Princess Leopoldina of Brazil

Leopoldina was born at 6:45 am on July 13, 1847, in the Imperial Palace of São Cristóvão, the second daughter of Pedro II and Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies. Her paternal grandparents were the Emperor Pedro I and Empress Maria Leopoldina, and her maternal grandparents were King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabella.[1]

Leopoldina at age 6, c. 1853

She was baptized in the Cathedral and Imperial Chapel on 7 September 1847, by the bishop chief chaplain and diocesan gift Manuel do Monte Rodrigues de Araújo, Count of Irajá, and her name was given in honor of her paternal grandmother. Her godparents were her uncle and aunt, the Prince and Princess of Joinville—for which C. His de Buthenval, the minister plenipotentiary of Louis Philippe I of France, stood proxy—and Mariana Carlota de Verna Magalhães Coutinho, Countess of Belmonte and chief chamberlain of the Empress.[1] From an early age, Pedro II sought to obtain a preceptor for his daughters. The choice fell on the Countess of Barral, indication of the Princess of Joinville, who began her functions in September 1855. Numerous teachers were instructed to educate the two young women, who followed an elaborate and rigorous system of studies constantly monitored by the Emperor.[2]

The princesses attended classes six days a week, from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. They could only receive visits on Sundays, at parties or on any other occasion determined by the Emperor. The subjects they studied were diverse: Portuguese and its Literature, French, English, Italian, German, Latin, Greek, Algebra, Geometry, Chemistry, Physics, Botany, History (whose subjects were divided by country and period), Cosmography, Drawing and Painting, Piano, Philosophy, Geography, Political economy, Rhetoric, Zoology, Mineralogy, and Geology.[3]

Leopoldina and Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1865)

Pedro II had commissioned Princess Francisca to find in Europe two young princes who could serve as consorts for his daughters. In the Speech from the Throne of May 1864, the sovereign announced the marriage of the princesses without, however, naming names of suitors.[4] However, the two candidates chosen by the emperor—his nephew, Pierre, Duke of Penthièvre, and Philippe, Count of Flanders (son of Leopold I of Belgium)—refused the proposed consortium, leading the monarch to opt for the Princes Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the second son of August of Saxe-Coburg-Gota and Princess Clémentine of Orléans, and Gaston of Orléans, Count of Eu.[5][6][7]

Leopoldina and her husband with their first-born, Pedro Augusto, in 1866

At first it was thought that Ludwig August was to be betrothed to the Princess Imperial and Gaston to Leopoldina, but Pedro II refused to proceed with the negotiations before hearing the opinion of his daughters about the suitors.[8] On 2 September 1864, the princes arrived in Rio de Janeiro. In the days that followed, the initial plans were reversed, as Isabel recalled:

Papa wanted this trip, keeping an eye on our marriages. The Count of Eu was thought of for my sister and the Duke of Saxony for me. God and our hearts decided differently, and on 15 October I had the happiness of marrying the Count of Eu.[7]

The union of Leopoldina and Ludwig August was settled through a marriage agreement between the Emperor of Brazil and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The contract provided, in articles 3, 4 and 5 that, as long as Dom Pedro II did not consider Princess Isabel's succession assured, the couple should—among other things —reside part of the year in Brazil and have their children in Brazilian territory.[9]

Finally, on 15 December 1864, Leopoldina married Ludwig August. The couple received a grant of 300:000$000 for the acquisition of a residence in Rio de Janeiro, from which they and their descendants would have the usufruct, but which would remain as national patrimony.[10] The chosen property was a mansion next to the Palace of São Cristóvão, acquired in June 1865 and baptized as "Palace Leopoldina".[11]

Three of the sons of Leopoldina and Ludwig August; from the left: Pedro Augusto, José and Augusto Leopoldo (1871)

Ten months after suffering a miscarriage, Leopoldina gave birth on 19 March 1866, to the one who would become Dom Pedro II's favorite grandson, Prince Pedro Augusto.[12][13] From then on, the Princess began to live between Brazil and Europe, always returning to her native land for the birth of her children. Thus it was with Augusto Leopoldo and José Fernando—born in 1867 and 1869, respectively. When she discovered she was pregnant with the fourth child, she and her husband decided that they would not return to Brazil, and on 15 September 1870, Prince Luís Gastão was born at Ebenthal Castle in Austria.[14]

At the beginning of 1871, Leopoldina displayed the first symptoms of the disease that would kill her. The gastrointestinal problems and the fever, however, were not associated with the intake of contaminated water that plagued Vienna.[15] In the second week, however, the princess was in a state of worrying prostration. The intermittent fever, the spots on the skin and the hematochezia, classic symptoms of typhoid fever, appeared in the fourth week. The picture evolved rapidly and Leopoldina began to suffer delusions and convulsions, a situation witnessed by Princess Isabel and the Count of Eu.[16]

The princess eventually succumbed to the disease in the afternoon of 7 February 1871, at the age of 23. Clémentine of Orléans described the agony of her daughter-in-law in a letter sent to the Princess of Joinville:

May God's will be done, my good Chica, but the blow is hard and we are very unhappy. The state of my poor Gusty breaks my heart, he sobs at every moment, does not eat nor sleep, and it is a terrible change! She loved him so much. And they were so perfectly happy together! To see such happiness destroyed at age 24 is horrible!! And these poor children! I wrote you Saturday, and Sunday and Monday were calm and quiet. She did not open her eyes, but she heard what was being shouted in her ear, and she certainly recognized her sister's voice, for she spoke a few words in Portuguese. Monday night the doctors found a sensible improvement and we regained hope. The night was calm but by Tuesday morning the chest was taken and at 10 o'clock the doctors declared that there was no hope, and yet I still cared for her on this long day spent by her bed, seeing her so calm and so little changed; but by 4 p.m. the breathing became shorter. The abbot Blumel recited the prayer of the dying, we were all kneeling around her bed, and at 6 p.m. her breathing ceased, without the slightest contraction of her physiognomy. She was really beautiful then, and she had an angelic expression. Now she is lying in a coffin dressed in white silk clothes, a white crown, and her wedding veil over her head. She has not changed, it is good to look at her. She is all surrounded by fresh flowers, of crowns sent by all the princesses. Tomorrow there will be a religious ceremony at home and she will leave for Coburg, where we will all attend, including Gaston and Isabel who are very good. The latter is desperate. I embrace you, pray for us, we much need it. All yours, Clémentine.[17]

In honor of the princess, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria decreed official mourning for 30 days. After the solemn funeral rites celebrated by the apostolic nuncio, Monsignor Mariano Falcinelli Antoniacci, her body was transferred to Coburg, where representatives of all the royal houses of Europe attended its burial. Her body rests in the crypt of St. Augustinkirche, next to the tombs of her husband and children. Every year, until 1922, masses in her memory were celebrated in Vienna.[18][19][20]

• 13 July 1847 – 15 December 1864: Her Highness Princess Leopoldina of Brazil[24]
• 15 December 1864 – 7 February 1871: Her Royal Highness Princess Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Saxony[25]

• Grand Cross of the Order of the Rose[26]
• Dignitary of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa, 6 April 1863[27][28][29]
• Dignitary of the Order of Saint Isabel[27][28]
• Dignitary of the Order of the Starry Cross[28]
• Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of St. Charles[30]