by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2016
Princess Maria da Glória of Orléans-Bragança
Princess Maria da Glória of Orléans-Bragança was the first wife of Crown Prince Alexander II of Serbia. She was born Maria da Glória Henriqueta Dolores Lúcia Miguela Rafaela Gabriela Gonzaga of Orléans-Bragança on December 13, 1946, in Petrópolis, Brazil. She is the eldest daughter of Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Bragança and Princess Maria de la Esperanza Amalia Raniera Maria Rosario Luisa Gonzaga of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
Maria da Glória has five siblings:
- Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza (born 1945), married (1) Rony Kuhn de Souza, had one son (2) Patricia Branscombe, had one son
- Prince Alfonso of Orléans-Braganza (born 1948), married (1) Maria Parejo Gurruchaga, had children, divorced (2) Silvia-Amália Hungria de Silva Machado, no children
- Prince Manuel of Orléans-Braganza (1949), married and divorced Margarita Haffner, had two children
- Princess Cristina of Orléans-Braganza (born 1950), married and divorced Prince Jan Pavel Sapieha-Rozanski, had two children
- Prince Francisco of Orléans-Braganza (born 1956), married (1) Christina Schmidt-Pecanha, had one child, divorced (2) Rita de Cássia Pires, had three children
Maria da Glória earned a degree in architecture from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.
Maria da Glória and Alexander on their wedding day; source: Pinterest
On July 1, 1972, in both Catholic and Orthodox services, Maria da Glória married Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia (as he was known at the time) in Villamanrique de la Condesa, Seville, Spain. He is the only child of the former King Peter II of Yugoslavia and Princess Alexandra of Greece. They settled in the United States, living in Chicago, Illinois, and Fairfax, Virginia, and had three sons:
- Peter, Hereditary Prince of Serbia (born 1980)
- Prince Philip of Serbia (born 1982), married Danica Marinkovićm, had issue
- Prince Alexander of Serbia (born 1982)
Maria da Glória with her daughters
On October 24, 1985, Alexander and Maria da Glória divorced. Maria da Glória then married Ignacio de Medina y Fernández de Córdoba, 19th Duke of Segorbe on October 24, 1985. The couple had two daughters:
- Sol María de la Blanca de Medina y Orléans-Braganza, 54th Countess de Ampurias (born 1986)
- Ana Luna de Medina y Orléans-Braganza, 17th Countess de Ricla (born 1988)
Through her father, Maria da Glória is a direct descendant of King Pedro II of Brazil and King Francisco I of the Two Sicilies. Through her mother, she is directly descended from King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. Through both parents, she is descended from King Louis Philippe I of the French. She is also a first cousin, through her mother, of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.
This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.