This week, Infanta Maria Francisca de Bragança, Duchess of Coimbra, the only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Braganza, will marry Duarte de Sousa Araújo Martins at the Basílica Palácio de Mafra inside the Palácio Nacional de Mafra, which will be the first Portuguese Royal Wedding in over a quarter of a century.
See the full article on the wedding!
The Wedding Ceremony will be held in the at 3:00 pm on October 7th, in the Basílica Palácio de Mafra inside the Palácio de Mafra
Like the ancestral royal weddings that heralded the 800 years of the Portuguese monarchy, this great solemnity will gather at that monument erected by Dom John V, more than a thousand and two hundred guests, with prominent personalities from social and political life from the four corners of the world, including members of families foreign reals
On the evening ahead of the Wedding, there will be a Festival, while the Wedding in the Basílica Palácio de Mafra will be followed by a Cocktail Reception, as well as a Dinner held in the Duke and Duchess’s home in Sintra that evening.
Infanta Maria Francisca will have two wedding gowns, created by Luzia do Nascimento, which will be worn with Queen Amélie’s Diamond Tiara, a pair of Diamond Earrings from her mother and grandmother, and a loaned Bracelet from Queen Amélie that belongs to a Family Friend who purchased the piece at Auction.
The Duke and Duchess of Braganza are close to reigning and former royalty from around Europe, and around 1200 Guests will be attending the Wedding of Infanta Maria Francisca, which will include the President of Portugal. Recently, Infanta Maria Francisca herself has attended the Wedding of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia, the Wedding of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, the Wedding of Archduke Josef Albrecht of Austria and Countess Sophie von Schaesberg, and the Wedding of Duchess Amelie of Württemberg and Baron Franz-Ferdinand von Feilitzsch.
Chef Hélio Loureiro, a close family friend, will create two Wedding Cakes and the menu for the Festival on the 6th, the Wedding on the 7th, and a Dinner that evening in Sintra. One cake will be served during the cocktail reception in the cloisters of the Palácio Convento de Mafra, while the other will be cut during the Dinner in the family home in Sintra that evening.
The Wedding will be broadcast live on TVI, The wedding, with televised broadcast, can be followed through two giant screens installed in the square, where a colourful popular animation program will take place with the participation of folk ranches and other groups from different regions of the country, without forgetting the chiming of the carillons.
