Overview
According to article 105 of the Constitution of 1824, the title should be used to designate to the first in line to the imperial throne. The Constitution also specifies that the eldest son of the Imperial Prince should be designated the Prince of Grão-Pará, indicating the second in line of succession.
The last Emperor of Brazil, Pedro II, died in 1891, two years after the abolition of the Brazilian monarchy. His daughter, Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil, was the last holder of the title during the existence of the Empire. Since then, the title has been used by the heir to the Head of the Brazilian Imperial House.
All the Brazilian princes (the Imperial Prince, the Prince of Grão-Pará and the other princes) were guaranteed a seat at the Senate after they reached the age of 25. However, for various reasons, including premature death and marriage with foreign dynasts, only D. Isabel actually sat in the Senate, becoming the first Brazilian woman to be a senator.
Finally, according to the Constitution and some later rules created by the Brazilian Imperial House, the princes in the line of succession must marry with members of other dynastic houses in order to keep the égalite de naissance to maintain their imperial titles. A princess who marries the head of another dynastic house would not transmit her Brazilian titles to their offspring, and the princes could not assume a foreign throne and keep their Brazilian titles. These restriction are aligned to Portuguese and French royal traditions, as well as to the Salic Law.
Read more about this topic: Prince Imperial Of Brazil