Pedro the Great
| Pedro V | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King of Portugal | |
| Reign | 15 November 1853 - 24 September 1933 |
| Acclamation | 16 September 1855 |
| Predecessor | Maria II |
| Successor | Pedro VI |
| Regent | Ferdinand II (1853 - 1855) |
| Born | 16 September 1837 Necessidades Palace, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Died | 24 September 1933 (aged 96) Necessidades Palace, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Spouses | Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (m. 1858; died 1859) Duchess Mathilde Ludovika in Bavaria (m. 1862; died 1925) |
| Issue | |
| House | Braganza |
| Father | Ferdinand II |
| Mother | Maria II |
Peter V (Portuguese: Pedro V), better known as Peter the Great (Portuguese: Pedro O Grande) was King of Portugal from 1853 to 1933. At eighty years long, Pedro's reign is the longest of any monarch in history and is generally credited as being a period of revival and long-lasting prosperity following the loss of Portugal's most valuable colony, Brazil in 1822. A conscientious and hard-working monarch, Pedro quickly came to be a widely-beloved figure into the early years of his reign, during which he spearheaded efforts in radically reforming the Portuguese state, which saw drastic improvements in terms of infrastructure, public health, economy, and the military, with the Portuguese Navy becoming one of the most formidable naval forces by the turn of the 20th century.
Born as the eldest son of Queen Maria II and her husband, the German-born King Ferdinand II, Pedro ascended to the throne at the relatively young age of sixteen in 1853, with his father initially serving as regent for the next two years until the young king finally came of age. In 1857, now fit to reign in his own right, Pedro went on to spearhead a series of radical reforms that are often modern and liberal in nature, intending to transform as well as further develop Portugal into a more advanced country. Among these reforms was the expansion of infrastructure across the country, ranging from telegraphs and railways, while public health, in particular, also drastically improved under Pedro's reign. In addition, the economy also experienced a rapid rate of industrialization, while the country's naval forces, the Portuguese Navy was subjected to a series of reforms that sought to make it one of the most formidable navies of Europe despite its comparably small size.
Entering into the 20th century, Pedro's reign also saw Portugal's involvement in the First World War against the Central Powers, against whom Portugal, together with its allies, emerged victorious, resulting in Portugal, through hard-fought negotiations, acquiring the colonies of Kamerun and German East Africa, and the German protectorate of Togoland. Meanwhile, in Pedro's last few years as monarch, Portugal, along with other nations, fell into a period of economic downturn caused by the Great Depression in 1929, during which Pedro, by now a well-respected elderly statesman, gained further popularity for his personal efforts in assisting the afflicted Portuguese public. In 1933, Pedro eventually passed away at the age of ninety-six, with his funeral, despite the King's personal wishes for a generally slimmed-down and modest ceremony, being an event of great splendor and significance, with both the Portuguese public and the international community mourning the passing of "a dedicated, selfless, and visionary king".
Throughout his lifetime, Pedro was married twice, with his first marriage being to Princess Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1858, whose early death just a year later put short to a happy but otherwise childless marriage. Following this, Pedro then remarried to Duchess Mathilde Ludovika in Bavaria, with whom he has four children, including his eldest child and successor, Pedro VI, whom later officially bestowed the epithet of "the Great" onto his late father on the latter's 100th posthumous birthday.