On 11 December 1826, Empress Leopoldina died after either giving birth to a stillborn son or suffering a miscarriage. However, at the time there were rumors that purported Pedro had actually killed Leopoldina during a heated discussion. Supposedly, Pedro had kicked Leopoldina in the womb, causing her to have a miscarriage and die. Domitila de Castro, Pedro's longtime mistress, and Philipp von Mareschal, the Austrian minister in Brazil, had witnessed the quarrel and Mareschal stated that the couple exchanged only insults and nothing else.