Pedro Luiz de Orleans e Bragança

Pedro Luiz of Orléans-Braganza (Pedro Luiz Maria José Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 12 January 1983 – 1 June 2009) was a Brazilian prince of the House of Orléans-Braganza. He was the eldest grandson of Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria. A great-great-grandson of Princess Isabel and her consort Gaston of Orléans, Count of Eu, as well as of Emperor Pedro II and Empress Teresa Cristina, Pedro Luiz occupied a prominent place in the line of succession claimed by Brazilian monarchists. His childless uncle, Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza, is one of the two current claimants to the defunct Brazilian throne, with Pedro Luiz’s father regarded as Bertrand’s immediate successor.

Because of this position, some supporters of Brazilian monarchism expected Pedro Luiz to eventually become the imperial claimant. However, following his death in the crash of Air France Flight 447 in 2009, his younger brother Prince Rafael succeeded him in the line of succession.

Family Prince Pedro Luiz was born on 12 January 1983 in Rio de Janeiro, the elder of the two sons of Prince António of Orléans-Braganza and his Belgian wife, Princess Christine of Ligne.

His name in full was Pedro Luiz Maria José Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga de Orleans e Bragança. His paternal grandparents were Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, one of two claimants to be head of the Brazilian Imperial House, and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria. His maternal grandparents were Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne, and Princess Alix of Luxembourg. His mother's family, the House of Ligne, is one of the oldest and most prominent Wallonian noble families still extant in Belgium. Christine is a niece of Grand Duke Jean, who reigned in Luxembourg until his abdication in 2000.

By 2009, his father's two elder brothers, Prince Luiz and Prince Bertrand, were unmarried and had no offspring. His father António was therefore heir to the claim after his older siblings, and Pedro would, in due course, have been a claimant to the traditional headship of the Imperial House of Brazil, and the nominal Brazilian crown. As with most republics, Brazilian constitutional provisions do not allow for the institution of a Royal House.

Pedro descended from all monarchs of the Kingdom of Portugal, including Dom João VI of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, and the later monarchs of independent Brazil, emperors Dom Pedro I and Dom Pedro II. He was also a descendant of Louis Philippe I, the Orléanist King of the French in the male line, and a distant nephew, by descent, of John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, the 17th-century Dutch prince who was governor of Dutch Brazil in the 1600s.

Career Pedro Luiz held dual Brazilian-Belgian citizenship and was fluent in Portuguese, English and French. The prince moved in infancy with his family to Petrópolis and was enrolled in the Instituto Social São José (Saint Joseph Social Institute), in which education was directed by nuns, and took secondary studies at the Ipiranga School. offstyle = Your Royal Highness

In 1993, Brazilians voted on whether to restore the monarchy in a referendum. Luiz and Bertrand, known for their political beliefs, were denounced not only by some monarchists, Then only ten years old, Pedro Luiz was seen beside his father during the monarchist restoration campaign. Luiz and Bertrand believed that Pedro Luiz would be a better choice if the monarchy were to be reinstated by the Brazilian people. However, the referendum was not successful, with just 13% of the total tally voting in favor of parliamentary monarchy.

Death

Luiz was killed in the crash of Air France Flight 447 on 1 June 2009. His double-cousin Princess Alix of Ligne had planned to travel with him, but took an earlier flight instead. Pedro Luiz's body was among those retrieved from the ocean and was buried in Vassouras in the family's mausoleum on 5 July 2009.

Genealogy

Ancestry

Patrilineal descent Pedro Luiz was a member of the House of Orléans-Braganza, a sub-branch of the House of Bourbon, itself a branch of the House of Capet and of the Robertians.

Pedro Luiz' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. It follows the Dukes of Orléans, the Kings of France, the Dukes and Counts of Vendôme, the Counts of La Marche, the first Duke of Bourbon, a Count of Clermont, and before them, again the Kings of France. The line can be traced back more than 1,200 years and is one of the oldest in Europe.

Robert II of Worms and Rheingau, 770–807 Robert III of Worms and Rheingau, 808–834 Robert IV the Strong, 820–866 Robert I of France, 866–923 Hugh the Great, 895–956 Hugh Capet, 941–996 Robert II of France, 972–1031 Henry I of France, 1008–1060 Philip I of France, 1053–1108 Louis VI of France, 1081–1137 Louis VII of France, 1120–1180 Philip II of France, 1165–1223 Louis VIII of France, 1187–1226 Louis IX of France, 1214–1270 Robert, Count of Clermont, 1256–1317 Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, c. 1280 – 1342 James I, Count of La Marche, 1315–1362 John I, Count of La Marche, 1344–1393 Louis, Count of Vendôme, c. 1376 – 1446 Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme, 1428–1478 François, Count of Vendôme, 1470–1495 Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, 1489–1537 Antoine of Navarre, 1518–1562 Henry IV of France, 1553–1610 Louis XIII of France, 1601–1643 Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, 1640–1701 Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, 1674–1723 Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, 1703–1752 Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, 1725–1785 Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, 1747–1793 Louis Philippe I, King of the French, 1773–1850 Louis, Duke of Nemours, 1814–1896 Gaston, comte d'Eu, 1842–1922 Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza, 1878–1920 Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, 1909–1981 Prince Antônio of Orléans-Braganza, 1950–2024 Prince Pedro Luiz of Orléans-Braganza, 1983–2009