Dom Pedro II of Brazil arranges for his daughters to be married, but they find that they each prefer the other’s fiancé!

>In 1864 [Dom Pedro](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Pedro_II_circa_1887b_transparent.png)’s daughters, [Dona Isabel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Isabel_circa_1865_01.jpg) and [Dona Leopoldina](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Princess_Leopoldina_around_1864_oval.png) were married, the first on 15 October, the second on 15 December. It is said that when the two suitors arrived – [Gaston, the count d’Eu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Gaston_Count_of_Eu.jpg) (son of [the duc de Nemours](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Louis%2C_Duke_of_Nemours.jpg), married to [Victoria of Saxe-Coburg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Full_portrait_of_HRH_The_Duchess_of_Nemours_by_Winterhalter_%28Princess_Victoria_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha%29.jpg\)), and his cousin [Luís Augusto, duke of Saxe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Pes_18339.jpg) – everything had been fixed. It was to be Augusto for Isabel, Gaston for Leopoldina. But when they got to know them the sisters exchanged suitors. ___________________________ **Source:** Schwarcz, Lilia Moritz., and John Gledson. “The Empire of Festivals and the Festivals of the Empire.” *The Emperor's Beard: Dom Pedro II and the Tropical Monarchy of Brazil*. Hill and Wang, 2004. 230. Print. ___________________________ **Further Reading:** [Dom Pedro II of Brazil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_II_of_Brazil) [Dona Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel,_Princess_Imperial_of_Brazil) [Princess Dona Leopoldina of Brazil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Leopoldina_of_Brazil) [Gaston, Count of Eu / Gaston of Orléans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston,_Count_of_Eu) [Prince Louis of Orleans, Duke of Nemours (Louis Charles Philippe Raphaël d'Orléans)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Louis,_Duke_of_Nemours) [Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Victoria Franziska Antonia Juliane Luise)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Victoria_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha) [Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Ludwig August Maria Eudes)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Ludwig_August_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha)