Pedro Thiago, Prince Imperial of Brazil

Dom Pedro Thiago, Prince Imperial of Brazil (born 12 January 1979) is a member of the Imperial House of Brazil and the Prince Imperial of Brazil according to the disputed claims of the Imperial Family's Petrópolis branch, being the first in the line of succession to the Brazilian throne as heir to his father Pedro Carlos, Prince of Brazil. After his father, he is the most senior member of the House of Orléans-Braganza and great-great-grandson in male lineage of Empress Isabel of Brazil. A controversial figure, in 2022 Pedro Thiago proclaimed himself Head of the Imperial House of Brazil in place of his father, accusing him of being a republican.

Early life
Pedro Thiago was born in Petrópolis, the first of the two sons of Pedro Carlos, then Prince Imperial of Brazil, and his first wife Rony Kuhn de Souza, who died two days after his birth. According to Petrópolis branch claims, when he was born, as the Prince Imperial's eldest son, he was styled Prince of Grão-Pará until his grandfather's death in 2007, when he became Prince Imperial of Brazil himself.

On 26 May 1992, Pedro Thiago was kidnapped while on his way to school and held for a ransom reported at $5 million. He was freed on 2 June after police raided a house in a Rio de Janeiro suburb. In January 2002, he was indicted on charges relating to the theft and then sale of a set of porcelain dishes from the Palace of Grão-Pará belonging to his aunt Princess Christina.

Education and career
Prince Pedro Thiago holds a degree in physical education from Estácio de Sá University, having later studied architecture and urbanism at the same university, without ever completing it. Throughout his life, the Prince has held various jobs as a ship's pilot, a professional runner and has been a model. In 2001 he applied to join the Civil Police in which he served for a period until he was dismissed. In 2004 the Prince moved from the Palace of Grão-Pará in Petrópolis to the neighborhood of Jacarepaguá, in Rio de Janeiro, with his then girlfriend, businesswoman Patrícia Lima, becoming a professional cyclist in the downhill category, in which he was considered the 11th best in the world. In 2020 Pedro Thiago ran for vice mayor of the city of Petrópolis by the far-right Brazilian Labor Renewal Party, but without success.

Dynastic activities
In 2022 Prince Pedro Thiago, until then obscure, claimed for himself the headship of the Imperial House of Brazil under the name of Pedro VI, supplanting his father, whom he accuses of having abandoned any claim to the throne for having supposedly declared himself a republican. Pedro Thiago's claim had no effect on the Brazilian monarchist movement, nor on those who support the Petrópolis branch. However, based on the assumption that the Head of the Imperial House is de jure Emperor of Brazil, some monarchists consider that the Prince acted in a criminal manner in violation of article 87 of the Criminal Code of the Empire of Brazil, which establishes:

Art. 87. Trying directly, and by deed, to dethrone the Emperor; deprive him in whole or in part of his constitutional authority; or change the legitimate order of succession. Penalties - imprisonment with labor for five to fifteen years. If the crime is consummated. Penalties - life imprisonment with maximum labor; prison with labor for twenty years on average; and for ten years at least.

And therefore, having attacked the position of the legitimate Head of the Imperial House, Pedro Thiago became ineligible to succeed him, theoretically losing the title of Imperial Prince, passed to his brother, Prince Filipe Rodrigo. Furthermore, due to the conflicts he had with his family, as in the case where he stole pieces from his aunt the Princess of Sapieha-Rozanski, and with his own father, and his controversial issues, Pedro Thiago has very little relationship with the international nobility and royalty.

Titles and styles

 * 12 January 1979 – 27 December 2007: His Imperial Highness The Prince of Grão-Pará
 * 27 December 2007 – present: His Imperial Highness The Prince Imperial of Brazil

Honours
Pedro Thiago has been a recipient of the following honours:
 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Emperor Pedro I
 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Rose