Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, son of the last king of Italy, dies in Geneva at the age of 86

Victor Emmanuel of SavoySon of Umberto II, the last king of Italy. Died this Saturday in Genevawhere his family went into exile in the post-war period at the age of 86, as announced in a statement from the Royal House of Savoy.

“At 7:05 this morning, His Excellency Victor Emmanuel passed away peacefully with his family by his side,” indicated the note from the aristocratic house that ruled Italy from its birth in 1861 until 1946 (and some time in between. Also in Spain for 1871 and 1873, with Amadeo I).

whose death is considered monarchist heir to the throne of Italy (would have been Victor Emmanuel IV) comes a few months in 2023 after he and his wife, former Swiss water ski champion Marina Doria, sold their mansion on the outskirts of Geneva and auctioned off some of the most exclusive items they kept there . ,

Protagonist of many pages of the gossip press during his life, but also of the events section at other times, Víctor Manuel He will turn 87 on February 12And after selling his Geneva home, he moved to the Swiss Alps with his wife.

Born in Naples in 1937, Victor Emmanuel was the son of Umberto II and his wife Maria Jose, daughter of King Albert I of Belgium. At the age of nine, he was already heir to the Italian crown.When his grandfather Victor Emmanuel III abdicated after supporting fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, his father took over the throne.

However, this honor lasted a little more than a month, as his father, nicknamed the May King, took office on May 9, 1946, and he was forced to relinquish it on June 12. Italians will choose to declare a republic in a referendum.

Exiled first to Portugal, eventually to members of the Italian royal family they settled in genevaA city where Victor Manuelle would spend almost 60 years in exile and meet María Doria, belonging to a wealthy local family, while they both played sports on Lake Geneva, which bathes the Calvinist city.

Umberto II was opposed to the marriage between the two, but Victor Manuel and Maria Doria He married not once but twice.: First in 1970 in Las Vegas (USA), and a year later, through the Catholic rite, in the Iranian capital Tehran, where the Italian heir befriended and did business with Shah Reza Pahlavi.

When his father died in 1983, Victor Manuelle took up a There was a long campaign to get the Italian government to allow him to return to the transalpine country.Since the Republican Constitution explicitly prohibited the royal family from setting foot in that area.

He did not achieve this until late 2002, when, along with his wife and his only son Manuel Filiberto He arrived in Rome to take the oath to the Republican Constitution. and met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, whom he thanked for mediating with the Italian government to allow this historic return.

an heir to the throne who was imprisoned twice

On the other hand, Victor Emmanuel of Savoy was involved in shocking events, which led him had to go to jail twice, although summarily dismissed and ultimately acquitted of the main charges. One of the most notorious cases occurred in Corsica (France) in 1978, when Accused of murder of young German Dirk Hammer in the shootout.

He was acquitted because it was believed that the fatal shot was not from Victor Manuelle’s weapon, although his later conversations leaked by the Italian press indicate that The courts could have been misled during the investigation.

He was also involved in Italy Corruption conspiracies and other crimes that landed him in jail againHowever, ultimately he too was acquitted.

In Spain, 20 years ago, on the occasion of the wedding between the current King Felipe VI and Letizia, Víctor Manuel de Savoy was involved in an uncomfortable incident at a private dinner hosted by the then Prince of Asturias. By killing his cousin Amadeo of Aosta, with whom he disputed the unrecognized title of heir to Italy.

In Geneva he maintained a more discreet profile, although his villa at Vercenaz, on the outskirts of the city, was famous for its distinctive architectural form that imitated classical ruins, It became the scene of parties attended by celebrities.French rocker Johnny Holiday is among them.