Claim: Maria I of Portugal was royalty.

Dona Maria I -LRB- English : Mary I ; 17 December 1734 -- 20 March 1816 -RRB- was Queen of Portugal , Brazil , and the Algarves . Known as Maria the Pious -LRB- in Portugal -RRB- , or Maria the Mad -LRB- in Brazil -RRB- , she was the first undisputed Queen regnant of Portugal . With Napoleon 's European conquests , her court , then under the direction of Prince Dom João , the Prince Regent , moved to Brazil , then a Portuguese colony . Later on , Brazil would be elevated from the rank of a colony to that of a kingdom , with the consequential formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal , Brazil and the Algarves .