Infante Pedro Denis, Duke of Loreto

## Infante Pedro

Duke of Loreto

**Infante Pedro of Astério** (Pedro Denis João Gabriel; 19 October 1818 - 9 March 1856), was an Asterian infante by birth and later **Duke of Loreto**, title given to him by his father at his 21st birthday in 1839. The third son and fourth child of the King and Queen of Astério, he grew up in the Royal Palace of Belo Monte alongside his siblings.

> Leopoldina is my world, I don’t know how I survived without her all these years before. She remembers everything about herself and my things too! She always tells me when is someone’s birthday, what events we need to take part, travels, and little things like dinner when I’m working too much. She was sent to my life as a gift, I am sure of that.
>
> Pedro in a letter to his sister Leopolda in 1845

## Biography

**Pedro** was born at the Royal Palace of Belo Monte on 19 October 1818, the son of King Guilherme IV of Astério and his wife Queen Maria Gabriela. He was named after King Pedro II of Astério.

Pedro was particularly close throughout his whole life to his brother, Infante Edgar, as they were only 17 months apart, Pedro being younger, and shared lessons and activities together as the spares to the throne, while their older brother, Infante Henrique, had special lessons as he was the heir.

## Marriage and issue

In 1842, when he was twenty three, Pedro married Princess Leopoldine of Lutz, who was twenty one. Pedro and Leopoldina had five children, although only one of whom lived to adulthood:

* Infante João (18 April 1844 - 9 March 1856), who died at 11 years old alongside his parents and siblings after their ship crashed while in a trip to visit their aunt, the Duchess of Corden.
* Infante Carlos (24 January 1846 - 9 March 1856), who died at 10 years old alongside his parents and siblings after their ship crashed while in a trip to visit their aunt, the Duchess of Corden.
* Infanta Joana (5 August 1849 - 9 March 1856), who died at 6 years old alongside her parents and siblings after their ship crashed while in a trip to visit their aunt, the Duchess of Corden.
* Infante Luis (20 June 1850 - 28 June 1850), who died at 8 days after being born at only eight months as a result of his mother falling from a horse.
* Infanta Clementina (4 November 1854 - 14 October 1924), who wed her first cousin King Guilherme V of Astério and had issue.

The marriage was an arrangement between the families, and they didn’t know each other previously their engagement day, only receiving a portrait of one another months prior. Augustus chose Antonia as wife after learning about her piano skills and love for art, besides knowing five languages (portuguese, spanish, french, english and german) and coming from a family known for their fertility. He made his final decision after seeing a photo of her that was made just for him.

The engagement took place in April 1854 in Escoffier at the Royal Palace of Bloua, and the moment Augustus saw Antonia in person he was heartbroken that she was not the same as her photo and ran away from the ball. In exchange, Antonia spent the night crying in her bed saying that “The Duke hates me! He hates me, I know!”. It was necessary that Augustus younger sister, Princess Wilhelmina, went to talk to her so she could participate in others affairs that was prepared for the young couple.

Later on that week Augustus officially went to talk to his fiancée and apologized for the way he acted, and the couple started a friendship from then own. Antonia talked openly to her two sisters how she didn’t love her husband, how he had lovers once or twice a year and that she encouraged that from him as, that way, she had more free time for herself. Even though it wasn’t a love match, they were devoted to their children, and when something happened to one of them they both stopped whatever they were doing to take care of them.

## Later life

Antonia’s arrival and wedding wasn’t seen as a good one from the people of Escoffier as she was a catholic, but, with time, they realized how she kept her faith for herself and how she asked to all her children to be raised protestant, and they started to like her. However, it is most likely she only chose that so her children would be still in line of succession of the Escoffierese throne, as her brother and sister-in-law struggled with pregnancy, childbirth and how sick their surviving children were.

The death of her older brother, **Infante Pedro**, on March 1856, after the ship he and his family were in to travel to Escoffier to see Antonia messed with her a lot. She was unable to eat properly for weeks, and her husband was scared that she would die of sadness. She would later recover, and the birth of her eldest son, William, helped on that. She would be forever close to him and he was her favorite child, and everyone knew that.

## Death

Antonia died in 7 January 1903, at 83, in the Castle Charlotte, the winter home of the royal family, and was buried in the Royal Cript, at the St. Arthur Abbey in Tesser.

## Titles and Styles

* 12 August 1829 - 5 September 1854: *Her Royal Highness* The Infanta Antonia of Astério
* 5 September 1854 - 7 January 1903: *Her Royal Highness* The Duchess of Corden