective, and beyond its borders, the historical context at the time of the visit is unique. The echoes of the Allied Victory Day over Nazi Germany, on May 8, 1945, are still fresh in a Europe recovering from the conflict when the last Portuguese queen returns to Portugal, then aged 79. Amélia's decision in occupied territory is also legendary. When German soldiers entered her house on the outskirts of Paris in 1940, Salazar asked that the palace be considered Portuguese territory and invited her to take refuge in Portugal. “In my misfortune, France welcomed me, I will not abandon her in her misfortune” , the queen is said to have responded to the proposal, resisting in one of the wings of the palace, where she hoisted the flag of the Portuguese republic.

Like her son, Manuel II, Amélie d'Orléans (who herself was born in exile, imposed by Napoleon III's rise to power in France) would follow the path of London when the monarchy fell. She remained in the British capital until 1913, when her youngest son married. Her mother then moved to the Château de Bellevue, near Versailles, in France, built by the architect Leyendecker, which she had acquired in 1920 for 500,000 francs and where she settled in 1922. In fact, during the First World War, her work with the Red Cross became well-known, and she was decorated by King George V (1865-1936) of England for having brought aid to the wounded, children and adolescents between that country and France.

If pain was a constant, it would seem that all possible routes converged to a single destination. “Dona Amélia was about to marry Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. It seems that she was destined to be a widow, or even to die, since the archduke’s wife was also assassinated. With Dom Carlos it was a political marriage, normal and happy,” describes José Miguel Sardica.

One by one, Amélia’s immediate family disappeared. The mourning dates back to the death of her premature daughter, Infanta Maria Ana de Bragança. This was followed by the murder of her husband and eldest son, the royal prince Luís Filipe. 24 years after the regicide, Amélia de Orléans received news of the death of her youngest son, who “inherited the Portuguese crown with a country that was already very republicanized”, the historian explains, noting how the clan shrank. “Initially, the royal family consisted of six people, the monarchs, their children and also D. Maria Pia (D. Amélia’s mother-in-law), and D. Carlos’ brother, Infante Afonso de Bragança, the car lover who went down in history as “O Arreda”. “ There was a very somber atmosphere when the two widows became widows . When the Republic was established, all the titles and the royal house were extinguished. Maria Pia returned to Italy, the liberal constitutionalist branch was extinguished with the death of D. Manuel, D. Amélia retired to the chateau de Bellevue, where she was a philanthropist for schools and canteens, and during the wars she always sided with the Allied effort.” While her youngest son was alive, she continued to go to London and divided her time between Switzerland, Cannes and Italy. After Manuel's death, she was responsible for supervising the funeral and saw her daughter-in-law head to Germany, deepening her isolation even further.

In 1937, on the occasion of the World Exhibition in Paris, the Portuguese government invited the queen to visit the Portuguese Pavilion. Amélia accepted the invitation but avoided commenting on the national political context. That year, however, she gave her first interview to the “Diário de Lisboa”. After Joaquim Manso, Leitão de Barros would follow in O Século. In 1939, for the Diário de Notícias, Armando Boaventura traveled to Versailles to sit down with his former consort.

But it would be necessary to wait a few years until returning to Portugal, a stay that would be marked by two remarkable events, each in its own way. In addition to the aforementioned unexpected death, there was a special birth that added context. A few days before arriving in Lisbon, Duarte Pio de Bragança, his godson and descendant of the banished D. Miguel, was born in Bern, in the heart of the Swiss family exile, in the Portuguese Legation in that city. He was the son of the exiled D. Miguel, for whom a mass of thanksgiving would be said in the same church of São Domingos that had attended the wedding of King D. Carlos and the French princess. The queen, who was godmother at his baptism, alongside Pope Pius XII, witnessing this reunion in the blood of Duarte Pio of the Brazilian constitutional and the Portuguese legitimist branches, was not present, citing health issues and sending in his place the faithful squire Viscount de Asseca.

On June 20, she went to Ericeira , “where hundreds of people were waiting for her”, just as she had done in October 1910 when she said goodbye to her adopted homeland. On the same day, she went to Mafra , once a royal residence and the cause of some monarchical excitement.

On the 23rd, in apotheosis, thousands of people surround the car that takes her to the National Assistance for Tuberculosis , one of her social works.

On the afternoon of the 27th, in response to the formal invitation sent by Viscount Asseca, a small crowd flocked to the reception held at Aviz, as many insisted on greeting the queen as the curtain fell on the final weeks.

On June 30th, Amélia finally left Aviz very early in the morning for the Entrecampos train station. “At 8 o’clock, some people, mainly women, and several taxis could be seen in front of the Aviz Hotel. At 8:40, after saying goodbye, with the greatest affability, to the manager and the hotel staff, thanking them for their treatment, the former sovereign, wearing a grey suit, a white silk scarf around her neck, a black hat with a white border, decorated with black and white feathers, white gloves and her inseparable cane, left accompanied only by Madame Randal and Mr. Viscount of Asseca, amid applause from the audience”, can be read in the Diário de Lisboa. At the train station, the police service was joined by a commission of people close to and close to the monarchy. “There is not a single inch of free ground at the station”, it is said about what would be the second and final departure of the last queen of Portugal. “I came to relive my memories and I take more than I brought with me. Long live Portugal”, says Amélia in farewell, who in Vilar Formoso will send a message to President Carmona and Salazar. Perhaps because it would be too much of an undertaking for a nostalgic heart, she only missed the stop at the Ducal Palace in Vila Viçosa.

On the day of the illustrious visitor's departure, the President of the Council sent a special note to the newspapers, announcing the donations made by the former queen during her stay in the country. For the Misericórdia de Lisboa, 200 contos. And another 500 contos entrusted to Salazar, so that he could assign them to the best possible destination. The decision was made quickly. The amount was earmarked for the construction of the Porto sanatorium.

A lover of the normality of a life that allowed her to take refuge in Sintra, swim on the beaches of Cascais, hunt in Tapada de Mafra or visit São Carlos, the queen who loved painting, drawing and photography would allow herself to be captured by one of the greatest portrait artists of the time. During her stay in Lisbon, records show that she posed for Manuel Alves de San Payo, Lisbon, maintaining a smile that a destiny marked by loss had so often tried to silence. “She is the only Portuguese queen of whom we have audio recordings”, notes the historian. In fact, in the summer of 1951, Leitão de Barros would travel to France to make a kind of documentary. The protagonist would only live for a few more months.

On October 25, 1951, at the age of 86, Amélie of Orléans died at her residence in Versailles, in the same bed, according to the chronicles, that was waiting for her at the Belém Palace when she arrived in Lisbon, painted by the master Columbano. “Take me to Portugal” were her final words, fulfilled with state honors on November 29 of that year.

Once her death was known, the Portuguese government declared three days of national mourning, the flag was flown at half-mast in all public buildings, and the transfer of her body to Portugal was expedited. The urn was taken aboard the Portuguese ship Bartolomeu Dias and the funeral ceremonies were held on January 30, 1952, with Salazar among those present. She was buried in the Braganza pantheon.