Diana Álvares Pereira de Melo, 11th Duchess of Cadaval

Princess Diana of Orléans
Duchess of Anjou
Duchess of Cadaval
Duchess of Cadaval
Predecessor Jaime Álvares Pereira de Melo
Designated heiress Rosalinda Álvares Pereira de Melo
Born (1978-07-25) 25 July 1978
Geneva, Switzerland
Spouse Prince Charles Philippe, Duke of Anjou
Issue Princess Isabelle of Orléans[1]
Full name
Diana Mariana Vitória Álvares Pereira de Melo
House Cadaval (by birth)
Orléans (by marriage)
Father Jaime Álvares Pereira de Melo, 10th Duke of Cadaval
Mother Claudine Marguerite Tritz
French Royal Family
Orléanist

HRH The Count of Paris
HRH The Countess of Paris

Dona Diana Álvares Pereira de Melo (b. Geneva 25 July 1978), Princess of Orléans, 11th Duchess of Cadaval, Duchess of Anjou, is a Portuguese noblewoman and author. She is the eldest daughter of D. Jaime Álvares Pereira de Melo, 10th Duke of Cadaval's second marriage with Claudine Marguerite Marianne Tritz.

Career

She studied International communication at the American University of Paris. She manages the House of Cadaval properties, which historically include the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval, in Évora, and the Muge estate, in Santarém.

In the summer of 2015 the duchess collaborated with Hubert de Givenchy to open to the public an exhibit of haute couture bridal gowns in the palace church, Saint John-the-Evangelist. Chosen and arranged by Givenchy, the twelve dresses on display were originals borrowed from such designers as Yves Saint-Laurent, Balenciaga, Dior and include "The Nun" gown designed in 1972 for the marriage of the Spanish Caudillo Franco's granddaughter, Carmen Martínez-Bordiú to Alphonso XIII's grandson Alfonso de Bourbon, Duke of Cadíz, as well as the Givenchy dress Diana wore for her own 2008 wedding.[2]

She is also an author of several books on personalities pertaining to the history of the Portuguese monarchy, which she publishes under the name of Diana de Cadaval.

Succession

Dona Diana's father was married twice, but only the second marriage was a religious ceremony. Diana has two older half-sisters, an older half-brother (born from her father's extramarital relationship) and a younger sister:

When the Duke died in 2001, the eldest daughters of both marriages, Rosalinda and Diana, disputed the family heritage. Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza recognized Diana as 11th Duchess of Cadaval (on a non-hereditary basis, as all holders of the Dukedom of Cadaval in the past have been obtained recognition of the title during their lifetime), acting on the authority attributed to him post-monarchy by the Conselho de Nobreza (Council of the Nobility) as Head of the Royal House of Braganza. He granted to her eldest half-sister, Dona Rosalinda, the new title of Duchess of Cadaval-Hermès, as she's married with Hubert Guerrand-Hermès, heir of Hermès.

Marriage

On 21 June 2008, Dona Diana married Prince Prince Charles Philippe, Duke of Anjou (born 1973). The ceremony took place in the Cathedral of Évora, a monument declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. Both wife and husband are Capetians, descending in unbroken male line from King Robert II of France (972 - 1031), Diana from his younger son Robert I, Duke of Burgundy through the royal (though illegitimate) Portuguese branch of the House of Braganza, and Charles-Philippe through the elder son, King Henry I of France, via the cadet branch of the House of Bourbon-Orléans. The couple are also fifth cousins once-removed through shared descent from King Francis I of the Two Sicilies.

Diana's children by Charles-Philippe bear the title "Prince/Princess d'Orléans" and the style of Royal Highness. Although not expected to inherit their mother's ducal title because of the terms of its recognition, traditionally, male Orléans dynasts receive individual, non-hereditary noble titles derived from the historical appanages of the French royal family.

The couple's first child, Princess Isabelle d'Orléans, was born on February 22, 2012 in Lisbon, Portugal. The princess is named after her great-grandmother, the Countess of Paris, born Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza.[3] Her godparents are Princess Dora (Maria-Theodora) von Löwenstein and Felipe VI of Spain (then Prince of Asturias).

Titles and styles

Ancestry

See also

References

  1. ↑ Official site of Prince Charles Philippe, Duke of Anjou - Baptism of Princess Isabelle of Orléans
  2. ↑ Lauriot Prévost, Marie-Eudes. Point de Vue, N.3496. Claudine et Diane de Cadaval: Les Trésors d'Évora. 28 July 2015. (French).
  3. ↑ Duc d'Anjou - Naissance de la princesse Isabelle

External links

Portuguese nobility
Preceded by
Jaime Álvares Pereira de Melo		 Duchess of Cadaval
2001—present 		Incumbent
Heir:
Rosalinda Álvares Pereira de Melo
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