Background
He went into exile in Europe with his mother when his grandfather was deposed in 1889, and grew up largely in France, at a family apartment in Boulogne-sur-Seine, and at his father"s castle, the Château d"Eu in Normandy.
He went into exile in Europe with his mother when his grandfather was deposed in 1889, and grew up largely in France, at a family apartment in Boulogne-sur-Seine, and at his father"s castle, the Château d"Eu in Normandy.
In 1908 Dom Pedro wanted to marry Countess Elisabeth Dobržensky de Dobrženicz(1875–1951) who, although a noblewoman of the Kingdom of Bohemia, did not belong to a royal or reigning dynasty. Although the constitution of the Brazilian Empire did not require a dynast to marry equally, his mother ruled that the marriage would not be valid dynastically for the Brazilian succession, and as a result he renounced his rights to the throne of Brazil on 30 October 1908: To solemnize this, Dom Pedro, aged thirty-three, signed the document translated here:
This renunciation was followed by a letter from Isabel to royalists in Brazil:
Nonetheless, a few years before his death Prince Pedro de Alcântara told a Brazilian newspaper:
"My resignation was not valid for many reasons: besides, it was not a hereditary resignation."
After the death of the Princess Imperial in 1921, the deceased Dom Luiz"s son, Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, assumed the position of claimant to the Brazilian throne and was recognized as such by many of Europe"s dynasties. Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza (1911–2003) married Henri, Count of Paris - parents of Henri, the current Orleanist pretender to the throne of France.
Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (1913–2007) married Princess Maria de la Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies - parents of Princess Maria da Gloria, Duchess of Segorbe, the last Crown Princess of Yugoslavia.
Princess Maria Francisca of Orléans-Braganza (1914–1968) married Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza - parents of Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, the current pretender to the throne of Portugal. Prince João Maria of Orléans-Braganza (1916–2005) married Fatima Sherifa Chirine (1923-1990), widow of Prince Hassan Toussoun of Egypt.
Princess Teresa of Orléans-Braganza (1919–2011) married Ernesto António Maria Martorell y Calderó (1921-1985).