Luiz, Prince of Brazil

Luiz of Orleans-Braganza, Prince of Brazil (born 6 June 1938, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France) is the head of the Vassouras branch of the House of Orléans-Braganza, a claimant to the defunct Brazilian throne as Luiz I. The Vassouras branch claims legitimacy over the throne in opposition to the Petrópolis branch of the Orléans-Braganzas, headed by Pedro Carlos, Prince of Brazil. 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 monarchical political proselytism. He is widely recognized as the legitimate claimant to the Brazilian throne nationally and internationally among monarchists, 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), in the Imperial Palace of Grão-Pará, then to a confortable farm his father bought in Jacarezinho (Paraná).

Formation
He studied in traditional colleges - such as the Jesuit College of Saint Ignatius - and later went to Paris, where he perfected his language learning. He speaks Portuguese, French and German fluently and understands Spanish, Italian and English. 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 Brazilian 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.

From his rise to the headship of the imperial house, he devotes all his time to Brazilian affairs, albeit discreetly. He visits with his brothers the Brazilian cities, where he is received with honors, being a meritorious and honorary citizen of almost all the capitals, honorary member of numerous cultural and historical institutions - such as the Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute.

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

Heirs
Unmarried and childless, his brother, Prince Bertrand, third male children of Prince Pedro Henrique, is his heir as Prince Imperial of Brazil, because Pedro Henrique's second male children, Prince Eudes, renounced his dynastic rights in 1966 to marry a commoner. As Bertrand also don't have children, and the succession to the Brazilian throne, if Bertrand assumed the leadership of the Brazilian imperial house, would belong to Antônio João, sixth man, fourth and fifth Pedro Henrique's male children, Prince Pedro and Prince Fernando, also renounced their rights, the next in the line of succession is Luiz's fifth brother an Pedro Henrique's sixth son, Prince Antônio, and after him inherits the rights his son, Prince Rafael, followed by his daughter, Princess Maria Gabriela.

After the men, and of the descendants of Prince Antônio, follows Luiz's sister Princess Eleanora of Brazil though she married a head of another dynastic house, Michel, 14th Prince of Ligne, and maintained her dynastic status. Eleanora's son, Henri Antoine, Hereditary Prince of Ligne, although not being a Prince of Brazil, is also listed as the next in the line of succession to the throne.

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 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