Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza
Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, was a great-grandson of the last emperor of Brazil, Pedro II, and one of two claimants to the abolished throne.
Early life in Europe
He was born in 1909 in France at Boulogne-sur-Seine during the exile of the Brazilian imperial family, which had been deposed in 1889. His father, Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza, was the second son of the heir to the defunct Brazilian throne, the Princess Imperial Isabel, and Prince Gaston, Count of Eu. His mother was Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The year before Pedro Henrique's birth, she recognized his father, Luiz, as the heir to the succession when Luiz's elder brother, Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará, renounced his claim to the throne on behalf of himself and his descendants.Thus, at birth Pedro Henrique became claimant to the title of Prince of Grão-Pará, according to Article 105 of the defunct Constitution of 1824. He was baptized in the chapel of the Château d'Eu with the waters of the fountain taken from Largo da Carioca, in Rio de Janeiro. His godparents were his paternal grandmother, Princess Isabel of Brazil, and maternal grandfather Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta, Head of the royal house of the Two Sicilies. He and his family lived between the Eu castle and a palace in Boulogne-sur-Seine, both belonging to the Imperial Family. He was raised primarily by his paternal grandmother, and numerous preceptors educated him as future emperor of Brazil.
In 1920, his father died in Cannes of injuries acquired in the trenches of the First World War. In 1920 Brazil's banishment of the Orléans-Braganzas was revoked by the then President Epitácio Pessoa. Pedro Henrique accompanied Count d'Eu when he led part of the Imperial Family back to Brazil, without the aged and infirm Princess Isabel. Grandfather and grandson soon returned to Europe.
Upon the death of his father in 1920 Pedro Henrique became claimant to the title of Prince Imperial, but on 14 November 1921 Princess Isabel died at the Castle d'Eu. So, at age of 12 Prince Pedro Henrique became the head of the imperial family. Had he became emperor, his imperial name would be Dom Pedro III.
He continued living in France with his mother, Princess Maria Pia, where she thought he could get a better education with his siblings Luiz Gastão and Pia Maria. Pedro Henrique was educated at the Ecôle des Sciences Politiques in Paris. He was described by his grandmother as "a very intelligent child".
In 1925, at the age of 16, the Brazilian government ruled against his request to serve in the military.
Life in Brazil
Pedro de Alcântara died in 1940.Pedro Henrique was only able to return to Brazil in 1945, when the Second World War ended. He settled first in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, in the palace of the Grão-Pará, and then in the neighborhood of Retiro, also in Petrópolis. His cousin, Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, the eldest son of Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará, challenged Pedro Henrique's claim to the succession in 1946, on the basis that his father's renunciation had no legal force.
In 1951, D. Pedro Henrique bought a farm, Fazenda Santa Maria, in the town of Jacarezinho, interior of Paraná. In 1965, he returned to Rio de Janeiro, settling in Vassouras, an important city in the days of Empire for coffee production. Pedro Henrique resided at a site called Santa Maria until the end of his life. He was active in the monarchist movement.
On his death in 1981, Pedro Henrique's claim to the throne passed to his eldest son, Luiz.
Titles and honors
Titles
- 13 September 1909 - 26 March 1920: His Imperial and Royal Highness the Prince of Grão-Pará
- 26 March 1920 - 14 November 1921: His Imperial and Royal Highness the Prince Imperial of Brazil
- 14 November 1921 - 5 July 1981 His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza
Honors
- Imperial Order of Christ
- Imperial Order of St. Benedict of Avis
- Imperial Order of Saint James of the Sword
- Imperial Order of the Southern Cross
- Imperial Order of Dom Pedro I
- Imperial Order of the Rose
- Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
- Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion
Marriage and children
- Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza, present head of the Imperial House of Brazil. Unmarried and without issue.
- Prince Eudes of Orléans-Braganza, renounced Imperial succession rights for himself and his descendants on 3 June 1966 and married, firstly, on 14 May 1967 in São Paulo, Ana Maria de Cerqueira César Moraes de Barros, from whom he was divorced in 1976, having had two children. He remarried on 26 March 1976 in Rio de Janeiro, Mercedes Willemsens Neves da Rocha, with whom he had more children.
- Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza, Prince Imperial of Brazil. Unmarried and without issue.
- Isabel Maria Josefa Henriqueta Francisca of Orléans-Braganza. Died unmarried and without issue.
- Pedro de Alcántara Henrique Maria Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga of Orléans-Braganza, renounced Imperial succession rights for himself and his descendants on 28 December 1972 and married on 4 July 1974 in Rio de Janeiro, Maria de Fátima Baptista de Oliveira Rocha, with whom he had children
- Fernando Diniz Maria José Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga of Orléans-Braganza, renounced Imperial succession rights for himself and his descendants on 24 February 1975 and married 19 March 1975 in Rio de Janeiro, Maria de Graça de Siqueira Carvalho Baere de Araújo, with whom he had children:
- Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza, married on 25 September 1981 in Belœil, Princess Christine de Ligne, daughter of Antoine, 13th Prince de Ligne, and Princess Alix of Luxembourg. They have children.
- Princess Eleonora Maria Josefa Rosa Filipa Miguela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga of Orléans-Braganza, married on 10 March 1981 in Rio de Janeiro, Michel, 14th Prince of Ligne, son of Antoine, 13th Prince de Ligne, and Princess Alix of Luxembourg. They have children.
- Francisco Maria José Rasso Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga of Orléans-Braganza, renounced Imperial succession rights for himself and his descendants on 11 December 1980 and married on 28 December 1980 in Rio de Janeiro, Cláudia Regina Lisboa Martins Godinho, with whom he had children
- Alberto Maria José João Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga of Orléans-Braganza, renounced Imperial succession rights for himself and his descendants on 22 December 1982 and married on 11 January 1983 in Rio de Janeiro, Maritza Bulcão Ribas Bockel, with whom he had children
- Maria Teresa Aldegunda Luiza Josefa Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga of Orléans-Braganza, married on 4 November 1995 in Rio de Janeiro, Johannes Hessel de Jong, and they had children
- Maria Gabriela Dorotéa Isabel Josefa Micaela Gabriela Rafaela Gonzaga of Orléans-Braganza, married on 20 December 2003 in Teresópolis, Theodore Senna de Hungria da Silva Machado, from whom she was divorced in 2005. She remarried João Marcos Pilli.
Ancestry