Amélia, Princess Imperial of Brazil

From Worldatplay

Amélia, Princess Imperial of Brazil
Born	September 19, 1980 (age 27)
Title	Princess Imperial of Brazil
Royal House	House of Orléans-Braganza
Father	Luís I
Mother	Maria Pavlovna, Grand Duchess of Russia
Consort	None

Amélia, Princess Imperial of Brazil (baptized as Amélia Maria Joana Carlota Leopoldina de Orleans e Bragança; born September 19, 1980) is the third child and eldest daughter of Emperor Luís I of Brazil. As the eldest daughter, she holds the title of Princess Imperial.

Amélia currently works as a veterenarian at a prestigious animal hospital in Rio de Janeiro; she treats pets for free (and covers the costs with her own money) for patients who cannot afford the treatment. In her spare time, she volunteers in various animal shelters across Brazil, and is very active in animal rights organizations; however, she is not a vegetarian, and she is extremely critical of "extremist" groups like PETA. "Animals are not humans and do not deserve human rights. They do, however, deserve to be treated humanely," she likes to say.

Her love of animals dates back to her childhood, when she would regularly keep injured or abandoned animals and nurse them back to health. The feeling was mutual: animals always took an instant liking to her. Even the meanest, most anti-human animals would warm up to her right away. She knew from the age of 4 that she wanted to work with animals when she was older.

She is a staunch cultural and social conservative and a deeply pious Catholic; however, as a classical liberal, she believes that "You cannot legislate or regulate morality." For example, while she personally is very strongly opposed to abortion, gay marriage, etc., she recognizes that it is not the government's place to decide on these issues. She is also critical of homophobia: "Hate the sin, love the sinner."

She is deeply loved by Brazilians for her compassionate nature. In addition to her work with animals, she also volunteers in nursing homes and children hospitals and donates generously to the needy. She is, however, vehemently opposed to welfarism: "People have a moral, not a legal, obligation to help their fellow man," she says. "Charity through extortion is not charity at all, but is a mockery of justice and a blatant affront to morality." She believes that voluntary charity and free markets, not government interventionism, are the best way to help the poor. She is a member of both the Mont Pelerin Society and the Property and Freedom Society.

She is currently engaged to Charles XII of France.