Emanuel Filiberto’s act cannot be called an abdication – he was called a king, but the monarchy was officially abolished in Italy already in 1946. And in fact, the men of di Savoia lived for half a century in exile and under a ban on setting foot on Italian soil – this was lifted in 2002 by the late Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Italians were insulted by the last king, Victor Emmanuel di Savoia, because he ditched and fled the country in fear of Nazi revenge for cooperating with the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, leaving the monarchy and establishing a republic.
However, the descendants of the royal family have retained state and other privileges, and the question of returning the crown is raised from time to time in the country. So there is still a real chance of a Victoria of Savoy government – albeit a slim one.
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Now, however, Emanuele has relinquished his claim to the throne, shifting the burden onto the frail shoulders of his eldest daughter.
It happened thanks to his father’s extravagant decision – in 2020, the then 86-year-old head of the ruling house Vittorio Emanuele abolished the ancient Salian law, which had been in force in Italy for the last thousand years. According to this code, only males could inherit the throne through an unbroken line of transmission. So the beauty Vittoria, the first child of Emanuele, daughter of actress Clotilde Curo, appeared in the equation.
What made 50-year-old Emanuel do this? Observers agree that he assessed the situation and came to the conclusion that it was the charismatic Vittoria, very popular both in Italy and throughout Europe, who could sway Italians to the side of the monarchy – because that’s the kind of queen they want. The girl is not only pretty, but also quite smart and educated, she studies the faculty of politics and art history and is well versed in both subjects.
“It is important that the younger generation has the opportunity to implement new, modern ideas. They are much more aware than we are of the problems facing the world. And it’s important that they don’t succeed too late in life,” says Emanuele in an interview.
But what about Vittoria herself? When her grandfather announced the news of the Italian succession to the throne three years ago, she had time to declare that she was in favor of the return of the monarchy to the homeland. However, she has not yet commented on her father’s resignation, and it is not known at this time what duties the di Savoia heiress will now take on.
Even without waiting for the crown, she leads an interesting and successful life: di Savoia has a contract with a major modeling agency and tens of thousands of subscribers on social networks. In addition, long before all the events surrounding the imaginary throne of Italy, she became an it-girl, showing fans the lifestyle of the “golden youth”, traveling from the family estate in Umbria to Paris for shows and from there to Monte Carlo to her grandmother.
Well, even if Vittoria doesn’t win the crown, she will definitely become the head of the di Savoia dynasty and have a great time. It seems that the men in this family have some difficulty with responsibility, the women will have to take the rap – they have accumulated strength for more than a thousand years!