The House of Savoy 2
On 16 June 2006, Vittorio Emanuele was arrested in Varenna, as investigators said he had contacts with the Mafia, and imprisoned in Potenza on charges of political corruption and recruitment of prostitutes for clients of the Casinò di Campione of Campione d'Italia, from which it emerged the Vallettopoli scandal. After seven days in jail, Vittorio Emanuele was released and placed under house arrest instead; both Vittorio Emanuele and his family denied any wrongdoings. He was released from house arrest on 20 July but was required to remain within the territory of the Italian Republic; he was eventually acquitted of all charges, including that of criminal association aimed at corruption, gambling, forgery ("against public administration, public faith, and property"), exploitation of prostitution, and aiding and abetting, in the Savoiagate trial, and in February 2015 obtained €40,000 in damages for his time in jail.
When incarcerated in June 2006, Vittorio Emanuele was recorded admitting, with regard to the killing of Hamer, that "I was in the wrong, but I put one over on those French judges", leading to a call from Hamer's sister Birgit for Vittorio Emanuele to be retried in Italy for the killing; in response to this and his father's arrest and charges in 2006, Emanuele Filiberto distanced himself from Vittorio Emanuele, saying that he does not share or support everything his father did, while Amedeo of Savoy stated that Vittorio Emanuele's claims to the Headship of House Savoy were "in presence of facts that can injure the Royal House". After a long legal fight, Birgit Hamer obtained the full video. The story was broken in the press by Il Fatto Quotidiano with an article by aristocratic journalist Beatrice Borromeo, who also wrote the preface for a book on the murder Delitto senza castigo by Birgit Hamer. Vittorio Emanuele sued the newspaper for defamation, claiming the video had been manipulated. In March 2015, a court judgement ruled in favour of Il Fatto Quotidiano. In August 2017, Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation acquitted La Repubblica journalists Maurizio Crosetti and Ezio Mauro of a defamation lawsuit brought by Vittorio Emanuele, who had been referred to by Crosetti and Mauro as "the one who used" with ease the rifle at Cavallo, "killing a man". Crosetti and Mauro, who was also sued for omitted control due to being the then editor-in-chief, had been convicted in the first-instance trial but were acquitted on appeal, a sentence that the Supreme Court of Cassation confirmed. In the summer of 2023, The Prince, a docuseries directed by Borromeo and focused on the death of Hamer, was released on Netflix. The docuseries concluded with Vittorio Emanuele declaring that he had no regrets and that he would do everything he had done in his life again "except Cavallu", referencing the events at Cavallo.
In late 2007, lawyers representing Vittorio Emanuele and his son Emanuele Filiberto wrote a seven-page letter to then Italian president Giorgio Napolitano and Italian prime minister Romano Prodi seeking damages for their years in exile (€260 million without considering interest) and the return of their seized property after the war. This was confirmed during an interview on the Rai 3 popular affairs programme Ballarò, where Emanuele Filiberto also stated that the seized property including Roman landmarks, such as the Quirinale palace and Villa Ada, should be returned to the Savoy family. The Italian prime minister's office released a statement stating that the Savoys are not owed any damages and suggesting that Italy may demand damages from the Savoys for their collusion with Mussolini and its wartime conduct. The Italian Constitution contains a clause stripping the Savoys of their wealth on exile. Emanuele Filiberto acknowledged that his fiancée, whose pregnancy was revealed at the time of the couple's engagement, belonged to a more leftist milieu than his own, a fact that initially displeased his father. On 17 December 2017, the body of Victor Emmanuel III returned to Italy to be buried at the Sanctuary of Vicoforte in Piedmont.
Judicially separated since 1976, civilly divorced in 1982, and their marriage religiously annulled in 1987, Amedeo of Aosta's first wife, Princess Claude of Orléans, revealed that she was aware that her husband fathered a child by another woman during their marriage. Aosta acknowledged paternity of another child, born out-of-wedlock in 2006 during his second marriage but agreed to contribute financially to the child's care only after being directed to do so by court order. The patrilineal lineage of the House of Savoy was reduced to four males between 1996 and 2009. In 2008, Aimone of Savoy-Aosta married Princess Olga Isabelle of Greece, his second cousin, and they became the parents of sons Umberto and Amedeo, who were born respectively in 2009 and 2011. In 2019, Vittorio Emanuele issued a formal decree that modified the medieval law restricting succession to male heirs to place his granddaughter, Vittoria Cristina Chiara Adelaide Marie, in the line of succession. Prince Aimone declared the change illegitimate, meaning the title would remain in male succession and transfer to the Savoy-Aosta branch led by Aimone. As of 2022, the House of Savoy was in the process of trying to reclaim family jewels that have been owned by the Italian government since the abolition of the monarchy. Vittorio Emanuele died in February 2024, and the House of Savoy announced: "Surrounded by his family, he died peacefully in Geneva."
The House of Savoy has held two dynastic orders since 1362, which were brought into the Kingdom of Italy as national orders. Although the kingdom ceased to exist in 1946, King Umberto II did not abdicate his role as fons honorum over the two dynastic orders over which the family has long held sovereignty and grand mastership. In the 21st century, following the dispute, both Prince Emanuele Filiberto and Prince Aimone claim to be hereditary Sovereign and Grand Master of the following orders of the House of Savoy:
Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, founded in 1362.
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, founded in 1572.
In addition to these, Vittorio Emanuele claims sovereignty over two more orders:
Civil Order of Savoy, founded in 1831.
Order of the Crown of Italy, founded in 1868 and no longer bestowed; it was replaced by the Order of Merit of Savoy in 1988.
In February 2006, all three of Vittorio Emanuele's sisters (Princess Maria Pia, Princess Maria Gabriella, and Princess Maria Beatrice) resigned from the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation and the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, alleging that memberships in the orders had been sold to unworthy candidates, a newfound practice they could not abide.
When incarcerated in June 2006, Vittorio Emanuele was recorded admitting, with regard to the killing of Hamer, that "I was in the wrong, but I put one over on those French judges", leading to a call from Hamer's sister Birgit for Vittorio Emanuele to be retried in Italy for the killing; in response to this and his father's arrest and charges in 2006, Emanuele Filiberto distanced himself from Vittorio Emanuele, saying that he does not share or support everything his father did, while Amedeo of Savoy stated that Vittorio Emanuele's claims to the Headship of House Savoy were "in presence of facts that can injure the Royal House". After a long legal fight, Birgit Hamer obtained the full video. The story was broken in the press by Il Fatto Quotidiano with an article by aristocratic journalist Beatrice Borromeo, who also wrote the preface for a book on the murder Delitto senza castigo by Birgit Hamer. Vittorio Emanuele sued the newspaper for defamation, claiming the video had been manipulated. In March 2015, a court judgement ruled in favour of Il Fatto Quotidiano. In August 2017, Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation acquitted La Repubblica journalists Maurizio Crosetti and Ezio Mauro of a defamation lawsuit brought by Vittorio Emanuele, who had been referred to by Crosetti and Mauro as "the one who used" with ease the rifle at Cavallo, "killing a man". Crosetti and Mauro, who was also sued for omitted control due to being the then editor-in-chief, had been convicted in the first-instance trial but were acquitted on appeal, a sentence that the Supreme Court of Cassation confirmed. In the summer of 2023, The Prince, a docuseries directed by Borromeo and focused on the death of Hamer, was released on Netflix. The docuseries concluded with Vittorio Emanuele declaring that he had no regrets and that he would do everything he had done in his life again "except Cavallu", referencing the events at Cavallo.
In late 2007, lawyers representing Vittorio Emanuele and his son Emanuele Filiberto wrote a seven-page letter to then Italian president Giorgio Napolitano and Italian prime minister Romano Prodi seeking damages for their years in exile (€260 million without considering interest) and the return of their seized property after the war. This was confirmed during an interview on the Rai 3 popular affairs programme Ballarò, where Emanuele Filiberto also stated that the seized property including Roman landmarks, such as the Quirinale palace and Villa Ada, should be returned to the Savoy family. The Italian prime minister's office released a statement stating that the Savoys are not owed any damages and suggesting that Italy may demand damages from the Savoys for their collusion with Mussolini and its wartime conduct. The Italian Constitution contains a clause stripping the Savoys of their wealth on exile. Emanuele Filiberto acknowledged that his fiancée, whose pregnancy was revealed at the time of the couple's engagement, belonged to a more leftist milieu than his own, a fact that initially displeased his father. On 17 December 2017, the body of Victor Emmanuel III returned to Italy to be buried at the Sanctuary of Vicoforte in Piedmont.
Judicially separated since 1976, civilly divorced in 1982, and their marriage religiously annulled in 1987, Amedeo of Aosta's first wife, Princess Claude of Orléans, revealed that she was aware that her husband fathered a child by another woman during their marriage. Aosta acknowledged paternity of another child, born out-of-wedlock in 2006 during his second marriage but agreed to contribute financially to the child's care only after being directed to do so by court order. The patrilineal lineage of the House of Savoy was reduced to four males between 1996 and 2009. In 2008, Aimone of Savoy-Aosta married Princess Olga Isabelle of Greece, his second cousin, and they became the parents of sons Umberto and Amedeo, who were born respectively in 2009 and 2011. In 2019, Vittorio Emanuele issued a formal decree that modified the medieval law restricting succession to male heirs to place his granddaughter, Vittoria Cristina Chiara Adelaide Marie, in the line of succession. Prince Aimone declared the change illegitimate, meaning the title would remain in male succession and transfer to the Savoy-Aosta branch led by Aimone. As of 2022, the House of Savoy was in the process of trying to reclaim family jewels that have been owned by the Italian government since the abolition of the monarchy. Vittorio Emanuele died in February 2024, and the House of Savoy announced: "Surrounded by his family, he died peacefully in Geneva."
The House of Savoy has held two dynastic orders since 1362, which were brought into the Kingdom of Italy as national orders. Although the kingdom ceased to exist in 1946, King Umberto II did not abdicate his role as fons honorum over the two dynastic orders over which the family has long held sovereignty and grand mastership. In the 21st century, following the dispute, both Prince Emanuele Filiberto and Prince Aimone claim to be hereditary Sovereign and Grand Master of the following orders of the House of Savoy:
Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, founded in 1362.
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, founded in 1572.
In addition to these, Vittorio Emanuele claims sovereignty over two more orders:
Civil Order of Savoy, founded in 1831.
Order of the Crown of Italy, founded in 1868 and no longer bestowed; it was replaced by the Order of Merit of Savoy in 1988.
In February 2006, all three of Vittorio Emanuele's sisters (Princess Maria Pia, Princess Maria Gabriella, and Princess Maria Beatrice) resigned from the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation and the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, alleging that memberships in the orders had been sold to unworthy candidates, a newfound practice they could not abide.
31-35, F