Death of Italy’s Last Crown Prince

Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Napels, has died this morning at 7:05AM. The former and last Crown Prince of Italy died in his home in Geneva, Switzerland at the age of 86. This was announced in a statement shared by the family.

The prince was born in Napels, Italy on February 12th 1937 as the only son of the then Crown Prince Umberto of Italy and Princess Marie Josée of Belgium. His grandfather King Vittorio Emanuele III gave him the title Prince of Napels.

After the Second World War his grandfather abdicated the throne in 1946, making Umberto II King of Italy and Vittorio Emanuele Crown Prince. Umberto’s rule would only last a month as in a referendum Italians voted to end the monarchy. His parents lived in exile in Cascais, Portugal and Geneva, Switzerland.

In the seventies he married the Swiss commoner Marina Doria. The couple has one son; Emanuele Filiberto. By marrying a commoner Vittorio Emanuele loses the rights to the Italian throne. His cousin the Duke of Aosta is considered the heir, though the claim has been disputed by the Prince of Napels.

The prince is survived by his wife, Princess Marina, a son Prince Emanuele Filiberto and two granddaughters, Princesses Vittoria and Luisa.

Filed under Italy
Tagged Death, Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy.