Son of Italy’s last King, Prince Vittorio Emanuele dies at 86

Rome: The son of Italy’s last king and member of a dynasty discredited for collaborating with fascism, Prince Vittorio Emanuele died in Switzerland on Saturday. He was 86-year-old.

A statement from the Savoy royal household saying he “passed away peacefully in Geneva surrounded by his family” following his death was quoted by Italian media.

Meanwhile, Prince Vittorio Emanuele’s lawyer Sergio Orlandi confirmed the royal “died this morning,” to international news agency AFP.

Born in the southern city of Naples, Vittorio Emanuele became the head of a royal family that had reigned over a unified Italy from 1861 to 1945.

He was the son of the country’s last king Umberto II, who occupied the throne in 1946. According to reports, he left Italy aged nine, banned from the country along with all male descendants of the royal family under the 1946 constitution after his grandfather King Vittorio Emanuele III collaborated with Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime and its racial laws. However, he returned to Italy in December 2002 after the Italian parliament voted to lift the exile measures.