Maria Leopoldina had great prominence in Brazilian politics, either when the Portuguese court returned to Portugal, or behind the scenes of the friction between Brazil and Portugal until the moment of Independence in 1822. While Dom Pedro I still maintained the possibility of maintaining the United Kingdom with Portugal, Maria Leopoldina had already found that the most prudent path was the total emancipation of the metropolis. Maria Leopoldina's intellectual and political education, combined with her strong sense of duty and sacrifice on behalf of the State, were fundamental to Brazil, especially after King John VI, under Portuguese pressure, was forced to return to Lisbon. In view of the fact that she was an Archduchess of Austria and member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and who had been educated under an aristocratic and absolutist regime, Maria Leopoldina did not hesitate to defend ideals and more representative forms of government for Brazil, influenced by liberalism and constitutionalism.