Hilda Toledano - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Maria Pia de Saxe-Coburgo e Bragança, also known as María Pía de Sajonia Coburgo-Braganza de Laredo; and as Hilda de Toledano (March 13, 1907 – May 6, 1995) was a woman who claimed to be an out-of-wedlock

Legitimacy (law)

At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...

child of King Carlos I of Portugal

Carlos I of Portugal

-Assassination:On 1 February 1908 the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by train to Barreiro and, from there, they took a steamer to cross the Tagus River and disembarked at Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the open...

. She also claimed that King Carlos I had recognized her as his daughter and given her the same rights and honours as legitimately-born princes of Portugal. From 1957 she claimed the right to use the royal title Duchess of Braganza

Duke of Braganza

The title Duke of Braganza in the House of Braganza is one of the most important titles in the peerage of Portugal. Since the House of Braganza acceded to the throne of Portugal in 1640, the male heir of the Portuguese Crown was known as the Duke of Braganza and Prince of Brazil until 1822, or...

and made an active claim to be the rightful Queen of Portugal. In 1983 a Portuguese court declared that she had failed to present sufficient evidence to establish King Carlos I as her father.

Birth and baptism

Maria Pia was born in Portugal to Maria Amélia Laredó e Murça, the daughter of a wealthy Brazilian couple who had moved to Europe. Maria Amélia's parents are sometimes given the title "baron", but they did not actually hold any noble title; their wealth, however, may have allowed them to use such a title unquestioned.

Maria Amélia was not married at the time she gave birth to her daughter on March 13, 1907. Maria Pia claimed that, shortly thereafter, she was taken by her mother and grandparents to Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. There, she said, she was baptised in the Church of Saint Fermin dos Navarros on April 15, 1907 and that the baptism was registered at the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and Saint Aloysius. She claimed that her baptismal registration recorded that her father was "D. Carlos de Sassonia-Coburgo y Savoya de la Casa de Braganza de Portugal". This clearly refers to King Carlos I of Portugal, who at the time was married to another woman, Princess Amélie of Orléans.

The original baptismal registers of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and Saint Aloysius were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

. In 1939 the Vicar-General of the Diocese of Madrid-Alcalas issued a baptismal certificate to Maria Pia with information provided to him at that time by Don Antonio Goicoechea y Cusculluela, a member of the Spanish parliament and the Governor of the Bank of Spain, who had reportedly been present at the baptism. Subsequently Maria Pia used this baptismal certificate as evidence for her claim to be the recognised daughter of King Carlos.

Maria Pia also claimed that in the archives of the Diocese of Madrid-Alcala there was a copy of a document signed by King Carlos March 14, 1907 in which he recognised Maria Pia as his daughter and that "she may be called by my name and enjoy from now on the use of this name with the honours, prerogatives, rank, obligations and advantages of the princes of the House of Braganza of Portugal". Like the baptismal certificate, the original of this document did not survive.

Marriages and children

In 1925 at the age of eighteen Maria Pia married Francesco Javier Bilbao y Batista, a Cuban playboy twenty years her senior. He came from a rich family of cattle breeders. Since Bilbao was divorced, the marriage was a civil one only and took place in the Cuban embassy in Paris. They had one daughter, Fátima Francisca Xaviera Iris Bilbao de Saxe-Coburgo Gotha e Bragança, in 1932, but she was reportedly developmentally disabled.

Maria Pia lived briefly with Bilbao in Cuba, before returning to Spain. Bilbao died November 15, 1935. Francisca died unmarried in 1982.

To escape the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

, Maria Pia moved with her mother to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. In 1939 she married Giuseppe Manlio Blais, a general in the Italian carabinieri

Carabinieri

The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...

. At the time, members of the carabinieri were forbidden from marrying foreigners. The marriage was, therefore, celebrated clandestinely, and was not registered civilly until August 5, 1946. The union proved much happier and together they had a daughter, Maria da Glória Cristina Amélia Valéria Antónia Blais de Saxe-Coburgo Gotha e Bragança, born in 1946. Maria Cristina married the Spanish sculptor Miguel Ortíz y Berrocal

Miguel Berrocal

Miguel Ortíz y Berrocal was an artist known for his puzzle sculptures. He was born in Villanueva de Algaidas, Málaga, Spain, and married Maria Cristina de Bragança . He received formal training in mathematics, architecture, chemistry, and art...

(1933–2006) and together they lived in Verona and had two sons: Carlos Miguel Berrocal de Saxe-Coburgo Gotha e Bragança (born 1976) and Beltrão José Berrocal de Saxe-Coburgo Gotha e Bragança (born 1978).

Blais died in 1983. In 1985, Maria Pia married António João da Costa Amado-Noivo (January 28, 1952 - December 29, 1996). At the time of the wedding, Maria Pia was 78, Amado-Noivo 33.

Literary career

Like many society ladies Maria Pia supplemented her income by writing. In the early 1930s she had a number of articles published in two Spanish newspapers Blanco y Negro
Blanco y Negro (newspaper)
Blanco y Negro was a newspaper published in Spain during the 1930s.Among others, it published articles by Hilda Toledano , a writer and pretender to the throne of Portugal....

and ABC
Diario ABC
ABC is a Spanish national daily newspaper founded in Madrid on January 1, 1903, by Torcuato Luca de Tena y Alvarez-Ossorio. ABC started as a weekly newspaper until it turned daily in June 1905. Today, ABC is the third largest general-interest newspaper in Spain, and the oldest newspaper still...

.

In 1937, Maria Pia wrote her first book La hora de Alfonso XIII (The Hour of Alfonso XIII) published in Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, by Ucar, Garcia y Companía. This work, written in Spanish and published under the name "Hilda de Toledano", is a defence of King Alfonso XIII of Spain

Alfonso XIII of Spain

Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria, was appointed regent during his minority...

, who was living in exile at the time.

In 1954, Maria Pia wrote Un beso y ... nada más: confidencia consciente de una pecadora inconsciente (A Kiss and ... Nothing More: Conscious Confidences of an Unconscious Sinner) published in Madrid by Plenitud. This work was also written in Spanish and published under the name "Hilda de Toledano". It is a novel, but one which clearly draws heavily upon certain incidents in the life of the author.

In 1957, Maria Pia wrote Mémoires d'une infante vivante (Memoirs of a Living Infanta) published in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

by Del Duca. This work, written in French and published under the name "Maria Pia de Saxe-Cobourg Bragance", is an autobiography. It marks the first attempt of Maria Pia to receive widespread public recognition for her claim that she was the bastard daughter of King Carlos I of Portugal. In the book, however, Maria Pia makes no claim to any dynastic rights. The book closes with the sentence, "I claim no sceptre but my pen, no crown but that bequeathed by my father and mother: my dignity." Instead, Maria Pia suggests that the rightful heir to the Portuguese throne should be Princess Isabelle d’Orléans, eldest child of Henri, comte de Paris

Henri, comte de Paris

Henri of Orléans, Count of Paris , was the Orléanist claimant to the throne of France from 1940 until his death.-Early life:...

Active claim to the Portuguese throne

For at least several decades Maria Pia had claimed to be the bastard daughter of King Carlos I, and even to be entitled to the style "Her Royal Highness" and the title "Infanta". It was not, however, until 1957 that she claimed to be the rightful queen of Portugal in succession to Manuel II

Manuel II of Portugal

Manuel II , named Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Francisco de Assis Eugénio de Bragança Orleães Sabóia e Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha — , was the last King of Portugal from 1908 to 1910, ascending the throne after the assassination of his father and elder brother Manuel...

, the son of Carlos I (and the purported half-brother of Maria Pia) who had died childless in 1932.

On July 15, 1957 a group of ten Portuguese monarchists published a petition asking Maria Pia to claim the throne. In 1958 she went to Portugal where she was received by the President Francisco Craveiro Lopes

Francisco Craveiro Lopes

Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes da Silva de Tovero , 6th Viscount de Molenos-Craveiro, GCTE, ComC, GCA, , was a Portuguese politician and military man...

; the Prime Minister, António de Oliveira Salazar

António de Oliveira Salazar

António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...

, however, refused to meet her. In the presidential elections that year Maria Pia supported the failed candidacy of Humberto Delgado

Humberto Delgado

Humberto da Silva Delgado, GCL was a General of the Portuguese Air Force and politician.Delgado was born in Brogueira, Torres Novas. He was the son of Joaquim Delgado and wife Maria do Ó Pereira and had three younger sisters, Deolinda, Aida and Lídia....

. She continued to support Delgado after he went into exile in Brazil.

From this point forward Maria Pia used the title "Duchess of Braganza". She attracted the support of a small minority of monarchists who were actively opposed to Salazar. Maria Pia played on the rivalry in monarchist circles between the Miguelists and the constitutionalists, presenting herself as the "constitutional" (i.e. liberal) candidate. The support given to Salazar by Miguel's heir at the time, Duarte Nuno

Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza

Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza was a claimant to the throne of Portugal from 1920 until his death.-Birth:...

, in the 1950s enabled Maria Pia even more to represent herself as the liberal and democratic claimant to the Portuguese throne.

Maria Pia was very active in her claim to the Portuguese throne. Articles about her appeared in Italian and Portuguese newspapers. In February 1965, she went to Portugal to visit the tomb of King Carlos. As she was leaving Portugal and returning to Spain, she was arrested and held in custody overnight. She was released without charge at the request of the Italian embassy.

Maria Pia mixed frequently with the jet set idle rich. She claimed that for many years she maintained an ongoing friendship with the exiled King Alfonso XIII of Spain

Alfonso XIII of Spain

Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria, was appointed regent during his minority...

and his son Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia

Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia

Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia, Grandee of Spain , was the second son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and his wife Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg...

, but this is strongly denied by the first wife of the latter, Emmanuela de Dampierre. Much correspondence exists between Maria and members of European royal families recording her efforts to gain legitimacy within royal circles, but most of the replies were merely polite but unsupportive.

Legal case about the baptismal certificate

In October 1966 Duarte Nuno petitioned an ecclesiastical court of the Diocese of Madrid-Alcala to remove the name of King Carlos from the baptismal certificate of Maria Pia. Duarte Nuno claimed that there was no evidence that King Carlos was the father of Maria Pia. It is unusual for a baptismal registration to record the father of a bastard child. The Roman Ritual instructs the officiating priest only to record the father’s name if the father himself requests it or if he is known to be the father from some public authentic document (Titulus XII, caput II). Clearly King Carlos was not present at Maria Pia's baptism, but Maria Pia claimed that the copy of the document purportedly signed by Carlos granting her the rights of the princes of Portugal was sufficient justification in ecclesiastical law for Carlos to be named her father on her baptismal certificate.

In February 1972 the case between Duarte Nuno and Maria Pia moved up to the Sacred Roman Rota, the normal appeal court for the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

. On December 6, 1972 the court found against Duarte Nuno on the grounds that he did not have legal standing in the case, being only the second cousin twice removed of King Carlos. The court did not address the primary question of whether there was sufficient evidence for Carlos being Maria Pia’s father and thus named as such on the baptismal certificate. It did, however, question the necessity of changing a certificate which was over sixty years old.

Had the Roman Rota found in favour of Duarte Nuno, his supporters could have said that the court had determined that Carlos was not Maria Pia’s father. Since the court found against Duarte Nuno, the supporters of Maria Pia were able to say that the court had affirmed the validity of her baptismal certificate and therefore the validity of her claimed parentage – neither of which in fact actually occurred. The court found only that Duarte Nuno did not have the legal standing to bring such a case: "Patres Auditores de Turno ... decreverunt negative, seu non constare de legitimatione actoris ad causam".

Legal case about property in Portugal

In 1982 Maria Pia filed a claim for the restitution

Restitution

The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery. It is to be contrasted with the law of compensation, which is the law of loss-based recovery. Obligations to make restitution and obligations to pay compensation are each a type of legal response to events in the real world. When a court...

of the private real property of the Royal House of Portugal. It was rejected by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice at Lisbon on 14 April 1983. The Court found that Maria Pia had not established the identity of her father, despite the presentation of the same baptismal certificate presented to the court at the Vatican.

Transfer of rights to Rosario Poidimani

Rosario Poidimani (born Syracuse, August 25, 1946) is an Italian businessman and a member of an ancient Sicilian noble

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

family, descending from Gombaldo de Podio, baron of Cugno, Governor of the Castle of Syracuse, in 1299. Luciano Pelliccioni di Poli, a genealogist, has said that the name "Poidimani" is created from the names of Poggio and Manni. The Poggio or Podio are descended in an almost straight line from Boson

Boso of Provence

Boso was a Frankish nobleman from the Bosonid-family, who was related to the Carolingian dynasty, who rose to become King of Provence ....

, King of Provence, the husband of Ermengard of Italy, a great-great-granddaughter of Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

. While Manni is an italianization of the German name of Mann.

In 1979, Rosario Poidimani founded in Pordenone

Pordenone

Pordenone is a comune of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.The name comes from the Latin "Portus Naonis" meaning the port on the river Noncello - History :...

— between Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

and Trieste

Trieste

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

— the "International Institute of Diplomatic Relations". A few diplomats signed the founding documents of that Institute.
On December 2, 1985, Maria Pia signed a document purporting to amend the Portuguese Monarchic Constitution of 1838, and recognising Rosario Poidimani as her eventual heir. On February 19, 1986 she signed a second document affirming that there was a blood relationship between her and Rosario Poidimani – but not stating exactly what this relationship was.

On April 3, 1987, Maria Pia signed a document abdicating her "claim" to the Portuguese throne and transferring her claimed rights to Rosario Poidimani. Several weeks after the document was signed, Maria Pia and Rosario Poidimani held a ceremony in Portugal confirming the abdication. In the abdication document she stated that the reason for her action in favour of Rosario Poidimani was that she has been "totally deprived of the support of my descent".

Since 1987, Rosario Poidimani has styled himself "H.R.H. Dom Rosario of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Braganza, 22nd Duke of Braganza

Duke of Braganza

", and has been active in promoting his claims. He maintains an office in Vicenza

Vicenza

Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

where he lives, but also reportedly visits Portugal regularly. He claims to be a descendant of Luis I of Portugal

Luís I of Portugal

|-...

and a male-line descendant of the Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

Louis the Blind

Louis the Blind was the king of Provence from January 11, 887, King of Italy from October 12, 900, and briefly Holy Roman Emperor, as Louis III, between 901 and 905. He was the son of Boso, the usurper king of Provence, and Ermengard, a daughter of the Emperor Louis II. Through his father, he was...

.

In December 2003, Rosario Poidimani brought a libel suit in Italy against Guy Stair Sainty

Guy Stair Sainty

Guy Stair Sainty, KC*SG is an art dealer and author on royal genealogy and heraldry.-Life and education:Guy Stair Sainty was born on 7 December 1950, the eldest son of Christopher Lawrence Sainty and his second wife Virginia Cade Stair. His father was Chief Engineer and Director of Carrier...

on account of his published analysis of the claims of Maria Pia and Rosario Poidimani, A Brief Response to Statements Made by the Supporters of the late Maria Pia de Saxe-Coburg-Bragança, her Grandson Carlos Miguel Berrocal y Blais, and her Alleged Cognate Rosario Poidimani in Respect of their Claims to the Throne of Portugal. In August 2010 Rosario Poidimani won the suit against Guy Stair Sainty and the Italian Court of Vicenza

Vicenza

Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

condemned Sainty to pay twenty thousand euro for defamation in this article. http://www.ilgiornaledivicenza.it/stories/Cronaca/192318__il_principe_poidimani_batte_il_re_dellaraldica/.

Rosario Poidimani and Roberto Cavallaro, and six others of his close collaborators were arrested in Italy on 22 March 2007 and charged with fraud, forging documents, extortion, and criminal association. The Italian tax police seized 712 fake diplomatic passports, 600 fake diplomatic IDs, 135 forged CD plates and they also took away his throne. Rosario Poidimani claimed to be innocent, and that he acted with legitimacy as pretender and head of the Royal House of Portugal, and that he was a victim of his opponents who support the heir to the throne and actual head of the Royal House of Portugal, Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza

Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza

Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza , is the 24th Duke of Braganza and a pretender to the throne of Portugal.-Birth and education:...

. The Court of Busto Arsizio will decide on the matter.

Death

Maria Pia died in Verona

Verona

Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

in 1995. She was buried with her second husband General Blais in the Cimitero Monumentale of Verona.

Analysis

Maria Pia's claims, and those of Rosario Poidimani, hinge upon the truth or falsehood of the following:

that she was the daughter of King Carlos I
Carlos I of Portugal
-Assassination:On 1 February 1908 the royal family returned from the palace of Vila Viçosa to Lisbon. They travelled by train to Barreiro and, from there, they took a steamer to cross the Tagus River and disembarked at Cais do Sodré in central Lisbon. On their way to the royal palace, the open...

;
that Carlos I had the power to grant succession rights to the Portuguese throne;
that Carlos I in fact gave her succession rights to the Portuguese throne, despite her birth out of wedlock;
that Maria Pia, based on Cortes de Lamego, was the rightful Queen of Portugal, being half-sister of Manuel II;
that Maria Pia, supposedly heir-princess, could marry a foreigner (which she did twice)
that she adopted Rosario Poidimani;
that her daughter Maria da Glória refused her supposed succession rights;
that she could alter the succession line in favour of Rosario Poidimani, a foreigner and adopted son.

There are no original documents which might support the first and third claims. 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 Maria Pia. Anyway, there are some records about the relationship between Maria Pia's mother Maria Amelia Laredó e Murça and King Carlos I. For example, a new biography of Infanta Eulalia of Spain

Infanta Eulalia of Spain

Infanta Eulalia of Spain was a Spanish infanta known for her controversial books.-Early life:Eulalia was born in the Royal Palace of Madrid, the youngest child of Queen Isabella II of Spain and of her husband, Francis of Spain...

was recently published that reveals some letters of the Portuguese King and also reveals the existence of Maria Pia as King Carlos I's bastard daughter. King Alfonso XIII of Spain

Alfonso XIII of Spain

Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria, was appointed regent during his minority...

and his son Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia

Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia

Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia, Grandee of Spain , was the second son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and his wife Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg...

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 as Carlos' bastard daughter.

Traditionally, the only way in which a bastard 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 Amelie and had two sons with her. Children born of adultery were specifically excluded from the line of succession. However, based in one decision of the Cortes de Lamego, Maria Pia claimed to be the rightful Queen of Portugal.

Carlos I was the constitutional king of Portugal. 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.

External links

Maria Pia of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Braganza. Maria Pia's interviews and other appearances on television.
Web of fantasy is revealed as 'last king of Portugal' goes on trial
A Brief Response to Statements Made by the Supporters of the late Maria Pia de Saxe-Coburg-Bragança, Her Grandson Carlos Miguel Berrocal y Blais, and Her Alleged Cognate Rosario Poidimani in Respect of Their Claims to the Throne of Portugal. A critique by Guy Stair Sainty
Guy Stair Sainty
Guy Stair Sainty, KC*SG is an art dealer and author on royal genealogy and heraldry.-Life and education:Guy Stair Sainty was born on 7 December 1950, the eldest son of Christopher Lawrence Sainty and his second wife Virginia Cade Stair. His father was Chief Engineer and Director of Carrier...

, a well-known writer on royal genealogy and heraldry. In August 2010 the Tribunal of Vicenza (Italy) sentenced against Stair Sainty for defamation in this article in favour of the Rosario.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Birth and baptism

Marriages and children

Literary career

Active claim to the Portuguese throne

Legal case about the baptismal certificate

Legal case about property in Portugal

Transfer of rights to Rosario Poidimani

Death

Analysis

Further reading

See also

External links