Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza


Pedro de Alcântara Carlos João Lourenço Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga de Orléans e Bragança, known as Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza is a forest engineer, one of two claimants to the defunct Brazilian throne, and head of the Petrópolis branch of the Imperial House of Brazil.

Life

Pedro Carlos was born in Petrópolis, the eldest son of six children of Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza and his wife, Princess Maria de la Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He was baptised with the names Pedro de Alcântara Carlos João Lourenço Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga.
Paternally, Pedro Carlos is a first cousin once removed of Prince Jean, Count of Paris, Orléanist pretender to the French throne, and first cousin of Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, pretender to the throne of Portugal and uncle of Prince Peter of Serbia, eldest son of Crown Prince Alexander. On the maternal side, he is also a first cousin of Juan Carlos I of Spain .

Dynastic position

Pedro Carlos is considered to be a claimant to the Brazilian throne by monarchists who believe the 1908 renunciation to dynastic rights of his paternal grandfather was invalid, although a Spanish newspaper has reported that Pedro Carlos subscribes to a republican point of view. Since the death of his father he is genealogically the senior representative of the House of Orleans-Braganza.

Marriages and family

Pedro Carlos has been married and widowed twice. Each marriage has resulted in one son.
He married Rony Kuhn de Souza on 2 September 1975, at Petrópolis. Together, they had one son:
Pedro Carlos' first wife died two days after the birth of their son.
On 16 July 1981, at Fazenda São Geraldo, Pedro Carlos married Patricia Alexandra Branscombe. The couple had one son:
His second wife died at the Palácio do Grão-Pará in Petrópolis.

Honours

National honours

Three of his great-grandparents were grandchildren of King Louis Philippe of France, while other three were grandchildren of King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies.