Analysis
Maria Pia's claims, and those of Rosario Poidimani, have hinged upon the truth or falsehood of the following:
that she was the illegitimate daughter of King Carlos I;
that Carlos I had the constitutional power and the political clout (at a time shortly before his death and the overthrow of his son) to alter the line of succession to the Portuguese throne;
that Carlos I both recognized Maria Pia of Braganza as his daughter and declared her a legitimate heir, despite her birth from an adulterine union;
that Carlos I was able to do the above without causing public scandal or friction within the royal house, particularly in relation to Amélie of Orléans, his wife and their two sons;
that Maria Pia of Braganza, supposedly heir-presumptive, could then marry foreigners and/or commoners (which she did twice), in apparent violation of the Constitution and/or the laws of the Portuguese royal house;
that her daughter Maria Cristina of Braganza , and Maria Cristina's sons, all waived their rights of succession;
that she adopted Rosario Poidimani according to Italian laws comparable to those of Portugal; and that this adoption did not violate the Portuguese royal house's laws and/or the Constitution; and
that she could alter the succession line in favour of Rosario Poidimani, a foreigner and adopted son without authenticated blood relationship to her, although he claimed to be a descendant of Luis I of Portugal.
There are no original documents to support Maria Pia's claims to be both a daughter of Carlos I and an heir to the Dukedom of Braganza and pretender to the throne of Portugal. Maria Pia's baptismal certificate from 1907 was destroyed and there is only a copy of the document in which Carlos I supposedly granted succession rights to her. Nonetheless, there are some records concerning a relationship between Maria Pia's mother Maria Amélia Laredó e Murça and King Carlos I. A biography of Infanta Eulalia of Spain purports to reveal some letters of the Portuguese King and also reveals the existence of Maria Pia of Braganza as King Carlos I's bastard daughter. King Alfonso XIII of Spain and his son Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia seem to have had an ongoing friendship with Maria Pia; her supporters have interpreted this relationship as an affirmation on the part of Alfonso and Jaime that they recognised Maria Pia of Braganza as Carlos's bastard daughter. In fact, most of the letters cited by Maria Pia in support of her claim were simply courteous replies by royals to her numerous queries and salutations.
Traditionally, the only way in which an illegitimate child of a Portuguese monarch could have been made legitimate and take his or her place in the line of succession was if his or her parents subsequently were married. At the time of Maria Pia's birth, Carlos was married to Queen Amélie and had two sons with her. Children born of adultery were specifically excluded from the line of succession.
Carlos I was a constitutional monarch. He did not claim autocratic power, but instead ruled according to the Constitutional Charter of 1826 which stated that the succession to the throne passed only to legitimate descendants. The Constitution, including all matters of succession, could only be amended by the Cortes. Even if Carlos had signed a document granting succession rights to Maria Pia, it would have had no legal value at all.
Just as Carlos could not unilaterally change the Constitutional Charter and grant Maria Pia succession rights, neither could Maria Pia (even if she were rightful queen of Portugal) unilaterally change the Constitution and grant succession rights to Rosario Poidimani above her daughter and grandsons.
The claims of Maria Pia of Braganza (or Hilda de Toledano) are similar to those of several Europeans born outside marriage who entertain the idea of descent from royalty; the late Enrico Vigo, who claimed the Byzantine Crown, is another example.
