Captain Prince Antônio Gastão of Orléans-Braganza MC (Portuguese: Antônio Gastão de Orléans e Bragança; 9 August 1881 – 29 November 1918) was a Brazilian prince who served in the forces of the British Empire during World War I.
Antônio was born in Paris, the third and last son of Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil, and her husband Gaston of Orléans, Count of Eu.[1] His father was a grandson of the last king of France, Louis Philippe I, and his mother was the eldest daughter and heiress of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. He was baptised on 27 August 1881.[2] His full name was Antônio Gastão Luiz Filipe Francisco de Assis Maria Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga;[1] his family affectionately called him "Totó".[3]
After his grandfather was deposed in a military coup in Brazil, he and his family were sent into exile in Europe. As a child he was chronically sick with bronchitis.[4] He was educated in Paris, and at the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.[5] After graduation, he was a Hussar lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian Army between 1908 and 1914.
When World War I broke out, Antônio was prevented from joining the French armed forces by a law that forbade members of the deposed French royal family from serving in the military.[6] Instead, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Dragoons where he served attached to the Royal Flying Corps as intelligence officer. He was promoted to captain in 1916,[7] and was awarded the Military Cross in 1917.[8] He was aide-de-camp to the commander of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, Brigadier-General Seely,[9] from February 1917[10] until May 1918,[11] and then was seconded for duty with the War Office in July.[12]
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Antônio died from injuries sustained in an air crash at Edmonton, London, shortly after the end of the war.[13] His remains were placed in the Royal Chapel of Dreux, in France.[1][9]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Pedro I[1] Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Rose[1]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Christ[1]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III[1]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit[1]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Rising Sun[1]
Knight of the Legion of Honour of France[14]| Ancestors of Prince Antônio Gastão of Orléans-Braganza |
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