Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy, Prince of Naples has passed away at the age of 86! The last Crown Prince of Italy was the Head of the House of Savoy and a disputed Pretender to the former Italian Throne.
Born in 1937 as the only son of King Umberto II of Italy and Princess Marie José of Belgium, Prince Vittorio Emanuele was the only brother of Princess Maria Pia, Princess Maria Gabriella, and Princess Maria Beatrice. The Royal Fmaily was exiled from Italy in 1946, and the Prince spent his childhood between Switzerland and Portugal, frequently attending Royal Events throughout Europe.
In 1971, the Prince of Naples married Swiss heiress and water-skier Marina Ricolfi Doria, his girlfriend for over 11 years, in Tehran, without the permission of King Umberto II which led to a dynastic dispute with his cousin, Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta.
The Prince and Princess of Naples have one son, Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice, who in 2003 married French Actress Clotilde Courau, and has two daughters; Princess Vittoria and Princess Luisa.
Since the death of King Umberto in 1983, the Prince of Naples is the Head of the House of Savoy and the Grandmaster of the Dynastic Orders of Savoy. In December 2002, the Prince and Princess of Naples, along with the Prince of Venice were allowed to return to Italy, for the Prince the first time since 1946, but continued to reside in Geneva.
The Prince of Naples worked as a banker and an aircraft salesman, and then an arms dealer. In 1969, Prince Vittorio Emanuele unilaterally declared himself King of Italy against his father, King Umberto II, and in 1978, he accidentally shot 19-year old Dirk Hamer, which led to a six-month suspended prison sentence. The Prince of Naples was also arrested in Varenna and imprisoned in Potenza on charges of corruption and recruitment of prostitutes for clients of the Casinò di Campione of Campione d’Italia in 2006, being placed placed under house arrest but being acquitted of all charges between 2007 and 2010.
We offer our condolences to the Savoy Royal Family!
