Well, well...I see I find family discord after all BrazilianEmpire.
The Imperial Family of Brazil
So we have TWO possible heads of the Brazilian Imperial family. Yep, always the way.
Not exactly, A.A. Until 2007, there was the rightful heir to the Brazilian Throne, His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Luiz, Head of the Brazilian Imperial House, and his jealous and ambitious first cousin once removed, His Royal Highness
Prince Pedro Gastão, 3º Prince of Orleans-Braganza, who wanted the Throne for himself.
Why? The history begins in 1908, when the eldest son of
Princess Isabel (1846-1921), Head of the Brazilian Imperial House,
Prince Pedro de Alcântara (1875-1940), decided to marry with
Countess Elisabeth Dobržensky de Dobrženicz (1875-1951). As the Countess was not from Royal Blood,
Princess Isabel decided that his son should renounce his rights to Brazilian Throne, and that was what he did. He renounced for
himself and all his descendants. Here it is the document the Prince signed:
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/931187_371761106262704_226229542_n.jpg
Princess Isabel's second son,
Prince Luiz Maria (1878-1920), become the Prince Imperial, heir to Headship of the Brazilian Imperial House, but he died a year before his mother. So, when
Princess Isabel died, in 1921, her grandson,
Prince Pedro Henrique (1909-1981), succeed her, as Head of the Brazilian Imperial House and Emperor
de jure of Brazil.
During all his life,
Prince Pedro de Alcântara supported his nephew, never trying to reclaim his succession rights. After the Prince's death, in 1940, his eldest son,
Prince Pedro Gastão (1913-2007), started to say that he was the rightful Emperor of Brazil, but he never has much support of the Monarchists, nor his brother and sisters agreed with him. When he died, in 2007, the "Dynastic Question" died with him, no one form the so-called "Petrópolis Branch" has maid any claim since then. His oldest son,
Prince Pedro Carlos, has declared himself a Republican.
Today, all the Monarchist organizations, the media, and even the Government recognize
Prince Luiz as the Head of Imperial House.
As for Astrid (the author of the article), she and her followers are a laughingstock by all the Monarchists, because they support a Republican Prince who has no interest in Monarchy.