Umberto II of Italy

Umberto II
Umberto, then the Prince of Piedmont, in 1944
King of Italy (more...)
Reign	9 May 1946 – 12 June 1946
Predecessor	Victor Emmanuel III
Successor	Monarchy abolished Enrico De Nicola as President
Prime Minister	Alcide De Gasperi
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)​
Issue	Princess Maria Pia Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples Princess Maria Gabriella Princess Maria Beatrice
Full name Italian: Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria di Savoia English: Humbert Nicholas Thomas John Maria of Savoy
House	Savoy
Father	Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
Mother	Princess Elena of Montenegro
Religion	Roman Catholicism
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Umberto II, full name Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria di Savoia (15 September 1904 – 18 March 1983), was the last King of Italy. He reigned for 34 days,^[1] from 9 May 1946 to 12 June 1946, although he had been de facto head of state since 1944 and was nicknamed the May King (Italian: Re di Maggio).

Umberto was the only son among the five children of King Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Elena. 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 on the abolition of the monarchy was in preparation, Victor Emmanuel abdicated his throne in favour of Umberto in the hope that his exit might bolster the monarchy. However, the referendum passed, Italy was declared a republic, and Umberto lived out the rest of his life in exile in Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera.

1. ↑ Ian Locke (1999). Magnificent Monarchs. MacMillan. p. 16. ISBN 978-0330-374965. Fact Attack series