Handwritten letter from the Count d'Eu (1912)

Exiled in France with the Brazilian royal family, Conde d'Eu lives a socially active life with Princess Isabel .

Handwritten letter from Count d'Eu to Count Jean Laffleur de Kermaingant. One sheet, three pages + Envelope. In French. Rome, June 30, 1912. Excellent condition. Single piece.

Grandson of French King Felipe I, Conde d'Eu (1842-1922) received a refined education in France and England before embarking on a military career that led him to become a captain. His uncle, D. Fernando II of Portugal, encouraged him to investigate the possibility of marriage with one of the two daughters of D. Pedro II and recommended him, in a letter, to the Brazilian Emperor:

If I could grab this one for one of your daughters, that would be great. He is robust, tall, good figure, good natured, very amiable, very learned, studious, and, moreover, he has, since now, a small military fame...

Gastão accepted and became known then, above all, for having married in 1864 the second daughter of Emperor Dom Pedro II and Empress Teresa Cristina, Princess Isabel.

However, it is fair to remember that, already heir to the throne, he took the place of the Duke of Caxias as Commander of the Brazilian Forces, during the war in Paraguay, when he was only 28 years old. It was under his command that the war ended and he enjoyed, at first, great popularity when he returned to Brazil in 1870.

He had four children with Princess Isabel but did not play an important political role in the Brazilian political scenario; he and Dom Pedro II often fell out, and the Emperor did not make him act in government. With the end of the Empire in 1889, he went into exile with the entire imperial family in Europe until he died in 1922, aboard the ship Massília, when he was traveling once again to Brazil to attend the celebrations of the centenary of independence.

According to the website Aventuras Na História, Princess Isabel's husband was "one of the most important and unjustly ignored characters of the Brazilian Empire."

This letter, in perfect condition and completely unpublished, draws attention because it shows the Count already over 60 years old, living with Princess Isabel, traveling in Italy but living in France, and very active socially.