An envelope written by Dom Pedro II, with the imperial seal, to a European first cousin.
Envelope from Dom Pedro II to the Duke of Parma and Piacenza.
No information about location and date.
In Portuguese.
15.7 cm x 13 cm.
Good condition of conservation.
Unique piece.
To His Royal Highness the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, my good Cousin and Brother
The Duke of Parma and Piacenza, the recipient of this letter from Dom Pedro II, was called Roberto Carlos Luis Maria de Bourbon-Parma. He was born and died in Italy (1848-1907) and was the last sovereign of the extinct Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, marking the end of the Bourbon-Parma dynasty.
Despite the loss of the throne and the murder of his father when he was only six years old, the Duke had a comfortable life, living in the family's various Austrian and Italian properties. In 1883, he even inherited the Château de Chambord from his uncle Henri, the most renowned and visited in France after the Château de Versailles.
This fortune also allowed him to attract the attention of European princesses. He married a cousin, Maria Pia, daughter of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria. They had twelve children, half of whom were intellectually disabled as a result of consanguinity. After Maria Pia's death, Robert married a second time, Maria Antonia of Portugal, daughter of the deposed King Michael I of Portugal. This union produced twelve more children!
But what was his relationship with Dom Pedro II? To put it simply, the Duke was a son-in-law of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, who was both a cousin of Dom Pedro II (through his mother) and his brother-in-law through Empress Teresa Cristina, sister of Ferdinand and wife of Dom Pedro II.
In addition to this unusual recipient, I found this envelope found in France interesting because of its intact imperial wax seal, since the letter was opened from the top. No one knows where the letter ended up, nor its contents. It was probably a congratulations on the birth of a child (24 opportunities!), Christmas, or those types of events that helped maintain the bond, despite the distance. These details and, of course, the Emperor's handwritten line, will excite the growing number of collectors interested in the Brazilian royal family.
