Royal Message on Portuguese Restoration of Independence Day
His Royal Highness Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Bragança (*15th May 1945) is the 24th Duke of Bragança (Portuguese: Duque de Bragança) and a heir to the throne of Portugal. He delivered a message on 1st December, Portugal's Restoration of Independence Day (Portuguese: Restauração da Independência), this year commemorating the 370th anniversary of the end of the Iberian Union with Spain.



The ancient House of Aviz, or Joannine Dynasty, (1385 - ca. 1580) of Portugal had become extinct in the male line in 1580, at which time the Portuguese Crown had been inherited by the Spanish King Philip II who became King Filipe I of Portugal.

In 1640, however, having tired of rule from Madrid, the Portuguese people rose up and offered the Crown to the greatest noble of the Kingdom, the Duke of Bragança. The House of Bragança (Portuguese: Casa de Bragança) traced its origins to 1442 when the Duchy of Bragança was created by the Regent, Infante Dom Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, and offered to his brother Afonso, Count of Barcelos, a natural son of João I. The royal lineage of dukes that followed married into the House of Aviz and became one of the most important noble families of the country. Infanta Catarina, granddaughter of Manuel I and Duchess of Bragança by marriage to João, 6th Duke of Bragança (himself the heir of the dynastic rights of Jaime, Duke of Bragança, acclaimed heir to the throne in 1495 by the Cortes), joined the two houses in 1565. In 1580, she was one of the claimants to the throne, but lost it by military force to King Philip II of Spain.

By the unanimous voice of the people Duke João of Bragança was raised to the throne of Portugal during the revolution effected on 1st December 1640 against the Spanish King Philip IV. The Duke of Bragança, João o Restaurador, led the Portuguese to victory and established a sovereign and independent Kingdom under his dynasty's rule.

HRH Dom Duarte's Message:
Mensagem do 1° de Dezembro 2010

The daily newspaper Público 20 reported on the Duke's Message: Duarte Pio compara crise actual à da Primeira República e pede referendo à monarquia (Duarte Pio compares actual crisis with the 1st Republic and calls for a referendum on the Monarchy). The Monarchist Left (Esquerda Monárchica) reprinted Dom Duarte's Message as well.