Prince Pedro Luiz of Brazil

Prince Pedro Luiz of Brazil (Pedro Luiz Maria José Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 12 January 1983 - 1 June 2009) was the eldest son of Antônio, Prince Imperial of Brazil, and Christine, Princess Imperial of Brazil. His childless uncle, Bertrand, Prince of Brazil, is one of two current claimants to the throne of Brazil.

His siblings were Rafael, Prince of Brazil, Princess Amélia of Brazil and Princess Maria Gabriela of Brazil, he was the great-grandson of Empress Isabel I of Brazil, and Gastão, Count of Eu, and great-grandson of Emperors Pedro II of Brazil and Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies.

Birth
Prince Pedro Luiz was born on 12 January 1983 in Rio de Janeiro, the elder of the two sons of Antônio, Prince Imperial of Brazil and his Belgian wife, Princess Christine of Ligne.

His name in full was Prince Pedro Luiz Maria José Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga. His paternal grandparents were Pedro Henrique, Prince of Brazil, one of two claimants to be head of the Brazilian Imperial House, and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria. His maternal grandparents were Antoine, 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, Luiz, Prince of Brazil and Bertrand, Prince of Brazil were unmarried and had no offspring. His father Prince Antônio 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 John VI (Dom João VI) of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, and the later monarchs of independent Brazil, emperors Peter I and Peter II (Dom Pedro I and Dom Pedro II). He was also a descendant of Louis Philippe I d'Orléans, 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. He graduated in Business Administration in 2005 from IBMEC in Rio de Janeiro after matriculation in 2001, and undertook postgraduate education in economics at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas. After that he worked at the Mariani Bank in Rio de Janeiro until the end of 2007 when he moved to Luxembourg, where he was hired by BNP Paribas (a leading European bank) and did investment management for several companies.

As a member of the "Vassouras branch" of the Brazilian imperial family, he did not share in the income which still flows from all land transactions in Petrópolis under the nineteenth century emphyteutic lease (in contrast to the rival "Petrópolis branch") and was thus able to live comfortably, but "without great luxury". He had no car. He traveled around Rio de Janeiro on foot or by bus. With regard to his lifestyle, he once stated in an interview: "We lead a normal life; we are citizens like everyone else and work to live".

Dynastic role
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, but also by four of their own younger brothers, who tried unsuccessfully to convince them to renounce their traditional claims to the throne in favor of their brother António, and the young Pedro Luiz. 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.

Concerning his status as a prince of a deposed dynasty and of the responsibilities inherent in that position, he affirmed: "We carry this burden and must set an example". He was in search of a suitable fiancée of royal blood, considered an obligation for the future head of the Imperial House of Brazil. In 1999 he became honorary president of Brazil's Monarchist Youth, and also held the Grand Crosses of the Order of Pedro I and of the Order of the Rose.

Pedro Luiz had expressed some opinions about Brazilian politics aside from the monarchy. Regarding the government of President Lula da Silva he stated, "I am very pleased with the economic performance of Brazil, all derived from the policy of Lula da Silva. I am a supporter of the political choices of the Brazilian government which, in my opinion, is diminishing the [economic] gap among Brazilians".

Pedro Luiz was considered by many Brazilian monarchists as the prince that gathered "all the hopes and aspirations [of restoration]" due to the "vigor of youth and the seriousness of his character". Duarte Pio, Duke of Bragança and heir of the abolished Portuguese crown, affirmed: "[Pedro Luiz] is a very intelligent person. I have the best reports of him."

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