He became the adopted son, along with his cousin Agustín de Iturbide y Green, of Mexico's only other imperial couple—Emperor Maximilian I and Empress Carlota.

As it became clear that Maximilian and Carlota could have no children together, they offered to adopt Salvador along with his cousin, Agustín de Iturbide y Green.

[2] They formally adopted the cousins and granted them the title Prince de Iturbide and style of Highness by imperial decree on 16 September 1865.

[5] In Vienna, Itúrbide became the friend of a young Hungarian aristocrat, Baron Gyula Gáspár Mikos de Taródhaza who had just returned from a long trip through South America.

Following the marriage the pair lived in Mikosdpuszta, but the owner of the estate, Baron János Mikos, sold the castle in 1881.