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==Patrilineal descent==
==Patrilineal descent==
Ancestry and even the very filiation of Humbert I of Savoy is not clear, as there are four possibilities, one of them giving him a [[Germanic peoples|Teutonic]] ancestry including as his ancestor [[Widukind]].<ref>[http://web.genealogie.free.fr/Les_dynasties/Les_dynasties_celebres/Italie/Dynastie_de_Savoie.htm] {{dead link|date=July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Marek |first=Miroslav |url=http://genealogy.euweb.cz/savoy/savoy1.html |title= savoy/savoy1.html |publisher=[http://genealogy.euweb.cz Genealogy.EU]}}{{Self-published source|date=August 2012}}{{Better source|date=August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geneall.net/I/per_page.php?id=8|title=Umberto I Biancamano, conte di Savoia|publisher=}}</ref> [[Christian Settipani]] proved through contemporary documents that Arnulf of Metz and his ancestors were [[Franks|Frankish]] in the male line, since they were ruled by the Frankish Law.
Ancestry and even the very filiation of Humbert I of Savoy is not clear, as there are four possibilities, one of them giving him a [[Germanic peoples|Teutonic]] ancestry including as his ancestor [[Widukind]].<ref>[http://web.genealogie.free.fr/Les_dynasties/Les_dynasties_celebres/Italie/Dynastie_de_Savoie.htm] {{wayback|url=http://web.genealogie.free.fr/Les_dynasties/Les_dynasties_celebres/Italie/Dynastie_de_Savoie.htm |date=20090228132339 |df=y }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Marek |first=Miroslav |url=http://genealogy.euweb.cz/savoy/savoy1.html |title= savoy/savoy1.html |publisher=[http://genealogy.euweb.cz Genealogy.EU]}}{{Self-published source|date=August 2012}}{{Better source|date=August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geneall.net/I/per_page.php?id=8|title=Umberto I Biancamano, conte di Savoia|publisher=}}</ref> [[Christian Settipani]] proved through contemporary documents that Arnulf of Metz and his ancestors were [[Franks|Frankish]] in the male line, since they were ruled by the Frankish Law.


# [[Humbert I of Savoy]], 980–1047
# [[Humbert I of Savoy]], 980–1047

Revision as of 22:22, 28 August 2015

Umberto II
King of Italy
(more...)
Reign9 May 1946 – 12 June 1946
PredecessorVictor Emmanuel III
SuccessorMonarchy abolished
Enrico De Nicola as President of Italy
Prime MinisterAlcide De Gasperi
Lieutenant General of the Realm
Tenure5 June 1944 – 9 May 1946
MonarchVictor Emmanuel III
Prime Ministers
See list
Born(1904-09-15)15 September 1904
Racconigi, province of Cuneo, Kingdom of Italy
Died18 March 1983(1983-03-18) (aged 78)
Geneva, Switzerland
Burial
Hautecombe Abbey, France
ConsortMarie José of Belgium
IssuePrincess Maria Pia
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
Princess Maria Gabriella
Princess Maria Beatrice
Names
Italian: Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria di Savoia
HouseHouse of Savoy
FatherVictor Emmanuel III
MotherElena of Montenegro
ReligionRoman Catholicism
SignatureUmberto II of Italy signature

Umberto II, born Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria di Savoia, occasionally anglicised as Humbert II (15 September 1904 – 18 March 1983), was the last King of Italy, reigning for slightly over a month, from 9 May 1946 to 12 June 1946. However, he was de facto head of state from 1944 to 1946. He was nicknamed the May King (Italian: Re di Maggio).

Umberto was the only son of the five children of King Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Elena. In an effort to repair the monarchy's image after the fall of Benito Mussolini's regime, Victor Emmanuel transferred his powers to Umberto in 1944 while retaining the title of king. As a referendum was in preparation on the abolition of the monarchy in 1946, Victor Emmanuel abdicated his throne in favour of Umberto in an unsuccessful attempt to gain support for the monarchy. Umberto lived out the rest of his life in exile in Cascais, Portugal and was not permitted to return to Italy in 1983 when he was dying.

Biography

A young Umberto II

Umberto was born at the Castle of Racconigi in Piedmont. He was the third child, and the only son, of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Queen Elena of Montenegro. As such, he became crown prince, with the title of Prince of Piedmont, upon his birth as the Italian throne was limited to male-line descendants only. He was the first cousin of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia.

Umberto was married in Rome on 8 January 1930 to Marie José of Belgium (1906–2001), daughter of King Albert I of Belgium.

They had four children:

Career as Prince of Piedmont

State visit to South America, 1924

Umberto as a prince during his visit to Chile, in 1924

As Prince of Piedmont, Umberto visited South America, between July and September 1924. With his preceptor, Bonaldi, he went to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. This trip was part of the political plan of Fascism to link the Italian people living outside of Italy with their mother country and the interests of the regime.

In Brazil, he could not be received by President Arthur Bernardes because the capital of the country in that period, Rio de Janeiro, wasn't safe enough after the conclusion of the Tenente revolts, when some junior military officials tried to overthrow the federal government. In São Paulo, the richest state of the country, the rebels dominated the government for some days.

Under these conditions, Brazil could receive the Principe only in Bahia, the richest state of the North, at its capital Salvador. On his 20th birthday, Umberto was in Bahia. At that time, the governor of Bahia was Góis Calmon. All the authorities of state and the members of the Italian colony in the city were very happy and proud about the visit of the Prince. The Prince was accompanied on that trip by Minister of Foreign Affairs Felix Pacheco and the then Italian ambassador to Brazil, Pietro Badoglio.

The Prince and the Princess of Piedmont in 1930

Military positions and attempted assassination

The Prince of Piedmont was educated for a military career and in time became the commander in chief of the Northern Armies, and then of the Southern ones. However, his role was merely formal, the de facto command belonging to Benito Mussolini. By mutual agreement, Umberto and Mussolini always kept a distance.

An attempted assassination of the Prince took place in Brussels on 24 October 1929, the day of the announcement of his betrothal to Princess Marie José. The Prince was about to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Belgian Unknown Soldier at the foot of the Colonne du Congrès. With a cry of 'Down with Mussolini!' the culprit, Fernando de Rosa, fired a single shot that missed the Prince of Piedmont.

De Rosa was arrested and under interrogation claimed to be a member of the Second International, who had fled Italy to avoid arrest for his political views. His trial became a major political event, and though he was found guilty of attempted murder, he was given a light sentence of five years in prison. This sentence caused a political uproar in Italy and a brief rift in Belgian-Italian relations. However, Prince Umberto himself in March 1932 took the step of asking for a pardon for his would-be assassin, who was released after having served slightly less than half of his sentence and was eventually killed in the Spanish Civil War.

It has been conjectured that Mussolini had collected a secret dossier on Umberto, but this folder (which is said to have been found after the dictator was shot) was never seen publicly.

Following the Savoyards' tradition ("Only one Savoy reigns at a time"), he kept apart from active politics until he was finally named Lieutenant General of the Realm. Only in one case, while he was in Germany for a royal wedding, did he make an exception—Adolf Hitler asked for a meeting. This action was not considered proper, given the international situation, and afterward Umberto was even more rigorously excluded from political events.

Umberto II of Italy visiting Cairo

Visit to Italian Somaliland

In 1928, the colonial authorities in Italian Somaliland built the Mogadishu Cathedral (Cattedrale di Mogadiscio). It was constructed in a Norman Gothic style, based on the Cefalù Cathedral in Cefalù, Sicily.[1] Following its establishment, Umberto made his first publicized visit to Mogadishu, the territory's capital.[2][3] Umberto would make his second publicized visit to Italian Somaliland in October 1934.[2]

During the Second World War

At the beginning of World War II, Umberto commanded Army Group West , made up of the First, Fourth and the Seventh Army (kept in reserve), which attacked French forces during the Italian invasion of France.

After the capitulation of France, Umberto was kept inactive as Army commander by Mussolini. Nevertheless, on 29 October 1942, he was awarded the rank of Marshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia).

In 1943, the Crown Princess Maria José involved herself in vain attempts to arrange a separate peace treaty between Italy and the United States, and her interlocutor from the Vatican was Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini, a senior diplomat who later became Pope Paul VI. Her attempts were not sponsored by the king and Umberto was not (directly, at least) involved in them. After her failure – she never met the American agents – she was sent with her children to Sarre, in Aosta Valley, and isolated from the political life of the Royal House.

Regency

As the Allies freed more and more of Italy from the puppet Salò regime, it became apparent that Victor Emmanuel was too tainted by his previous support of Fascism to have any further role. Accordingly, in April 1944, he transferred most of his powers to Umberto. This status was formalized after Rome was liberated in June, when Victor Emmanuel transferred his remaining constitutional powers to Umberto, naming his son Lieutenant General of the Realm. However, Victor Emmanuel retained the title of king.

King of Italy

Royal Monogram

Umberto earned widespread praise for his role in the following three years. In hopes of influencing public opinion ahead of a referendum on the continuation of the monarchy, Victor Emmanuel formally abdicated in favour of Umberto on 9 May.

Many Italian monarchists expressed doubts about the correctness of the referendum, claiming that millions of voters, many of them pro-monarchist, were unable to vote because they had not yet been able to return to their own local areas to register. Nor had the issue of Italy's borders been settled definitively, so the voting rights of those in disputed areas had not been satisfactorily clarified. Other allegations were made about voter manipulation, and even the issue of how to interpret the votes became controversial, as it appeared that not just a majority of those validly voting but of those votes cast (including spoiled votes), was needed to reach an outcome in the event the monarchy lost by a tight margin.

Umberto and his wife were both young and cultivated, and thus presented a stark contrast to Victor Emmanuel. It was to no avail, however — in the 2 June referendum, a decisive majority voted to make Italy a republic, although the result is now believed to have been rigged. The republic was formally proclaimed four days later, ending Umberto's brief 34-day reign as king. Many observers believe that had Victor Emmanuel abdicated sooner, the monarchy might have survived.

Having promised to accept the election results, Umberto accepted the defeat, urging his now former subjects to serve the new republic. The monarchy of the House of Savoy formally ended on 12 June 1946, and Umberto left the country. Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi assumed office as Italy's interim Head of State.

Private life

Umberto and Maria José separated in exile; it had been an arranged marriage, following a long tradition of royal families. However, they never divorced, partly for political reasons. For the rest of his life, Umberto held out hope that the Italian people would call him back to the throne, though this hope dwindled over the years. Unlike most of their predecessors, he and Maria José were both very devout Catholics, and felt divorce would be unthinkable for a Catholic king.

Some academics[4] have explored Umberto's possible homosexuality. As early as the 1920s, Mussolini had collected a dossier on his private life for purposes of blackmail. Certainly during the war, newspapers asserted that Umberto was homosexual, and information continued to be spread in the lead-up to the post-war referendum on the monarchy in the hope of influencing the outcome. It is, however, unclear to what extent such rumours could be substantiated. Umberto's custom of giving a fleur-de-lis made of precious stones to favoured young officials in his entourage was well known, and Umberto's lovers may have included Luchino Visconti and Jean Marais;[5] there was a former army lieutenant who published details of Umberto's advances to him.[6] Except for public appearances, Umberto and Maria José generally lived apart.[7]

In exile

Umberto II lived for 37 years in exile, in Cascais, Portugal. He never set foot in his native land again; the 1947 constitution of the Italian Republic not only forbade amending the constitution to restore the monarchy, but until 2002 barred all male heirs to the defunct Italian throne from ever returning to Italian soil. Female members of the Savoy family were not barred, except queens consort.

He traveled extensively during exile, and was often to be seen in Mexico visiting his daughter Maria Beatrice, and in the company of friends like Commendatore Flavio Mansi Tazzer.

At the time when Umberto was dying, in 1983, President Sandro Pertini wanted the Italian Parliament to allow Umberto to return to his native country. Ultimately, however, Umberto died in Geneva and was interred in Hautecombe Abbey, for centuries the burial place of the members of the House of Savoy. No representative of the Italian government attended his funeral.

Honours

Patrilineal descent

Ancestry and even the very filiation of Humbert I of Savoy is not clear, as there are four possibilities, one of them giving him a Teutonic ancestry including as his ancestor Widukind.[9][10][11] Christian Settipani proved through contemporary documents that Arnulf of Metz and his ancestors were Frankish in the male line, since they were ruled by the Frankish Law.

  1. Humbert I of Savoy, 980–1047
  2. Otto of Savoy, 1015–1057
  3. Amadeus II of Savoy, 1039–1080
  4. Humbert II of Savoy, 1070–1103
  5. Amadeus III of Savoy, 1095–1148
  6. Humbert III of Savoy, 1135–1189
  7. Thomas I of Savoy, 1176–1233
  8. Thomas II, Count of Piedmont, 1199–1259
  9. Amadeus V, Count of Savoy, 1251–1323
  10. Aimone, Count of Savoy, 1291–1343
  11. Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy, 1334–1383
  12. Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy, 1360–1391
  13. Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, 1383–1451
  14. Louis, Duke of Savoy, 1402–1465
  15. Philip II, Duke of Savoy, 1438–1497
  16. Charles III, Duke of Savoy, 1486–1553
  17. Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, 1528–1580
  18. Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, 1562–1630
  19. Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano, 1596–1656
  20. Emmanuel Philibert, Prince of Carignan, 1628–1709
  21. Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignan, 1690–1741
  22. Louis Victor, Prince of Carignan, 1721–1778
  23. Victor Amadeus II, Prince of Carignan, 1743–1780
  24. Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignan, 1770–1800
  25. Charles Albert of Sardinia, 1798–1849
  26. Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, 1820–1878
  27. Umberto I of Italy, 1844–1900
  28. Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, 1869–1947
  29. Umberto II of Italy, 1904–1983
Family of Umberto II of Italy
16. Charles Albert of Sardinia
8. Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
17. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria
4. Umberto I of Italy
18. Archduke Rainer of Austria
9. Archduchess Adelaide of Austria
19. Princess Elisabeth of Savoy
2. Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
20. Charles Albert of Sardinia (= 16)
10. Prince Ferdinand of Savoy, Duke of Genoa
21. Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria (= 17)
5. Princess Margherita of Savoy
22. John of Saxony
11. Princess Elizabeth of Saxony
23. Amalie Auguste of Bavaria
1. Umberto II of Italy
24. Sava Petrović-Njegoš
12. Mirko Petrović-Njegoš
25. Angelika Radamović
6. Nicholas I of Montenegro
26. Drago Martinović
13. Anastasija Martinović
27. Anastasia Ludović
3. Princess Elena of Montenegro
28. Petar Perkov Vukotić
14. Petar Vukotić
29. Stania Milić
7. Milena Vukotić
30. Tadija Voivodić
15. Jelena Voivodić
31. Milica Pavićević

See also

References

  1. ^ Giovanni Tebaldi. Consolata Missionaries in the World (1901-2001). p. 127. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  2. ^ a b R. J. B. Bosworth. Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Fascist Dictatorship, 1915-1945. p. 48. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  3. ^ Peter Bridges. Safirka: An American Envoy. p. 71. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  4. ^ Giovanni Dall'Orto in Aldrich, Robert; Wotherspoon, Garry Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History: From World War II to the Present Day, Routledge, London 2001, p452
  5. ^ A. Petacco, Regina: La vita e i segreti di Maria Jose, Milan, 1997
  6. ^ Enrico Montanari, La lotta di liberazione, cited in: Silvio Rossi, Il vizio segreto di Umberto di Savoia, Extra, I 1971 n. 4 (25 March), pp. 1–4.
  7. ^ S. Bertoldi, L'ultimo re, l'ultima regina, Milan, 1992
  8. ^ "Royal House of Italy – Genealogy of the Royal House". European Royal Houses website. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  9. ^ [1] Template:Wayback
  10. ^ Marek, Miroslav. "savoy/savoy1.html". Genealogy.EU. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)[self-published source][better source needed]
  11. ^ "Umberto I Biancamano, conte di Savoia".

Additional reading

  • Denis Mack Smith Italy and Its Monarchy (Yale University Press, 1989)
  • Robert Katz The Fall of the House of Savoy
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Umberto II of Italy.
Umberto II of Italy
Born: 15 September 1904 Died: 19 March 1983
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Italy
9 May 1946 – 12 June 1946 		Monarchy abolished

(Enrico De Nicola as President of Italy)

Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
King of Italy
12 June 1946 – 18 March 1983
Reason for succession failure:
monarchy abolished 		Succeeded by


Template:Persondata

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