 Pedro II had commissioned Princess Francisca to find in Europe two young princes who could serve as consorts for his daughters.In the Speech from the Throne of May 1864, the sovereign announced the marriage of the princesses without, however, naming names of suitors.However, the two candidates chosen by the emperor—his nephew, Pierre, Duke of Penthièvre, and Philippe, Count of Flanders (son of Leopold I of Belgium)—refused the proposed consortium, leading the monarch to opt for the Princes Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the second son of August of Saxe-Coburg-Gota and Princess Clémentine of Orléans, and Gaston of Orléans, Count of Eu.