The embalmed heart of the Brazilian emperor Peter I was transported from Portugal to celebrate the two hundred years of Brazilian independence. The heart was greeted with military honors, then it will be displayed to the public. “He will be treated as if Peter I was still alive with us,” said Alan Coelho de Séllos of the Brazilian Foreign Office, quoted by the BBC.
The imperial heart, according to BBC journalists, was transported in a decorative vessel filled with formalin in connection with the 200th anniversary of independence by Brazil. “The heart will return when it warms up in the admiration of the Brazilians,” said Portuguese Porto Mayor Rui Moreira, quoted by the BBC, who flew to South America with the ruler’s heart on Monday.
Alan Coelho de Séllos of the Brazilian Ministry of Diplomacy emphasized that the Emperor’s remains (which left Portugal after the death of the monarch) were greeted like the head of state.
The Emperor’s heart flew to BrazilPAP / EPA
“They were treated as if Peter I was still alive with us,” Séllos said. He emphasized that the heart was greeted with a cannon salvo, and an honor guard was carried out at the heart container.
During the ceremony, the national anthem of Portugal is to be played, which – as Séllos reminds – was composed by Peter I:
– When he did not perform the duties of the emperor, he was a good musician – emphasized the representative of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Emperor and king
Peter I was born on October 12, 1798 in Queluz, Portugal. As a member of royal family he had to flee the country due to the Napoleonic wars. He came to Brazil, the then Portuguese colony, when he was nine. Due to the relocation of the royal family, the status of Brazil (which became the de facto capital of the Portuguese empire) has increased significantly.
In 1821, the father of 22-year-old Peter I (King John VI) returned to Portugal and left his son as regent. A year later – due to the return of the court to Europe – Brazil was to be stripped of its privileges and relegated back to an ordinary colony. Peter I did not agree to this, who on September 7, 1822 issued the declaration of independence for Brazil and was crowned emperor shortly after (December 1).
The Brazilian emperor for several months (from March 10 to May 28, 1826) was king of Portugal as Peter IV. Abdicated in favor of his daughter Maria II.
Brazil is celebrating its 200th anniversary of independencePAP / EPA
The heart in Portugal, the body in Brazil
He stepped down from the Brazilian throne on April 7, 1831 in favor of his five-year-old son. Peter I returned to Portugal, where he died at the age of 36 of tuberculosis.
On his deathbed, the monarch was to ask that his heart be removed from his body and taken to the city of Porto. His body was transferred to Brazil in 1972 for the 150th anniversary of independence and is kept in a crypt in São Paulo.
Main photo source: PAP / EPA