Afonso, Prince of Beira
Dom Afonso, Prince of Beira (born 25 March 1996) is the heir apparent to the Portuguese throne. He is the elder son of Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and Isabel, Duchess of Braganza. The Miguelista, to which Afonso belongs as the great-great-grandson of King Miguel I, is a cadet branch of the House of Braganza. With the extinction of the male dynasties descending from Queen Maria II in 1932, Miguel's descendants became the only remaining male Braganza and the closest male heirs to the extinct Portuguese throne.
Early Life
Afonso was born in Lisbon the eldest child of Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, and D. Isabel Ines Castro de Heredia. His full name ends with Miguel Gabriel Rafael, a naming tradition of the House of Braganza that honors the three archangels in the Catholic Church.
On 1 June 1996, in the Cathedral of Braga, Alfonso was baptized by Eurico Dias Nogueira, Archbishop of Braga, Primate of all the Spains.
His godparents are Princess Helene of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and his maternal uncle, Afonso Miguel de Heredia.
Immediately after his baptism at the Se Cathedral of Braga, the young prince was consecrated in nearby Guimaraes to Nossa Senhora da Oliveira, (Our Lady of the Olive Tree), where his ancestor King John I (founder of the House of Aviz), along with his illegitimate son Afonso, Duke of Braganza (founder of the House of Braganza), had been to thank her for his victory at the battle of Aljubarrota, in 1385, against his niece Queen Beatrice of Portugal and her husband John I of Castile.
Afonso's education has included St. Julian's School on the Portuguese Riviera, Colegio Planalto in Lisbon, and The Oratory School, a Catholic Public School in the United Kingdom.
He has a BA in Political Science and International Relations from the Catholic University of Portugal at the Institute for Political Studies in Lisbon.
Prince of Beira
Afonso is first in the line of succession to the Portuguese Crown, as heir to his father, the Duke of Braganza.
In August 2018 Afonso joined as an intern in the Social and Pre-Hospitalar Emergency Department, the Voluntary Fire Brigade of Lisbon, following in the foot steps of Afonso, Duke of Porto, who was Honorary Commander of the same bridge. The decision to join the fire bridge came after discussing Portugal's summer fires with his family and friends.
In recognition of his family's connections to East Timor, Afonso was made an honorary Liurai (a ruler's title on Timor. The word is Tetun and literally means "surpassing the earth") in September 2014, when he and his family visited the country to attend the second Senate session of the Liurai Association, which represents the descendants of the island's tribal kings.
Honors
Foreign
-Knight Grand Cross of Honor and Devotion (Sovereign Military Order of Malta)
-Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Holy See)
Dynastic
-Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Rose (House of Orleans-Braganza)
-Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Castroan-Two Sicilian Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (Castroan Royal Family of Two Sicilies)
Title
25 March 1996-present His Royal Highness The Prince of Beira, Duke of Barcelos, Duke of Guimaraes
House: Braganza
Religion: Roman Catholic
