Umberto II of Italy

Umberto II
Victor Emmanuel III
Successor	Monarchy abolished (Enrico De Nicola as President of Italy)
Prime Minister	Alcide De Gasperi
Head of the House of Savoy
Tenure	9 May 1946 – 18 March 1983
Successor	Prince Vittorio Emanuele or Prince Amedeo
Born	(1904-09-15)15 September 1904 Racconigi, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy
Died	18 March 1983(1983-03-18) (aged 78) Geneva, Switzerland
Burial	Hautecombe Abbey , France
Spouse	Marie-José of Belgium ​ ​ (m. 1930)​
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Mother	Elena of Montenegro
Religion	Catholic Church
Signature

Umberto II (Italian: Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria di Savoia; 15 September 1904 – 18 March 1983) was the last King of Italy. Umberto's reign lasted for 34 days, from 9 May 1946 until his formal deposition on 12 June 1946, although he had been the de facto head of state since 1944. Due to his short reign, he was nicknamed the May King (Italian: Re di maggio).

Umberto was the third child and only son among the five children of

Umberto was brought up in an authoritarian and militaristic household and was expected to "show an exaggerated deference to his father"; both in private and public, Umberto always had to get down on his knees and kiss his father's hand before being allowed to speak, even as an adult,[4] and he was expected to stand to attention and salute whenever his father entered a room.^[4] Umberto was given the formal military education of a Savoyard prince^[5] and like the other Savoyard princes before him, Umberto received an education that was notably short on politics; Savoyard monarchs customarily excluded politics from their heirs' education with the expectation that they would learn about the art of politics when they inherited the throne.^[6]

Umberto was the first cousin of

As

Military positions and attempted assassination

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Umberto was educated for a military career and in time became the commander-in-chief of the Northern Armies, and then the Southern ones. This role was merely formal, the de facto command belonging to his father, King Victor Emmanuel III, who jealously guarded his power of supreme command from

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 was a major political event, and although 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, but in March 1932 Umberto asked for a pardon for de Rosa, who was released after having served slightly less than half his sentence and was eventually killed in the Spanish Civil War.

In 1928, after the colonial authorities in Italian Somaliland built Mogadishu Cathedral (Cattedrale di Mogadiscio), Umberto made his first publicised visit to Mogadishu, the territory's capital.^[10][11] Umberto made his second publicised visit to Italian Somaliland in October 1934.^[10]

Umberto was married in the city of Rome on 8 January 1930 to

• Princess Maria Pia (born 1934)
• Prince Vittorio Emanuele (1937–2024)
• Princess Maria Gabriella (born 1940)
• Princess Maria Beatrice (born 1943)

Following the Savoyards' tradition ("Only one Savoy reigns at a time"), Umberto was kept apart from active politics until he was named Lieutenant General of the Realm.^[4] He made an exception when Adolf Hitler asked for a meeting. This was not considered proper, given the international situation; thereafter, Umberto was more rigorously excluded from political events. In 1935, Umberto supported the war against the Ethiopian Empire, which he called a "legitimate war" that even Giovanni Giolitti would have supported had he still been alive.^[12] Umberto wanted to serve in the Ethiopian war, but was prevented from doing so by his father, who did, however, allow four royal dukes to serve in East Africa.^[12] Umberto conformed to his father's expectations and behaved like an army officer; the prince obediently got down on his knees to kiss his father's hand before speaking. However, Umberto privately resented what he regarded as a deeply humiliating relationship with his cold and emotionally distant father.^[4] Umberto's attitude toward the Fascist regime varied: at times, he mocked the more pompous aspects of Fascism and his father for supporting such a regime, while at other times, he praised Mussolini as a great leader.^[13]

Umberto shared his father's fears that Mussolini's policy of alliance with

On 25 July 1943, Victor Emmanuel III finally dismissed Mussolini and appointed Marshal Pietro Badoglio, as prime minister with secret orders to negotiate an armistice with the Allies. Baron Raffaele Guariglia, the Italian ambassador to Spain, contacted British diplomats to begin the negotiations. Badoglio went about the negotiations halfheartedly while allowing many German forces to enter Italy.^[27] The American historian Gerhard Weinberg wrote that Badoglio as prime minister "...did almost everything as stupidly and slowly as possible", as he dragged out the secret peace talks going on in Lisbon and Tangier, being unwilling to accept the Allied demand for unconditional surrender.^[27] During the secret armistice talks, Badoglio told Count Pietro d'Acquarone that he thought he might get better terms if Victor Emmanuel abdicated in favour of Umberto, complaining that the armistice terms that the King wanted were unacceptable to the Allies.^[28] D'Acquarone told Badoglio to keep his views to himself as the King was completely unwilling to abdicate, all the more so as he believed that Umberto was unfit to be monarch.^[28]

On 17 August 1943, Sicily was taken and the last Axis forces crossed over to the Italian mainland. On 3 September 1943, the British Eighth Army landed on the Italian mainland at Reggio Calabria while the U.S. 5th Army landed at Salerno on 9 September 1943, a few hours after it was announced that Italy had signed an armistice.^[29] Adolf Hitler had other plans for Italy, and in response to the Italian armistice ordered Operation Achse on 8 September 1943, as the Germans turned against their Italian allies and occupied all of the parts of Italy not taken by the Allies.^[30] In response to the German occupation of Italy, neither Victor Emmanuel nor Marshal Pietro Badoglio made any effort at organised resistance; they instead issued vague instructions to the Italian military and civil servants to do their best and fled Rome during the night of 8–9 September 1943.^[31] Not trusting his son, Victor Emmanuel had told Umberto nothing about his attempts to negotiate an armistice nor about his plans to flee Rome if the Germans should occupy it.^[32] For the first time in his life, Umberto openly criticised his father, saying the King of Italy should not be fleeing Rome and only reluctantly obeyed his father's orders to go south with him towards the Allied lines.^[33] The King and the rest of the Royal Family fled Rome via a car to Ortona to board a corvette, the Baionetta, that took them south. A small riot occurred at the Ortona dock as about 200 senior-ranking Italian military officers, who had abandoned their commands and unexpectedly showed up, begged the King to take them with him. Almost all of them were refused permission to board, making the struggle to get to the head of the queue pointless.^[33] With the exceptions of Marshal Enrico Caviglia, General Calvi di Bergolo and General Antonio Sorice, the Italian generals simply abandoned their posts on the night of 8–9 September to try to flee south, which greatly facilitated the German take-over, as the Regio Esercito was left without senior leadership.^[33] On the morning of 9 September 1943, Umberto arrived with Victor Emmanuel and Badoglio in Brindisi.

In September 1943, Italy was partitioned between the south of Italy, administered by the Italian government with an Allied Control Commission (ACC) having supervisory powers, while Germany occupied northern and central Italy with a puppet Italian Social Republic (popularly called the Salò Republic), headed by Mussolini holding nominal power.^[34] By 16 September 1943, a line had formed across Italy with everything to the north held by the Germans and to the south by the Allies.^[35] Because of what Weinberg called the "extraordinary incompetence" of Badoglio, who, like Victor Emmanuel, had not anticipated Operation Achse until it was far too late, thousands of Italian soldiers with no leadership were taken prisoner by the Germans without resisting in the Balkans, France and Italy itself, to be taken off to work as slave labour in factories in Germany, an experience that many did not survive.^[21] How Victor Emmanuel mishandled the armistice was to become almost as controversial in Italy as his support for Fascism.^[36] Under the terms of the armistice, the ACC had the ultimate power with the Royal Italian Government in the south, being in many ways a similar position to the Italian Social Republic under the Germans. However, as the British historian James Holland noted, the crucial difference was that: "In the south, Italy was now moving closer towards democracy".^[37] In the part of Italy under the control of the ACC, which issued orders to the Italian civil servants, freedom of the press, association and expression were restored along with other civil rights and liberties.^[37]

During 1943–45, the Italian economy collapsed with much of the infrastructure destroyed, inflation rampant, the black market becoming the dominant form of economic activity, and food shortages reducing much of the population to the brink of starvation in both northern and southern Italy.^[38] In 1943–44, the cost of living in southern Italy skyrocketed by 321%, while it was estimated that people in Naples needed 2,000 calories per day to survive while the average Neapolitan was doing well if they consumed 500 calories a day in 1943–44.^[39] Naples in 1944 was described as a city without cats or dogs which had all been eaten by the Neapolitans, while much of the female population of Naples turned to prostitution to survive.^[40] As dire as the economic situation was in southern Italy, food shortages and inflation were even worse in northern Italy as the Germans carried out a policy of ruthless economic exploitation.^[41] Since the war in which Mussolini had involved Italy in 1940 had become such an utter catastrophe for the Italian people by 1943, it had the effect of discrediting all those associated with the Fascist system, including Victor Emmanuel.^[42] In late 1943, Victor Emmanuel stated that he felt he bore no responsibility for Italy's plight, for appointing Mussolini as prime minister in 1922 and for entering the war in 1940. This further increased his unpopularity and led to demands that he abdicate at once.^[43]

In northern Italy, a guerrilla war began against the fascists, both Italian and German, with most of the guerrilla units fighting under the banner of the National Liberation Committee (Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale-CLN), who were very strongly left-wing and republican.^[44] Of the six parties that made up the CLN, the Communists, the Socialists and the Action Party were republican; the Christian Democrats and the Labour Party were ambiguous on the "institutional question", and only the Liberal Party was committed to preserving the monarchy, though many individual Liberals were republicans.^[45] Only a minority of the partisan bands fighting for the CLN were monarchists, and a prince of the House of Savoy led none.^[44] After the war, Umberto claimed that he wanted to join the partisans, and only his wartime duties prevented him from doing so.^[44] The Italian Royal Court relocated itself to Brindisi in the south of Italy after fleeing Rome.^[32] In the fall of 1943, many Italian monarchists, like Benedetto Croce and Count Carlo Sforza, pressed for Victor Emmanuel III to abdicate and for Umberto to renounce his right to the succession in favour of his 6-year-old son, with a regency council to govern Italy as the best hope of saving the monarchy.^[46] Count Sforza tried to interest the British members of the ACC in this plan, calling Victor Emmanuel a "despicable weakling" and Umberto "a pathological case", saying neither was qualified to rule Italy. However, given the unwillingness of the King to abdicate, nothing came of it.^[47]

At a meeting of the leading politicians from the six revived political parties on 13 January 1944 in Bari, the demand was made that the ACC should force Victor Emmanuel to abdicate to "wash away the shame of the past".^[48] Beyond removing Victor Emmanuel, which everyone at the Congress of Bari wanted, the Italian politicians differed, with some calling for a republic to be proclaimed at once, some willing to see Umberto succeed to the throne, others wanting Umberto to renounce his claim to the throne in favour of his son, and finally those who were willing to accept Umberto as Luogotenente Generale del Regno (English: Lieutenant General of the Realm) to govern in place of his father.^[48] Since northern and central Italy were still occupied by Germany, it was finally decided at the Bari conference that the "institutional question" should be settled only once all of Italy was liberated, so all of the Italian people could have their say.^[48]

In the Salò Republic, Mussolini returned to his original republicanism and, as part of his attack on the House of Savoy, Fascist newspapers in the area under the control of the Italian Social Republic outed Umberto, calling him Stellassa ("Ugly Starlet" in the Piedmontese language).^[49] The Fascist newspapers reported in a lurid, sensationalist, and decidedly homophobic way Umberto's various relationships with men as a way of discrediting him.^[49] It was after Umberto was outed by the Fascist press in late 1943 that the issue of his homosexuality came to widespread public notice.^[49]

As the

As Regent, Umberto initially made a poor impression on almost everyone as he surrounded himself with Fascist-era generals as his advisers, spoke of the military as the basis of his power, frequently threatened to sue for libel anyone who made even the slightest critical remarks about the House of Savoy, and asked the ACC to censor the press to prevent the criticism of himself or his father.[57] The British Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, wrote after meeting Umberto, in a message to London, that he was "the poorest of poor creatures", and his only qualification for the throne was that he had more charm than his charmless father.^[57] The historian and philosopher Benedetto Croce, a minister in Badoglio's cabinet, called Umberto "entirely insignificant" as he found the Prince of Piedmont to be shallow, vain, superficial, and of low intelligence, and alluding to his homosexuality stated his private life was "tainted by scandal".^[57]

The diplomat and politician Count Carlo Sforza wrote in his diary that Umberto was utterly unqualified to be King as he called the prince "a stupid young man who knew nothing of the real Italy" and "he had been as closely associated with fascism as his father. In addition he is weak and dissipated, with a degenerate and even oriental disposition inherited from his Balkan mother".^[57] Sam Reber, an American official with the ACC, who had known Umberto before the war, met the prince in Naples in early 1944 and wrote he found him "greatly improved. The Balkan playboy period was over. But he has a weak face and, to judge by first meeting, has not, I should say, the personality to inspire confidence and devotion in others".^[57] More damaging, Victor Emmanuel let it be known that he regretted handing over his powers to his son, and made clear that he felt that Umberto was unfit to succeed him as part of a bid to take back his lost powers.^[57]

After Togliatti and the Communists entered Badoglio's cabinet, taking the oaths of loyalty to Umberto in the so-called Svolta di Salerno ("Salerno turn"), the leaders of the other anti-Fascist parties felt they had no choice but to join the cabinet as to continue to boycott it might lead Italy to be open to Communist domination.^[50] The other parties entered the cabinet on 22 April 1944 to preempt the Communists who joined the cabinet on 24 April.^[58] The Christian Democratic leader Alcide De Gasperi believed in 1944 that a popular vote would ensure a republic immediately, and sources from the Vatican suggested to him that only 25% of Italians favoured continuing the monarchy.^[59] The Catholic Church was in favour of Umberto, who, unlike his father, was a sincere Catholic who it was believed would keep the Communists out of power.^[59] However, De Gasperi admitted that though the monarchy was a conservative institution, "it was difficult to answer the argument that the monarchy had done little to serve the interests of the country or people during the past thirty years".^[59]

Umberto's relations with the Allies were strained by his insistence that after the war, Italy should keep all of its

A few days later, on 19 April 1944, Umberto in an interview with The Times complained that the ACC was too liberal in giving Italians too much freedom, as the commissioners "seemed to expect the Italian people to run before they could walk".^[61] In the same interview, Umberto demanded the ACC censor the Italian press to end the criticism of the Royal Family, and claimed he had no choice but to support Mussolini because otherwise he would have been disinherited.^[61] Finally, Umberto made the controversial statement that Mussolini "at first had the full support of the nation" in bringing Italy into the war in June 1940. Victor Emmanuel III had only signed the declarations of war because "there was no sign that the nation wanted it otherwise. No single voice was raised in protest. No demand was made for summoning parliament".^[61] The interview with The Times caused a storm of controversy in Italy, with many Italians objecting to Umberto's claim that the responsibility for Italy entering the war rested with ordinary Italians and his apparent ignorance of the difficulties of holding public protests under the Fascist regime in 1940.^[63] Sforza wrote in his diary of his belief that Victor Emmanuel, "that little monster", had put Umberto up to the interview to discredit his son.^[64] Croce wrote:

"The Prince of Piedmont for twenty-two years has never shown any sign of acting independently of his father. Now he is simply repeating his father's arguments. He chooses to do this at the very moment when, having been designated lieutenant of the kingdom, he ought to be overcoming doubt and distrust as I personally hoped he would succeed in doing. To me it seems unworthy to try to unload the blame and errors of royalty on the people. I, an old monarchist, am therefore especially grieved when I see the monarchs themselves working to discredit the monarchy".^[64]

Various Italian politicians had attempted to persuade the Allies to revise the armistice of 1943 in Italy's favour because there was a difference between the Fascist regime and the Italian people. Umberto's statement that the House of Savoy bore no responsibility when he asserted that the Italian people had been of one mind with Mussolini in June 1940, was widely seen as weakening the case for revising the armistice.^[65]

Most of the Committee of National Liberation (CLN) leaders operating underground in the north tended to lean in a republican direction. Still, they were willing to accept Umberto temporarily out of the belief that his personality and widespread rumours about his private life would ensure that he would not last long as either Lieutenant General of the Realm or as King, should his father abdicate.

Unlike the conservative Badoglio, the social democrat Bonomi started to move Italian politics in an increasingly democratic direction as he argued that King Victor Emmanuel III, who had only turned against Mussolini when it was clear that the war was lost, was unfit to continue as monarch.[67] On 25 June 1944, the Bonomi government, which like Badoglio's government, ruled by Royal Decree as there was no parliament in Italy, had a Royal Decree issued in Umberto's name promising a Constituent Assembly for Italy after the war.^[72] As Umberto continued as regent, he surprised many, after his rocky start in the spring of 1944, with greater maturity and judgement than was expected.^[62] Croce advised him to make a break with his father by choosing his advisers from the democratic parties, and it was due to Croce's influence that Umberto appointed Falcone Lucifero, a socialist lawyer, as Minister of the Royal House.^[59] Lucifero suggested reforms, which were implemented, such as reducing the number of aristocrats and generals at the Royal Court, while bringing in people from all the regions of Italy instead of just Piedmont to make the Royal Court more representative of Italy.^[59]

Umberto, in September 1944, vetoed an attempt by the Bonomi government to start an investigation of who was responsible for abandoning Rome in September 1943 as he feared that it would show his father was a coward.

In October 1944, Umberto, in an interview with The New York Times, stated that he favoured a referendum to decide whether Italy was to be a republic or a monarchy instead of having the "institutional question" decided by the national assembly that would write Italy's post-war constitution.^[76] Umberto's interview caused controversy as the republican parties widely feared that a referendum would be rigged, especially in the south of Italy.^[77] In the same interview, Umberto mentioned his belief that, after the war, monarchies all over the world would move towards the left, and stated that under his leadership Italy would go leftwards "in an ordered, liberal way" as he understood "the weight of the past is the monarchy's greatest handicap", which he would resolve by a "radical revision" of the Statuto Albertino.^[78] Umberto spoke favourably of Togliatti as he was "clever, agreeable, and easy to discuss problems with".^[78] In private, Umberto said he found Togliatti "to be a very congenial companion whose intelligence he respected, but was afraid that he suited his conversation according to his company".^[73]

By late 1944, the question of whether the CLN or the Crown represented the Italian people came to a head.^[79] On 25 November 1944, Bonomi resigned as prime minister, saying he could not govern owing to his difficulties with the CLN, and as the politicians could not agree on a successor. Umberto used the impasse to reassert the Crown's powers.^[77] The crisis ended on 12 December 1944 with Umberto appointing a new government under Bonomi consisting of ministers from four parties, the most important of which were the Communists and the Christian Democrats.^[80] In response to objections from the CLN, Bonomi, in practice, accepted their claim that they represented the Italian people rather than the Crown, while still swearing an oath of loyalty to Umberto as the Lieutenant General of the Realm when he took the prime minister's oath.^[79] An attempt by Umberto to have Churchill issue a public statement in favour of the monarchy led Macmillan to warn Umberto to try to be more politically neutral as regent.^[77] However, Churchill, during a visit to Rome in January 1945, called Umberto "a far more impressive figure than the politicians".^[81] As a gesture to promote national unity after the traumas of the war, in June 1945, Umberto appointed as prime minister, a prominent guerrilla leader, Ferruccio Parri.^[44]

In December 1945, Umberto appointed a new, more conservative government under Alcide De Gasperi.^[82] One of the first acts of the new government was to announce the High Commission for Sanctions Against Fascism would cease operating as of 31 March 1946 and to start purging from the liberated areas of northern Italy civil servants appointed by the CLN, restoring the career civil servants who had served the Fascist regime back to their former posts.^[83] Over the opposition of the left-wing parties who wanted the "institutional question" resolved by the Constituent Assembly, De Gasperi announced that a referendum would be held to decide the "institutional question".^[84] At the same time, Italian women were given the right to vote and to hold official office for the first time, again over the opposition of the left-wing parties, who viewed Italian women as more conservative than their menfolk, and believed that female suffrage would benefit the monarchist side in the referendum.^[84] The monarchists favoured putting off the referendum as long as possible out of the hope that a return to normalcy would cause the Italians to take a more favourable view of their monarchy, while the republicans wanted a referendum as soon as possible, hoping that wartime radicalisation would work in their favour.^[84]

Umberto earned widespread praise for his role in the following three years, with the Italian historian Giuseppe Mammarella calling Umberto a man "whose Fascist past was less compromising" than that of Victor Emmanuel and who, as Lieutenant General of the Realm, showed certain "progressive" tendencies.^[85] In April 1946, a public opinion poll of registered members of the conservative Christian Democratic party showed that 73% were republicans, a poll that caused immense panic in the monarchist camp.^[86] The American historian Norman Kogan cautioned the poll was of Christian Democratic members, which was not the same thing as Christian Democratic voters who tended to be "...rural, female, or generally apolitical".^[87] Nonetheless, the poll led to appeals from Umberto to the ACC to postpone the referendum, leading to the reply that the De Gasperi cabinet had set the date for the referendum, not the ACC.^[86] The possibility of losing the referendum also led to the monarchists to appeal to Victor Emmanuel to finally abdicate.^[88] De Gasperi and the other Christian Democratic leaders refused to take sides in the referendum, urging Christian Democratic voters to follow their consciences when it came time to vote.^[89]

In the belated hope of influencing public opinion ahead of a

Mack Smith wrote that "some of the more extreme monarchists" expressed doubts about the legitimacy 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 local areas to register.[96] 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.

On the 2 June 1946 referendum, which saw the participation of almost 90% of voters, over 54% majority voted to make Italy a republic. The conservative, rural

The republic was formally proclaimed four days later, ending Umberto's brief (effective 12 June) 34-day reign as King. Umberto at first refused to accept what he called "the outrageous illegality" of the referendum and took his

Ciampino Airport in Rome, as Umberto boarded the aeroplane that was to take him to Lisbon, a carabiniere grabbed him by the hand and said: "Your Majesty, we will never forget you!"^[93]

In exile

Umberto II lived for 37 years in exile, in Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. He never set foot in his native land again; the 1948 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 returning to Italian soil. Female members of the Savoy family were not barred, except former queen consorts.

Together with their four children, they took part in the ship tour organized by Queen Frederica and her husband King Paul of Greece in 1954, which became known as the “Cruise of the Kings” and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe. Since the ship tour began in Naples, the family could only board in Corfu, Greece, as they were not allowed to set foot on Italian soil. On this trip their daughter Princess Maria Pia met her future husband Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia.^[99]

Relations between Umberto and Marie José grew more strained during their exile, and in effect, their marriage broke up, with Marie José moving to Switzerland. At the same time, Umberto remained in Portugal, though, as Catholics, the couple did not divorce.^[19]

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. Umberto II died in Geneva and was interred in Hautecombe Abbey, which for centuries was the burial place of the members of the House of Savoy.^[100]

Titles, styles and honours

Styles of King Umberto II
Reference style		His Majesty
Spoken style	Your Majesty

Titles and styles

• 15 September 1904 – 29 September 1904: His Royal Highness Prince Umberto of Savoy
• 29 September 1904 – 9 May 1946: His Royal Highness The Prince of Piedmont
• 9 May 1946 – 12 June 1946: His Majesty The King of Italy
• 12 June 1946 – 18 March 1983: His Majesty King Umberto II of Italy

Umberto was granted the traditional title of Prince of Piedmont at birth. This was formalised by Royal Decree on 29 September 1904.^[1]

Honours

National honours

• House of Savoy:
  • Sovereign Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, with Collar^{[101][102][103][104][105]}
  • Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus^{[102][103][104][105][106]}
  • Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Crown^{[102][103][104][105]}
  • Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Military Order of Savoy^[107]
  • Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Civil Order of Savoy
  • Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Star of Italy^{[104][105][108]}
  • Sovereign Knight of the Order of Merit for Labour
  • Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Roman Eagle
•  Sovereign Military Order of Malta:
  • Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice, Special Class, 17 November 1922^{[102][103][104][105][109][110]}
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, with Collar
• Two Sicilian Royal Family:
  • Knight of Saint Januarius, with Collar^[111]
  • Grand Cross of Justice of the Two Sicilian Royal Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, with Collar^[111]
• Tuscan Grand Ducal family:
  • Grand Cross of the Military Order of Saint Stephen
  • Grand Cross of Saint Joseph

• SS Principe Umberto, a passenger and cargo ship built in 1908, named after him, sunk in 1916.

Foreign honours

•  Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold^[104][112]
• Bulgarian Royal Family
  :
  • Knight of Saints Cyril and Methodius^[113]
  • Grand Cross of Saint Alexander
    , with Collar
•  Denmark: Knight of the Elephant, 31 August 1922^[114]
• German Imperial and Royal Family: Knight of the Black Eagle, with Collar
  • Knight of Saint Hubert
  • Knight of the Golden Lion
    , with Collar
• Greek Royal Family
  :
  • Grand Cross of the Redeemer^[115]
  • Grand Cross of Saints George and Constantine, with Collar^[115]
•  
  Grand Cross of St. Charles, 16 January 1930^[116]
• Montenegrin Royal Family: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I, Special Class
•  
  Grand Cross of Saint Olav, with Collar, 19 August 1922^[117]
•  Poland: Knight of the White Eagle
• Portuguese Royal Family
  :
  • Grand Cross of the
    Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ
  • Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword, with Collar^[118]
• Romanian Royal Family
  :
  • Grand Officer of the Order of Michael the Brave, 1st Class, 26 July 1943^[119]
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Carol I, with Collar^[120]
• Russian Imperial Family: Knight of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First-called, with Collar^[121]
  • Georgian Royal Family: Grand Cross of the Eagle of Georgia^[122]
•  Spain:^[123]
  • Knight of the Golden Fleece, 19 November 1923
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, with Collar, 7 June 1924
•  
  Knight of the Seraphim, 7 September 1922^[124]
•  Thailand: Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, 26 March 1933^[125]
•  United Kingdom: Recipient of the Royal Victorian Chain, 1935^[113]
• Grand Cross of the Star of Karađorđe^[113]
•  
  Grand Cross of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, with Collar^[126]
  •  
    Supreme Order of Christ, with Collar, 2 January 1932^[127]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Umberto II of Italy
8. Milena Vukotić 15. Jelena Voivodić

Patrilineal ancestry

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 Carignano, 1628–1709
21. Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignano, 1690–1741
22. Louis Victor, Prince of Carignano, 1721–1778
23. Victor Amadeus II, Prince of Carignano, 1743–1780
24. Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignano, 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^[128]

See also

• List of shortest reigning monarchs of all time

References

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Further reading

• Katz, Robert (1972). The Fall of the House of Savoy. George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
  ISBN 978-0049450110
  .
• Mack Smith, Denis (1992). Italy and Its Monarchy. Yale University Press.
  ISBN 978-0300051322
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Umberto II of Italy.

• Genealogy of recent members of the House of Savoy
• Website with Information on Italian Royal news stories
• Newspaper clippings about Umberto II of Italy in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

Umberto II of Italy House of Savoy Born: 15 September 1904 Died: 19 March 1983
Regnal titles
Preceded by Vittorio Emanuele III	King of Italy 9 May 1946 – 12 June 1946	Monarchy abolished Alcide De Gasperi as Provisional Head of State
Titles in pretence
Monarchy abolished	— TITULAR — King of Italy 12 June 1946 – 18 March 1983 Reason for succession failure: monarchy abolished	Succeeded by Vittorio Emanuele or Amedeo