Pedro IV of Brazil

From Daily Escape

Pedro IV of Brazil
6th Monarch of the Empire of Brazil
Reign September 5, 2007 — present
Coronation	to be determined
Born	August 19, 1977 (age 30)
Predecessor	Luís I of Brazil
Heir-apparent	none yet
Consort	none yet
Issue	none yet
Royal House	House of Orléans-Braganza
Father	Luís I
Mother	Élisabeth Louise of France

Pedro IV (baptized as Pedro Luís Maria José Jorge Miguel Rafael Gabriel de Orleans e Bragança; born August 19, 1977) is the current Emperor of Brazil. He succeeded his father, Emperor Luís I, upon the latter's death. His full title is His Imperial and Royal Highness Pedro Luís Maria José Jorge Miguel Rafael Gabriel de Orleans e Bragança, By the Grace of God and Unanimous Acclamation of the People, Constitutional Emperor and Perpetual Defender of Brazil.

Tall, urbane, intelligent, and handsome, Pedro is widely anticipated to be an able Emperor. He has been groomed for the role since an early age. Like his siblings, he was educated at prestigious Swiss institutes as a child. In addition to the typical subjects taught to children, he was also taught by his parents how to be a good monarch who would both rule and serve his people responsibly and honorably. As his father told him, "Being a monarch is not a privilege, but a gift; and you use this gift for the betterment of all the people."

He is regarded as fair, open-minded, and pragmatic, due to his willingness to listen to and respect different viewpoints. He has, for example, read numerous tomes on Marxism and fascism, in spite of his personal revulsion toward those ideologies. He has had friends of almost every political persuasion, and respects others' opinions no matter how farfetched or reprehensible they may seem to him personally. He himself is a paleolibertarian, having studied at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Alabama. He has read Human Action, For a New Liberty, The Road to Serfdom, Democracy: The God that Failed, and Liberty or Equality, each of which played a role in shaping his political outlook. As a teenager, he briefly flirted with Objectivism after reading Rand's Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal, though he later became a critic of the ideology and embraced Rothbardian paleolibertarianism (although, unlike Rothbard, he is not an anarcho-capitalist).

Pedro showed his personal devotion to his country and people by volunteering in the Brazilian Imperial Army for five years, from the ages of 17-22. He was respected in the military as bright, inquisitive, attentive, and a relatively quick learner; by the time he left the military to attend university, he had attained the rank of colonel.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University. He has written several books on Brazilian history, including a highly-regarded biography of his great-great-great-grandfather, Emperor Pedro II. He previously taught history at Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn University in Brasília. In spite of his royal status, he strongly insisted that his students treat him as they would anyone else - no better, and no worse.

Unlike his siblings and parents, he is a strict teetotaler and has never drank or smoked in his life. His hobbies include fishing, hiking, rock climbing, camping, swimming, and futebol (soccer). He is also an amateur violen player. He enjoys dark chocolate, strong coffee, and classical music.

Like his sister, Amélia, he is unmarried.

Upon his ascension to the throne, he gave up his teaching position. He plans to devote his time and energies to his royal duties, so that he may ably serve his people.