Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza

Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza (born 31 October 1945) is one of two claimants to the defunct Brazilian throne, and head of the Petrópolis branch of the Imperial House of Brazil.

Life

Prince Pedro Carlos was born in Rio de Janeiro, 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 cousin of Prince Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France (born 1933), Orléanist pretender to the French throne, and great grandnephew of Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (born 1945), 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 cousin of Juan Carlos I of Spain (born 1938).

Dynastic position

Prince 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. The validity of his claim to headship of the Imperial dynasty and to the Brazilian throne, if restored, is disputed by those who consider his grandfather's renunciation valid and binding upon his descendants.

Career

Pedro Carlos is a forest engineer.

Marriages and family

Pedro Carlos has been married and widowed twice. Each marriage has resulted in one son.

He married Rony Kuhn de Souza (20 March 1938 – 14 January 1979) on 2 September 1975, at Petrópolis. Together, they had one son:

• Prince Pedro Thiago of Orléans-Braganza (born 12 January 1979) – Prince Imperial of Brazil according to supporters of the Petrópolis branch's claim.

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 (22 November 1964 – 21 November 2009). The couple had one son:

• Prince Filipe Rodrigo of Orléans-Braganza (born 31 December 1982).

His second wife died at the Palácio do Grão-Pará in Petrópolis.

Honours

National honours

• Medal of the Order of Cultural Merit

Dynastic honours

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Pedro I
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Rose
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Christ
• Knight Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George

Ancestry