IMPERIAL ROOTS: His great-great granddad reigned over Brazil -- and he'll be treated like royalty at tonight's Wolfsonian Ball

www.miami.com Posted on Sat, Mar. 08, 2003 BY NERY YNCLAN nynclan@herald.com

MAN OF MANY FACETS: Eudes d'Orleans-Braganza, whose ancestors include European and Brazilian royalty, is a wine connoisseur and golf aficionado.

If you were to sketch Eudes d'Orleans-Braganza's family tree, it would be a distinct royal blue.

He details the regal highlights as if he were reciting a grocery list:

``My mother's grandfather was the last king of Bavaria. My father's great-grandfather was the son of the last king of France, and there we get Orleans. He married the princess of Brazil, and there we get Braganza. The princess Isabel of Brazil married Louis Gaston d'Orleans. He was the count of Eu, who was the son of the Duke of Nemours, who was the son of the last king of France.''

Lost yet? Fast-forward a couple of generations, and the genealogical bottom line is that Orleans-Braganza is the great-great grandson of Brazil's last emperor, Dom Pedro II.

Despite the colorful lineage, a career as a submarine commander and a much-publicized brush with death, the life of this wealthy Rio de Janeiro businessman doesn't include crowns and curtsies. But he will be treated like royalty on Saturday as the guest of honor at the Wolfsonian Imperial Propaganda Ball.

This is the Miami Beach museum's annual fundraising weekend, which will highlight the current exhibition, From Emperors to Hoi Polloi: Portraits of an Era, 1851-1945, on view through June 24 at 1001 Washington Ave. The ball and exhibit are among a variety of special events that began Friday.

Executive director Cathy Leff says the museum decided to celebrate Brazil because so many Brazilians live and travel in South Florida and so many non-Brazilians are unaware of the country's unique imperial past. It was Wolfsonian founder Micky Wolfson, she says, who insisted they track down the imperial family in the flesh.

''When they said yes, we thought it was fantastic. It brings the past up to the present,'' says Leff. ``To be able to celebrate the history of Brazil and personify it with the imperial family -- it's the ideal.''

Brazil was under Portuguese colonial rule until 1889, after a coup sent the country's second and last emperor, Dom Pedro II, into exile in Europe.

BLOODLESS COUP

University of Miami Professor Jerry Haar says the peaceful nature of the coup meant much of the family could return to Brazil in later years.

''Brazil was never ruled with an iron fist. There wasn't this level of violence you saw in other monarchies,'' Haar says. ``For some, there is some kind of nostalgia for the monarchy like you see in the U.K. It's their little fantasy, but it's much ado about nothing. Most Brazilians chuckle at that kind of stuff.''

Orleans-Braganza, 63, says he visits Florida often for its golf courses, amusement parks and stone crabs. He acknowledges that the average Brazilian would not recognize him and that generally the media stay away.

'Really, it's in Europe where there are still monarchies that we get the `Your Highness' and 'Prince' thing,'' he says. ``In Brazil, if we do something wrong we will have the front pages. But we stay quiet. We're good.''

Brazilian journalist Heloiza Herscovitz, an assistant professor at Florida International University, says descendants of the monarchy are largely ignored by media because of the colonial connection.

''Most people in Brazil are worried about getting money for bread and milk -- not about royal descendants,'' Herscovitz says.

Even so, Orleans-Braganza says he and his wife, Mercedes, have been followed more closely in the news than his 11 siblings over the years for a personal reason. On their honeymoon in April 1976, the couple's small plane crashed into a jungle mountainside en route from Jamaica.

They were rescued six days later, along with the pilot.

''My wife had the worst injuries, terrible burns, broken bones. She was in treatment for eight months,'' he says. ``I was blind in one eye and my left side was almost destroyed, but I could walk. We found a hidden marijuana plantation and found some rice in a bag there. It was raining all day, so we had water. On the sixth day, we were found and taken to Miami. It was the fastest I have ever gotten through customs in Miami in my life.''

REARED ON FARM

Orleans-Braganza was born in France at the beginning of World War II but grew up in Brazil on a farm. ''Communism took everything we had in the eastern countries,'' he says. ``We didn't inherit anything. What our parents gave us was a very good education. Everyone had to make their own destiny.''

Orleans-Braganza went on to serve as lieutenant commander on two submarines in the Brazilian navy before moving into business. He's now a board member of Grupo Brasil, a holding company with annual revenue of $350 million that directs industrial suppliers to automotive companies. He's also chairman of one of the group's interests, Vulcan, a major pipe manufacturer.

As for contemporary Brazilian politics, Orleans-Braganza says he is optimistic about the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva despite a recent spate of gang violence.

''Lula came into office as an avowed leftist, and now he's acting as a centrist,'' he says. ``From a business point of view, the new presidency makes us hopeful. He has chosen good people to run the most important ministries and to continue a policy of not letting the country go into default.''

Although Orleans-Braganza has not sought political office, he has the resumé of a diplomat. He speaks six languages and is a wine connoisseur and golf aficionado. He has designed golf courses in Brazil and is president of the Brazilian Golf Federation.

His six children live in Brazil. He will attend the ball with his wife and eldest son, Luiz Philippe, an executive with AOL Latin America in Rio.

GOOD, BAD JOKES

Daughter Maria Francisca, a graphic designer, says the blue blood has its ups and downs.

''I have always enjoyed being able to travel and visit different family members all around the world. It is always so interesting to hear them talk about our history and to know that my family has had such a big impact in history and the way the world is today,'' she says.

``People here in Brazil have always made little jokes, but in a caring way, and I enjoy that because it kind of breaks the ice. On the other hand, some people are jealous and sometimes make very rude jokes about it.''

The father says it comes with the territory, and that all children descended from royalty become accustomed to the perks and the pokes.

Asked if anyone ever jokingly calls him ''emperor,'' Orleans-Braganza says with a wink: 'Oh yes, all my brothers and me have gotten that all our lives from the wives and the family -- `my emperor,' 'my prince.' Sometimes in a good way -- and sometimes not in a good way.''

BLUE BLOOD?

The Web is full of sites to help you find your roots. Experts say Genealogy Detective is a great tool for beginners and pros. It costs $24.97 and downloads into your computer directly from rwm.net