The Royalty Nerd

It has been announced that the Prince of Naples has passed away at age 86 today.

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He lived a life of self created controversy. So, you’ll forgive me if this isn’t the glowing biography a death may usually entail.

Vittorio Emanuele was born February 12th, 1937 and was the only son of King Umberto II and Queen Marie-José of Italy. Umberto II was the last King of Italy.

The 1946 Italian institutional referendum saw the monarchy abolished and the family went into exile in Switzerland, where the family would spend most of their time. This is where the story could have ended.

However, it was in 1969 when Vittorio Emanuele declared himself King of Italy. He argued this by stating his father had abdicated from the throne when he submitted to a referendum. Thus, he was King of Italy, no questions asked thank you very much.

He would end up marrying Marina Ricolfi-Doria, a Swiss water skier in 1971 (she is quite accomplished at this; Marina is in the International Water Ski and Wakeboard Federation Hall of Fame). They would go on to have one son, Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice, born in 1972.

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It is in August of 1978 that Vittorio Emanuele commits murder.

While on the island of Cavallo, Vittorio Emanuele notices that the small dinghy that was attached to his yacht had been removed and attached to another yacht nearby. As any rational person would do, he grabbed a gun and tried to board the other boat. Someone on that boat woke up and the self proclaimed King of Italy fired his weapon, missing the passenger but striking Dirk Hamer, a 19 year old German man who had been sleeping on a third boat in the area. He required nearly twenty surgeries before he finally passed away from his injuries on December 7th, 1978, a whole 111 days after the initial shooting. Below is an undated photo of Dirk.

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Vittorio Emanuele was subsequently arrested after the death of Dirk Hamer. After lengthy court battles and legal proceedings, he was acquitted of charges of unintentional homicide and fatal wounding. However, he was found guilty of the unauthorized possession of a gun. He only received a six month suspended sentence.

This was not the end of his legal troubles. In 2006, he was arrested upon allegations of corruption and ‘abetting prostitution’. The case centred around the Casinò di Campione, where he was accused of ‘trafficking in licenses for video poker’ and of ‘procuring’ sex workers for clients of the casino. He was arrested as part of a sting operation that also saw twelve other people arrested as well.

While in prison (in 2006) awaiting trial for these charges, Vittorio Emanuele admitted guilt for the shooting death of Dirk Hamer however the news came as a transcript, and there was doubt regarding how true it actually was. Vittorio later called for a press conference to declare his innocence and claim that the news of his jailhouse confession was false.

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Despite his insistence, in a video obtained in 2011 by il Fatto Quotidiano, an Italian newspaper, Vittorio can be seen and heard discussing the incident with this cell mates. He brags about ‘fooling’ the French courts in the case and even talks about how he was holding the gun and the trajectory of the bullets.

All of this, just to reiterate, was said and done while he was in prison awaiting charges of corruption. He literally bragged about getting away with one crime while being charged with another. What’s that saying? Only commit one crime at a time? Though it must be said, he was eventually acquitted on all charges of corruption and abetting prostitution.

The journalist, by the way, who was able to publish that video was none other than Beatrice Borromeo.

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Beatrice is an Italian born aristocrat in her own right, and married Pierre Casiraghi in 2015 and is part of the extended Monaco princely family.

The release of the video prompted Vittorio to sue the newspaper for defamation. He lost the case in 2015.

These are not the only controversies linked back to Vittorio Emanuele, though they are the only ones to make it to a court of law.

He commented in the late 90’s that the antisemitic laws brought forth by Benito Mussolini were ‘not that terrible’. I have seen two very different dates (2003 and 1997) and not a lot of solid sources for his comments which were apparently made on television. I have no doubt that he made the comment, but the shaky dates make things hard to look up and find articles for. Here, is one. Here, is another. He eventually presented an apology to the Jewish community in Italy for the laws put in place in the lead up to World War II.

In 2004, he allegedly punched his third cousin, Prince Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta, after the pre-wedding dinner for the now King and Queen of Spain. The punches left the Duke bloody and nearly knocked him down the stairs but thankfully, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece was there to save his fall. Why was Vittorio apparently throwing fists?

Because the title of Duke of Savoy was disputed between the Duke of Aosta and Vittorio Emanuele. The argument stemmed from Vittorio Emanuele’s own marriage in 1971, which had taken place without the consent of Umberto. II. As such, his dynastic rights were voided, and in 2006, two years after the alleged punches, Prince Amedeo declared himself the head of the House of Savoy and Duke of Savoy. What ensued was a legal battle between the two families regarding the right to use the surname Savoy, with Vittorio Emanuele coming out victorious. Although I have to wonder what sort of silly victory it really is.

In 2007, shortly after his stint in the big house for corruption charges, he and his son Emanuele Filiberto argued for compensation from the Italian government for the ‘moral injustice’ of exile. They sought a total of 260 million euros as well as various residences that once belonged to the family. The request was denied by the government.

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Knowing that the status and prestige that comes with being a reigning monarch is just out of your grasp surely would impact anyone. But that seems to have given Vittorio Emanuele a massive chip on his shoulder and what’s more, a sense of entitlement and superiority that can be seen throughout his life of scandal and crime. It may come as no surprise that his son has created a life of headlines and eye rolls for himself, but that’s an article for another time. There’s only so much one can take of the Savoy’s in one go.