His father, a very intelligent man, was King Charles III's favorite son, but he and his wife died in 1788 of
smallpox. King Charles III also died the same year; his successor
Charles IV of Spain sent the child away to Portugal, as requested by his grandmother, Queen
Maria I of Portugal. Maria was worried about the
Braganza succession and Pedro Carlos was then her only grandchild. He was raised by Maria, who created him an infante of Portugal. Pedro Carlos had inherited a large fortune from his father and was welcomed in Portugal. In 1792 his grandmother was officially declared insane and her son
John, uncle of Pedro Carlos, became Regent of Portugal. In 1807,
France invaded Portugal, and the royal family fled to Brazil, including Pedro Carlos. They left on 29 November on board the
Príncipe Real. They arrived in
Salvador de Bahia on 2 January 1808 and headed from there to
Rio de Janeiro, where the infante lived in the
São Cristovão Palace. ==Marriage==