| Prince Amedeo | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Amedeo in 1964 wearing the collar of theSupreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation | |||||
| Head of theHouse of Savoy (disputed) | |||||
| Reign | 18 March 1983 – 1 June 2021 | ||||
| Predecessor | Umberto II | ||||
| Successor | Aimone | ||||
| Born | (1943-09-27)27 September 1943 Florence,Italian Social Republic | ||||
| Died | 1 June 2021(2021-06-01) (aged 77) Arezzo, Italy | ||||
| Burial | 1 July 2021 | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | Princess Bianca Prince Aimone, 6th Duke of Aosta Princess Mafalda Ginevra van Ellinkhuizen | ||||
| |||||
| House | Savoy | ||||
| Father | Prince Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta | ||||
| Mother | Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark | ||||
Prince Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta, 5th Duke of Aosta (Amedeo Umberto Costantino Giorgio Paolo Elena Maria Fiorenzo Zvonimir di Savoia; 27 September 1943 – 1 June 2021) was a claimant to the headship of theHouse of Savoy, the family which ruled Italy from 1861 to 1946. Until 7 July 2006, Amedeo was styledDuke of Aosta; on that date he declared himselfDuke of Savoy, a title that was disputed between him and his third cousin,Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, only son of KingUmberto II of Italy.
Amedeo was born atVilla della Cisterna inFlorence, the only child ofPrince Aimone, Duke of Aosta, formerly designatedking of Croatia as Tomislav II,[1] and ofPrincess Irene of Greece and Denmark through whom he was a great-great-grandson ofQueen Victoria.[2]
Only three weeks before Amedeo's birth, Italy had surrendered to theAllies. His father, then king-designate ofCroatia, abdicated.[3][4][5][6][7] Italy's former ally, Germany, thereupon launched amilitary operation to occupy Italy. The infant Amedeo was interned by theNazis along with hismother,aunt, and two cousinsMargherita and Maria Cristina, and sent to the Hotel Ifen in Hirschegg, Austria, before being released in May 1945.[8]
When Amedeo was only four years old, his father died in exile inBuenos Aires, and he succeeded him as Duke of Aosta, Prince della Cisterna e Belriguardo, Marchese di Voghera, and Count di Ponderano.[2]
Amedeo studied at theFrancesco Morosini Naval Military School inVenice and in England. He then attended theNaval Academy inLivorno from which he graduated as an officer in theItalian Navy.
He was an Honorary Companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery of theMilitary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, assigned insignia number 21015, as a great-grandson ofPrince Philippe, Count of Paris.[citation needed]
Amedeo was Roman Catholic.[9]
On 22 July 1964, at the Igreja Paroquial De São Pedro inSintra, Portugal, Amedeo married his second cousin,Princess Claude of Orléans (born 11 December 1943).[2][10] She was the ninth child and fifth daughter ofHenri, comte de Paris,Orléanist claimant to the French throne, and ofPrincess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza. Amedeo and Claude separated on 20 July 1976, obtained a civil divorce on 26 April 1982, and an ecclesiasticalannulment from theRoman Rota on 8 January 1987. Amedeo and Claude had three children.[2]
On 30 March 1987, Amedeo marriedSilvia Paternò di Spedalotto in the chapel ofVilla Spedalotto inBagheria,Sicily.[2] She is the daughter of Vincenzo Paternò di Spedalotto, 6thMarchese di Reggiovanni, and of Rosanna Bellardo e Ferraris.[2][11] Amedeo and Silvia had no children.
Amedeo had a daughter with Kyara van Ellinkhuizen, born outside of wedlock.[12]
Amedeo and his wife Silvia lived in the village of San Rocco near the town ofCastiglion Fibocchi inTuscany (about 15 km or9+1⁄2 miles northwest ofArezzo). He was involved in various agricultural activities, including the production of wine marketed under the nameVini Savoia Aosta.
From 1997, Amedeo was president of theInternational Foundation Pro Herbario Mediterraneo. From 2003 to 2006, he was president of the committee responsible for the nature reserve on the island ofVivara.
Amedeo was long viewed by Italian royalists as a likely claimant to the throne if Umberto's own son,Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, failed to live up to monarchist expectations.[13]
On 7 July 2006, Amedeo declared himself to be the Head of the House of Savoy andDuke of Savoy, claiming that in 1971, Vittorio Emanuele had lost hisdynastic rights when he married without previously obtaining the permission of Umberto II, authorization which had been required under monarchical law. However, there have been claims that consent could also be granted after the wedding.
In addition, there were disputes over the surname used by Amedeo. In 2009, Vittorio Emanuele and his son,Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice, sought judicial intervention to forbid Amedeo's use of the surnamedi Savoia. In February 2010, the court ofArezzo[14] ruled that the Amedeo and his son Aimone must pay damages totalling 50,000 euros to their cousins and cease using the surnamedi Savoia instead ofdi Savoia-Aosta.[15] Amedeo's claim received the support of Vittorio Emanuele's sister,Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy.[citation needed] However, the verdict was overturned on appeal, with the court of second resort allowing Amedeo the use of the short surname, in the form ofdi Savoia, and additionally revoking the financial penalty originally imposed on him.[16]
Although many monarchists transferred their allegiance to Amedeo at some point after King Umberto's death,[citation needed] Amedeo was criticised by other Italian royalists who continue to support Prince Vittorio Emanuele. Sergio Pellecchi, President of theGiunta of the Chivalric Orders of the House of Savoy, has stated that the Council of the Senators of the Kingdom was dissolved in 2002 and that it never had any authority in matters of the succession. Eugenio Armando Dondero, spokesman for theCoordinamento Monarchico Italiano, has asked why Amedeo did not claim to be head of the House of Savoy in 1983 when Umberto II died. But others, including constitutional jurist Guido Locatello, declared the marriage of Vittorio Emanuele to be in violation of Savoy dynastic law years before the scandal evoked any clamour for Amedeo to replace him. TheUnione Monarchica Italiana published in its newsletter,Monarchia Nuova, on 12 February 1987 that the Prince of Naples' marriage to Marina Doria violated the decree ofVictor Amadeus III, issued 13 September 1780,[17] regulating the marriages of princes of the blood royal, compelling theUnione to recognise Amedeo as rightful head of the royal house—although at that time Aosta had put forth no public dynastic claim.[2]
Amedeo was a Knight of theSupreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation named byUmberto II, a Grand Cross of theOrder of Saints Maurice and Lazarus named by his cousinVittorio Emanuele, and a Knight of Honor and Devotion of theSovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem. He was an honorary citizen of the towns ofMarigliano,Pantelleria, andAbetone. Along with his claim to be Head of the House of Savoy, Amedeo also claimed to be Grand Master of all the house orders.
Prince Amedeo died on 1 June 2021, at the age of 77, in Arezzo, Italy, fromcardiac arrest after undergoing surgery on 27 May.[18]
| Ancestors of Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (1943–2021) |
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Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (1943–2021) Born: 27 September 1943 Died: 1 June 2021 | ||
| Italian nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 5thDuke of Aosta 7th creation 1948–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Preceded by | — TITULAR — King of Italy (disputed) 1983–2021 Reason for succession failure: Kingdom abolished in 1946 | Succeeded by |
| Savoy |
| .svg) |
|---|---|---|
| Savoy-Aosta | ||
