Luiz, Prince of Brazil

Luiz of Orleans-Braganza, Crown Prince of Brazil (born 6 June 1938, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France) is the head of the Vassouras branch of the House of Orléans-Braganza and a claimant to the defunct Brazilian throne. The Vassouras branch claims legitimately the throne in opposition to the Petrópolis branch of the Orléans-Braganzas, headed by Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza. Though both Prince Luiz and Prince Pedro Carlos are great-great-grandchildren of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, of the House of Braganza, they dispute leadership over Brazilian Imperial Family due to a dynastic dispute concerning their fathers, who were cousins.

Prince Luiz actively claims the throne and participates in matters concerning Brazil's imperial past and it is widely recognized as the legitimate claimant to the Brazilian throne nationally and internationally among royalty and press.

Early life
Luiz Gastão Maria José Pio was born on 6 June 1938 in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France, as the oldest son Pedro Henrique, Crown Prince of Brazil, the Vassouras great-grandson of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil, and his wife, Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria, granddaughter of King Ludwig III of Bavaria. Through his father, he is a member of the Vassouras branch of the House of Orléans-Braganza, a cadet branch of the House of Braganza and the House of Orléans. Through both of his parents, Luiz is a cousin to many heads of royal families throughout the world, including: Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza; Henri Antoine, Hereditary Prince of Ligne; Archduke Leopold Franz of Austria; and Henri, Count of Paris. Luiz's godparents were Princess Maria di Grazia of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, his paternal grandmother, and Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, his maternal uncle.

Although Prince Luiz was born after revocation of the exile that had been imposed on the Imperial family by Brazil's first Republican government, the aftermath of World War I and World War II detained the entire family in Europe until 1945, when the Vassouras branch of the family was finally repatriated, settling first in the town of Petrópolis (Rio de Janeiro), then to Jacarezinho (Paraná).

On 1957, Luiz returned to Europe to finish his studies, where he graduated in chemistry at the University of Munich. Returning to Brazil in 1967, his family having already moved to Vassouras (Rio de Janeiro), Prince Luiz became a member of the Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, a traditionalist Catholic organization which opposes socialistic land reform and supports conservative politics based on Catholic social doctrine and the principles promoted by Plinio Corrêa de OliveiraPlinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Alongside Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, his Portuguese counterpart he opposes same-sex marital unions, as of a 2015 declaration.

Succession
On 1981, he succeeded Prince Pedro Henrique as the claimant to the Brazilian throne in the Vassouras branch. According to Portuguese legitimist claims, he is de jure Emperor of Brazil ("Luiz I of Brazil").

He and two of his younger brothers (Prince Bertrand and Prince Antônio) have engaged in monarchist proselytism in Brazil. They played major roles during the campaign for the 1993 plebiscite, which represented the first official opportunity for a return of the monarchy to Brazil since the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889. In it, the people were asked to choose which form of government, presidential or parliamentary, and which form of state organization, republic or constitutional monarchy, Brazil should have. The monarchist cause was not successful, receiving 13.2% of the vote against 66% for the republic.

Nowadays, Dom Luiz resides in a house with "no luxury nor splendor" in Higienópolis, a rich borough of São Paulo, Brazil.

Titles and styles

 * 6 June 1938 – 5 July 1981: His Imperial and Royal Highness The Prince Imperial of Brazil
 * 5 July 1981 – present: His Imperial and Royal Highness The Crown Prince of Brazil

Honours
As Head of the House of Orléans-Braganza, Luiz Gastão holds the following positions:
 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Christ
 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of St. Benedict of Avis
 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Saint James of the Sword
 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of the Southern Cross
 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of Emperor Pedro I
 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Grand Master and Sovereign of the Imperial Order of the Rose

Luiz has also been decorated with a number of other honours:
 * Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816).svg Castroan Royal Family of Two Sicilies: Bailiff Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
 * Flag of Portugal (1830).svg Portuguese Royal Family: Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa
 * Flag of the Order of St. John (various).svg Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
 * Flag of the Vatican City.svg Vatican: Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre