Pedro Luiz of Orléans-Braganza

By 2009, his father's two elder brothers, Luiz and Bertrand were unmarried and had no offspring. His father António 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.

Luiz was killed in the crash of Air France Flight 447 on 1 June 2009. His double-cousin Princess Alix 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.

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.

His name in full was Pedro Luiz Maria José Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga de Orleans e Bragança. His paternal grandparents were Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Bragança, one of two claimants to be head of the Brazilian Imperial House, and Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria. His maternal grandparents were Antoine, 13th 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.

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.

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.

Pedro Luiz of Orléans-Bragança (12 January 1983 – 1 June 2009) was the son of Antônio of Orléans-Braganza and Christine of Ligne. His brothers were Rafael, Amélia and Maria Gabriela, he was the great-great-grandson of Princess Isabel, the last imperial princess of Brazil, and of the imperial prince consort Gastão de Orléans, Count d'Eu, and great-great-grandson of the Emperors Pedro II and Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies.

Prince Pedro Luiz was born on 12 January 1983 in Rio de Janeiro, the elder of the two sons of Prince António of Orléans-Braganza and his Belgian wife, Princess Christine of Ligne.

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.