Victor Emanuel of Savoy was born to rule Italy, but the Crown Prince, who died on Saturday, would never become king. His father Umberto II – the last Italian king – and mother – the Belgian princess Marie José – had been king and queen of Italy for only a little more than a month. They were called the ‘May King’ and ‘May Queen’: as soon as the Italians voted for the republic by referendum on June 2, 1946, the royals out of the country.
The Italian monarchy was discredited because of its support for the fascism of dictator Benito Mussolini. The male members of the royal family were banned from entering Italy, a ban that would only be lifted by parliament in 2002. Victor Emanuel brought in March 2003together with his wife Marina Doria and son Emanuel Filibert, visited Italy, which was extensively reported in the media.
The fact that he never became king was not even his greatest regret, the prince once admitted, but that he had not grown up in Italy. He spent most of his exile in Switzerland.
Nephew of the Belgian king
The former water ski champion Marina Doria was the love of his life. He married her in the Iranian capital Tehran, and they had a son. Victor Emanuel would have turned 87 later this month, but he had been struggling with poor health for some time. His maternal relationship with the Belgian royal family also made him a cousin of the Belgian King Albert II.
But Victor Emanuel will be remembered less for that royal pedigree than for a life filled with controversy. There were numerous scandals, accusations and suspicions, including corruption and prostitution, and his proven membership in Propaganda Due. That secret lodge came to light in 1981 and was suspected of a conspiracy against the Italian state.
In the 1970s, an investigation into Victor Emanuel was opened for international arms trade with countries in the Middle East that were subject to an arms embargo. The research was archived. However, the case that would haunt him for life was a shooting incident in August 1978, on the French island of Cavallo, near Corsica. The prince got into a fight with a group of young people, shot at their boat and hit nineteen-year-old German Dirk Hamer, who succumbed to his wounds a few months later.
Victor Emanuel was charged with manslaughter but acquitted in 1991. He did receive six months for unauthorized carrying of weapons ‘outside his own home’. The infamous incident inspired Netflix to create the series last year The king who never was.