Prinz Antônio Gastão von Brasilien

António Gastão of Orléans and Bragança was born in Paris on August 9, 1881, as the youngest son of Princess Isabel of Brazil and her husband, Gastão, Count of Eu. His mother was the eldest daughter and designated heir of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, while his father came from the French royal family. António was Pedro II’s last grandchild and was affectionately known within the family as “Totó” or “Totone.” The entire Brazilian diplomatic corps in France attended his birth. He was baptized on August 27, 1881, in the private chapel of his parents’ residence and received the full name António Gastão Filipe Francisco de Assis Maria Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga. His godparents included António, Duke of Montpensier, and Francisca, Princess of Joinville. After his parents returned to Brazil, António spent his early years in the Petrópolis area, where he lived with his grandfather and the imperial family. Together with his older brothers, Pedro and Luís, he published an abolitionist newspaper in the Palace of Petrópolis during the height of the abolitionist movement. The three brothers received a careful education from numerous tutors selected by Pedro II and supervised by Baron Ramiz Galvão. Their studies included reading and writing, history, geography, natural sciences, drawing, mathematics, and language instruction in Portuguese, French, and German. His life changed fundamentally when Pedro II was overthrown in a military coup on November 15, 1889. António was eight years old at the time and had to leave Brazil with his family. Their exile first took them to Portugal and Spain and then to Normandy. António spent most of the rest of his life at the Château d’Eu, which his father had acquired from the Count of Paris. He continued his education in Paris and at the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt. His father would have liked him to join the French army, but a law barred members of former ruling houses from serving in the French armed forces. António therefore entered the Austro-Hungarian army in 1908 as a lieutenant in the Hussars. Like his brothers, he served Emperor Franz Joseph I on various occasions. Together with his brother Luís, he also undertook extensive travels, visiting, among other places, the United States, Russia, India, Ceylon, and the Holy Land. When the First World War broke out in 1914, António faced a personal conflict. He did not want to fight against France, which he regarded as his second homeland, and consequently left the Austro-Hungarian army. Since he was still barred from joining the French army, he sought admission to the forces of his cousin, the British King George V. António was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Dragoons and assigned to the Royal Flying Corps as an intelligence officer. He was promoted to captain in 1916 and awarded the Military Cross in 1917. From February 1917 to May 1918, he served as aide-de-camp to the commander of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, Brigadier General John Seely. In July 1918, he was seconded to service at the British War Office. For his military career and wartime service, he later received various British and foreign decorations, including the British Star Medal, the British War Medal, the Inter-Allied Victory Medal, and, posthumously, the French Legion of Honour. António survived the war without being wounded, but died shortly after the armistice as a result of an airplane accident. Three days after the armistice was signed, his aircraft struck electrical wires in Edmonton, a suburb of London. Although he was rescued and taken to Edmonton Military Hospital, he died from his injuries a few days later. He was buried in the Royal Chapel of Dreux in France. Known as the “Soldier Prince,” António never married and had no descendants. He was described as sarcastic and ironic, but also as a charismatic personality with a seductive temperament. From 1909 onward, he held the title of Royal Prince of Brazil and Prince of Orléans and Bragança. In addition to Brazil’s imperial Orders of Pedro I, the Rose, and the Southern Cross, he received numerous foreign honors, including high distinctions from Spain, France, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Japan.