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{{Short description|King of Italy in 1946}}
{{Redirect2|Umberto II|May King|the earlier count of Savoy|Humbert II, Count of Savoy|the American community|Mayking, Kentucky|the author|May King Van Rensselaer}}
{{Redirect|Umberto II||Humbert II (disambiguation){{!}}Humbert II}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Umberto II
| image = Umberto II, 1944FXD1944.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Umberto, then the [[Prince of Piedmont]], in 1944
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| moretext = ([[King of Italy#Full title 2|more...]])
| predecessor = [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]]
| successor = ''Monarchy abolished''<br; />{{hanging indent|[[Enrico De Nicola]] as [[President of Italy|President]]}}''
| reg-type = {{nowrap|Prime Minister}}
| regent = [[Alcide De Gasperi]]
| succession1 = Head of the [[House of Savoy]]
| reign1 = 9 May 1946 – 18 March 1983
| reign-type1 = Tenure
| successor1 = {{unbulleted list|[[Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples|Prince Vittorio Emanuele]]<br>|or<br>|[[Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (1943–2021)|Prince Amedeo]]}}
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Marie-José of Belgium]]|1930}}
| issue = {{unbulleted list|[[Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma|Princess Maria Pia]]<br />|[[Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples]]<br />|[[Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy|Princess Maria Gabriella]]<br />|[[Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy|Princess Maria Beatrice]]}}
| full name = {{lang-langx|it|Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria di Savoia}}<br />{{lang-langx|en|Humbert Nicholas Thomas John Maria of Savoy}}
| house = [[House of Savoy|Savoy]]
| father = [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy]]
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| birth_place = [[Racconigi]], [[Piedmont]], [[Kingdom of Italy]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1983|3|18|1904|9|15|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Geneva]] Cantonal Hospital, Switzerland
| burial_place = [[Hautecombe Abbey]], France
| religion = [[Latin Catholic Church in Italy|RomanCatholic CatholicismChurch]]
| signature = Umberto II signature.svg
}}
 
'''Umberto II''' ({{Lang-Langx|it|Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria di [[House of Savoy|Savoia]]}}; 15 September 1904{{spaced ndash}}18 March 1983) was the last [[King of Italy]]. Umberto's reign lasted for 34 days, from 9 May 1946 until his formal deposition on 12 June 1946, although he had been the ''de facto'' [[head of state]] since 1944. Due to his short reign, he was nicknamed the '''the May King''' ({{lang-langx|it|reRe di maggio}}).
 
Umberto was the third child and only son among the five children of [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy]] and [[Elena of Montenegro]]. As heir apparent to the throne, he received a customary military education and pursued a military career afterwards. HeIn 1940, he commanded an army group during the brief [[Italian invasion of France]] shortly before the French capitulation. In 1942, he was promoted to [[Marshal of Italy]] but was otherwise inactive as an army commander during much of the [[Second World War]]. Umberto turned against the war following Italian defeats at [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] and [[Second Battle of El Alamein|El Alamein]], and tacitly supported the ouster of [[Benito Mussolini]].
 
In 1944, Victor Emmanuel, compromised by his association with [[Italian fascism]] and desperate to repair the monarchy's image, transferred most of his powers to Umberto. He transferred his remaining powers to Umberto later in 1944 and named him Lieutenant General (''[[Luogotenente]]'') of the Realm; while retaining the title of King. As the country prepared for the [[1946 Italian institutional referendum]] on the continuation of the [[Italian monarchy]], Victor Emmanuel abdicated his throne in favour of Umberto, in the hope that his exit might bolster the monarchy. The June 1946 referendum saw voters voting to abolish the monarchy, and Italy was declared a republic days later. Umberto departed the country; he and other male members of the House of Savoy were barred from returning. He lived out the rest of his life in exile in [[Cascais]], on the [[Portuguese Riviera]]. He died in [[Geneva]] Cantonal Hospital in 1983.
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[[File:King Umberto II of Italy as a child.jpg|thumbnail|upright|right|Photo of Umberto, [[Prince of Piedmont]], prior to the [[First World War]]]]
 
Umberto was born at the [[Castle of Racconigi]] in [[Piedmont (Italy)|Piedmont]]. He was the third child and the only son of King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy]] and his wife, [[Jelena of Montenegro]]. As such, he becamewas [[heir apparent]] upon hisfrom birth since the Italian throne was limited to male descendants. UmbertoHe was givenaccorded the formaltitle military education[[Prince of aPiedmont]], Savoyardwhich prince.<ref>Denisthe MackRoyal Smith,Decree ''Italyformalised andon Its29 Monarchy'',September New1904.<ref Haven:name="Royal YaleDecree University29 PressSeptember pp. 182–183<1904"/ref>
 
During the crisis of May 1915, when Victor Emmanuel III decided to break the terms of the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]] by declaring war on the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]], he found himself in a quandary as the [[Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy|Italian Parliament]] was against declaring war; several times, the king discussed abdication with the throne to pass to [[Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta (1869–1931)|the 2nd Duke of Aosta]] instead of Umberto.<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press pp. 210–211</ref> The British historian [[Denis Mack Smith]] wrote that it is not entirely clear why Victor Emmanuel was prepared to sacrifice his 10-year-old son's right to succeed to the throne in favour of the Duke of Aosta.<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: [[Yale University Press]], p. 211</ref>
 
Umberto was brought up in an authoritarian and militaristic household and was expected to "show an exaggerated deference to his father"; both in private and public, Umberto always had to get down on his knees and kiss his father's hand before being allowed to speak, even as an adult,<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.272">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 272</ref> and he was expected to stand to attention and salute whenever his father entered a room.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.272"/> LikeUmberto was given the formal military education of a Savoyard prince<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press pp. 182–183</ref> and like the other Savoyard princes before him, Umberto received a militaryan education that was notably short on politics; Savoyard monarchs customarily excluded politics from their heirs' education with the expectation that they would learn about the art of politics when they inherited the throne.<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press pp. 271–272</ref>
 
Umberto was the first cousin of [[King Alexander I of Yugoslavia]]. He was accorded the title [[Prince of Piedmont]], which the Royal Decree formalised on 29 September 1904.<ref name="Royal Decree 29 September 1904"/> In a 1959 interview, Umberto told the Italian newspaper ''La Settimana Incom Illustrata'' that in 1922 his father had felt that appointing [[Benito Mussolini]] as Primeprime Ministerminister was a "justifiable risk".<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 254</ref>
 
==Career as Prince of Piedmont==
===State visit to South America, 1924===
[[File:Príncipe Humberto de Saboya.jpg|thumb|Prince Umberto during his visit to Chile, in 1924]]
As [[Prince of Piedmont]], Umberto visited South America, between July and September 1924. With his [[preceptor]], Bonaldi, he went to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. This trip was part of the political plan of Fascism to link the [[Italian diaspora#Americas|Italian people living outside of Italy]] with their mother country and the interests of the regime. In Brazil, visits were scheduled to the national capital [[Rio de Janeiro]] and the [[State of São Paulo]], where the largest Italian colony in the country lived. However, a [[São Paulo Revolt of 1924|major rebellion]] broke out on 5 July 1924, when Umberto had already departed from Europe, imposing a change in the Royal tour. The prince had to stop in [[Salvador, Bahia|Salvador]], the capital of [[Bahia]], to supply the ships, going directly to the other countries of South America. On his return, Umberto could only be received in Salvador again. Governor Góis Calmon, the Italian colony and other entities warmly welcomed the heir to the Italian Throne.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brito |first1=Jonas |title=História da Passagem do Príncipe Umberto di Savoia por Salvador (Bahia, 1924) |url=https://repositorio.ufba.br/ri/bitstream/ri/18803/1/Hist%C3%B3ria%20da%20Passagem%20do%20Pr%C3%ADncipe%20Umberto%20di%20Sav%C3%B3ia%20por%20Salvador%20%28Bahia%2C%201924%29.compressed.pdf|website=Repositorio.ufba.br}}</ref>
In Brazil, visits were scheduled to the national capital [[Rio de Janeiro]] and the [[State of São Paulo]], where the largest Italian colony in the country lived. However, a major rebellion broke out on 5 July 1924, when Umberto had already departed from Europe, imposing a change in the Royal tour. The prince had to stop in [[Salvador, Bahia|Salvador]], the capital of [[Bahia]], to supply the ships, going directly to the other countries of South America. On his return, Umberto could only be received in Salvador again. Governor Góis Calmon, the Italian colony and other entities warmly welcomed the heir to the Italian Throne.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brito |first1=Jonas |title=História da Passagem do Príncipe Umberto di Savoia por Salvador (Bahia, 1924) |url=https://repositorio.ufba.br/ri/bitstream/ri/18803/1/Hist%C3%B3ria%20da%20Passagem%20do%20Pr%C3%ADncipe%20Umberto%20di%20Sav%C3%B3ia%20por%20Salvador%20%28Bahia%2C%201924%29.compressed.pdf|website=Repositorio.ufba.br}}</ref>
 
===Military positions and attempted assassination===
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They had four children:
*[[Princess Maria Pia of Bourbon-Parma|Princess Maria Pia]] (born 1934)
*[[Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples|Prince Vittorio Emanuele]] (1937-20241937–2024)
*[[Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy|Princess Maria Gabriella]] (born 1940)
*[[Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy|Princess Maria Beatrice]] (born 1943)
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===Italian expansion during the Second World War===
[[File:Benito Mussolini w rozmowie z księciem Umberto II (2-279).jpg|thumb|Umberto in conversation with Benito Mussolini in the [[French Alps]] during the [[Italian invasion of France]] in June 1940.]]
Umberto shared his father's fears that Mussolini's policy of alliance with [[Nazi Germany]] was reckless and dangerous, but he made no move to oppose Italy becoming one of the [[Axis powers]].<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 287</ref> When Mussolini decided to enter the [[Second World War]] in June 1940, Umberto hinted to his father that he should use the royal veto to block the Italian declarations of war on Britain and France, but was ignored.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.291">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 291</ref> After the war, Umberto criticised the decision to enter the war, saying that Victor Emmanuel was too much under "Mussolini's spell" in June 1940 to oppose it.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.291"/> Following Italy's entry into the war, Umberto ostensibly commanded ''Army Group West'', made up of the [[Italian First Army|First]], [[Italian Fourth Army|Fourth]] and the [[Italian Seventh Army|Seventh Army]] (kept in reserve), which attacked French forces during the [[Italian invasion of France]]. Umberto was appointed to this position by his father, who wanted the expected Italian victory to also be a victory for the House of Savoy, as the King feared Mussolini's ambitions.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.292">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 292</ref> A few hours after France signed an armistice with Germany on 21 June 1940, the Italians invaded France. The Italian offensive was a complete fiasco, with Umberto's reputation as a general only being saved by the fact that the already defeated French signed an armistice with Italy on 24 June 1940.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.292"/> Thus, he could present the offensive as a victory.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.292"/> The Italian plans called for the ''[[Regio Esercito]]'' to reach the Rhone river valley, which the Italians came nowhere close to reaching, having penetrated only a few kilometres into France.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.292"/>
 
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On 10 July 1943, in [[Operation Husky]], the Allies invaded [[Sicily]].<ref>Gerhard Weinberg, ''A World in Arms'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 594</ref> Just before the invasion of Sicily, Umberto had gone on an inspection tour of the Italian forces in Sicily and reported to his father that the Italians had no hope of holding Sicily.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.303">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 303</ref> Mussolini had assured the King that the ''[[Regio Esercito]]'' could hold Sicily, and the poor performance of the Italian forces defending Sicily helped to persuade the King to finally dismiss Mussolini, as Umberto informed his father that ''Il Duce'' had lied to him.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.303"/> On 16 July 1943, the visiting Papal Assistant Secretary of State told the American diplomats in [[Madrid]] that King Victor Emmanuel III and Prince Umberto were now hated by the Italian people even more than Mussolini.<ref>Ellwood, David ''Italy 1943–1945'', Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1985 p. 35</ref> By this time, many Fascist ''gerarchi'' had become convinced that it was necessary to depose Mussolini to save the Fascist system, and on the night of 24–25 July 1943, at a meeting of the [[Fascist Grand Council]], a motion introduced by the ''gerarchi'' [[Dino Grandi]] to take away Mussolini's powers was approved by a vote of 19 to 8.<ref name="Gerhard Weinberg p.597">Gerhard Weinberg, ''A World in Arms'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 597</ref> The fact that the majority of the Fascist Grand Council voted for the motion showed just how disillusioned the Fascist ''gerarchi'' had become with Mussolini by the summer of 1943.<ref name="Gerhard Weinberg p.485"/> The intransigent and radical group of Fascists led by the ''gerarchi'' [[Roberto Farinacci]], who wanted to continue the war, were only a minority, while the majority of the ''gerarchi'' supported Grandi's call to jettison Mussolini as the best way of saving Fascism.<ref name="Gerhard Weinberg p.597"/>
 
On 25 July 1943, Victor Emmanuel III finally dismissed Mussolini and appointed [[Marshal of Italy|Marshal]] [[Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba]], as Primeprime Ministerminister with secret orders to negotiate an armistice with the Allies. [[Baron]] [[Raffaele Guariglia]], the Italian ambassador to [[Spain]], contacted British diplomats to begin the negotiations. Badoglio went about the negotiations halfheartedly while allowing many German forces to enter Italy.<ref name="Gerhard Weinberg p.598"/> The American historian [[Gerhard Weinberg]] wrote that Badoglio as Primeprime Ministerminister "...did almost everything as stupidly and slowly as possible", as he dragged out the secret peace talks going on in Lisbon and [[Tangier]], being unwilling to accept the Allied demand for unconditional surrender.<ref name="Gerhard Weinberg p.598">Gerhard Weinberg, ''A World in Arms'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 598</ref> During the secret armistice talks, Badoglio told [[Pietro d'Acquarone|Count Pietro d'Acquarone]] that he thought he might get better terms if Victor Emmanuel abdicated in favour of Umberto, complaining that the armistice terms that the King wanted were unacceptable to the Allies.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.310">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 310</ref> D'Acquarone told Badoglio to keep his views to himself as the King was completely unwilling to abdicate, all the more so as he believed that Umberto was unfit to be monarch.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.310"/>
 
===Partition of Italy===
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In September 1943, Italy was partitioned between the south of Italy, administered by the Italian government with an Allied Control Commission (ACC) having supervisory powers, while Germany occupied northern and central Italy with a puppet [[Italian Social Republic]] (popularly called the Salò Republic), headed by Mussolini holding nominal power.<ref>Gerhard Weinberg, ''A World in Arms'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 485–486</ref> By 16 September 1943, a line had formed across Italy with everything to the north held by the Germans and to the south by the Allies.<ref>Gerhard Weinberg, ''A World in Arms'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 601</ref> Because of what Weinberg called the "extraordinary incompetence" of Badoglio, who, like Victor Emmanuel, had not anticipated Operation Achse until it was far too late, thousands of Italian soldiers with no leadership were taken prisoner by the Germans without resisting in the Balkans, France and Italy itself, to be taken off to work as slave labour in factories in Germany, an experience that many did not survive.<ref name="Gerhard Weinberg p.485"/> How Victor Emmanuel mishandled the armistice was to become almost as controversial in Italy as his support for Fascism.<ref>Kogan, Norman ''A Political History of Postwar Italy'', London: Pall Mall Press, 1966 p. 5</ref> Under the terms of the armistice, the ACC had the ultimate power with the Royal Italian Government in the south, being in many ways a similar position to the Italian Social Republic under the Germans. However, as the British historian [[James Holland (author)|James Holland]] noted, the crucial difference was that: "In the south, Italy was now moving closer towards democracy".<ref name="Holland, James p.250">Holland, James ''Italy's Year of Sorrow, 1944–1945'', New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008 p. 250</ref> In the part of Italy under the control of the ACC, which issued orders to the Italian civil servants, freedom of the press, association and expression were restored along with other civil rights and liberties.<ref name="Holland, James p.250"/>
 
During 1943–45, the Italian economy collapsed with much of the infrastructure destroyed, inflation rampant, the black market becoming the dominant form of economic activity, and food shortages reducing much of the population to the brink of starvation in both northern and southern Italy.<ref>Holland, James ''Italy's Year of Sorrow, 1944–1945'', New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008 pp. 192–193, 242–243, 396–396</ref> In 1943–44, the cost of living in southern Italy skyrocketed by 321%, while it was estimated that people in Naples needed 2,000 calories per day to survive while the average Neapolitan was doing well if they consumed 500 calories a day in 1943–44.<ref>Holland, James ''Italy's Year of Sorrow, 1944–1945'', New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008 p. 242</ref> Naples in 1944 was described as a city without cats or dogs which had all been eaten by the Neapolitans, while much of the female population of Naples turned to prostitution to survive.<ref>Holland, James ''Italy's Year of Sorrow, 1944–1945'', New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008 p. 243</ref> As dire as the economic situation was in southern Italy, food shortages and inflation were even worse in northern Italy as the Germans carried out a policy of ruthless economic exploitation.<ref>Holland, James ''Italy's Year of Sorrow, 1944–1945'', New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008 pp. 192–193</ref> Since the war in which Mussolini had involved Italy in 1940 had become such an utter catastrophe for the Italian people by 1943, it had the effect of discrediting all those associated with the Fascist system, including Victor Emmanuel.<ref>Kogan, Norman ''A Political History of Postwar Italy'', London: Pall Mall Press, 1966 p. 7</ref> In late 1943, Victor Emmanuel stated that he felt he bore no responsibility for Italy's plight, for appointing Mussolini as Primeprime Ministerminister in 1922 and for entering the war in 1940. This further increased his unpopularity and led to demands that he abdicate at once.<ref>Giuseppe Mammarealla ''Italy After Fascism A Political History 1943–1965'', Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1966 pp. 62–63</ref>
 
In northern Italy, a guerrilla war began against the fascists, both Italian and German, with most of the guerrilla units fighting under the banner of the [[National Liberation Committee]] (''Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale''-CLN), who were very strongly left-wing and republican.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.336">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 336</ref> Of the six parties that made up the CLN, the Communists, the Socialists and the Action Party were republican; the Christian Democrats and the Labour Party were ambiguous on the "institutional question", and only the Liberal Party was committed to preserving the monarchy, though many individual Liberals were republicans.<ref>M.L.K "Republic versus Monarchy in Italy" pp. 305–313 from ''The World Today'', Vol 2, Issue 7, July 1946 p. 307</ref> Only a minority of the partisan bands fighting for the CLN were monarchists, and a prince of the House of Savoy led none.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.336"/> After the war, Umberto claimed that he wanted to join the partisans, and only his wartime duties prevented him from doing so.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.336"/> The Italian Royal Court relocated itself to [[Brindisi]] in the south of Italy after fleeing Rome.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith pp. 318–319"/> In the fall of 1943, many Italian monarchists, like [[Benedetto Croce]] and [[Count]] [[Carlo Sforza]], pressed for Victor Emmanuel III to abdicate and for Umberto to renounce his right to the succession in favour of his 6-year-old son, with a regency council to govern Italy as the best hope of saving the monarchy.<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press pp. 322–323</ref> Count Sforza tried to interest the British members of the ACC in this plan, calling Victor Emmanuel a "despicable weakling" and Umberto "a pathological case", saying neither was qualified to rule Italy. However, given the unwillingness of the King to abdicate, nothing came of it.<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 323</ref>
 
At a meeting of the leading politicians from the six revived political parties on 13 January 1944 in [[Bari]], the demand was made that the ACC should force Victor Emmanuel to abdicate to "wash away the shame of the past".<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.324">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 324</ref> Beyond removing Victor Emmanuel, which everyone at the Congress of Bari wanted, the Italian politicians differed, with some calling for a republic to be proclaimed at once, some willing to see Umberto succeed to the throne, others wanting Umberto to renounce his claim to the throne in favour of his son, and finally those who were willing to accept Umberto as ''[[Luogotenente#Kingdom of Sardinia and Kingdom of Italy|Luogotenente Generale del Regno]]'' ({{lang-langx|en|Lieutenant General of the Realm}}) to govern in place of his father.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.324"/> Since northern and central Italy were still occupied by Germany, it was finally decided at the Bari conference that the "institutional question" should be settled only once all of Italy was liberated, so all of the Italian people could have their say.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.324"/>
 
===Outing and appointment as regent===
[[File:King Umberto II behind of the Flag of Kingdom of Italy.jpg|thumb|220px|upright|King Umberto II behind the flag of the [[Kingdom of Italy]]]]
[[File:Crown of Kingdom of Italy.png|thumb|220px|upright|[[Crown]] of the [[Kingdom of Italy]]]]
 
In the [[Italian Social Republic|Salò Republic]], Mussolini returned to his original republicanism and, as part of his attack on the [[House of Savoy]], Fascist newspapers in the area under the control of the Italian Social Republic "outed" Umberto, calling him ''Stellassa'' ("Ugly Starlet" in the [[Piedmontese language]]).<ref name="Dall'Oroto p. 534">Dall'Oroto, Giovanni "Umberto II" from ''Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History'', London: Psychology Press, 2002 p. 534</ref> The Fascist newspapers reported in a lurid, sensationalist, and decidedly homophobic way Umberto's various relationships with men as a way of discrediting him.<ref name="Dall'Oroto p. 534"/> It was after Umberto was "outed" by the Fascist press in late 1943 that the issue of his homosexuality came to widespread public notice.<ref name="Dall'Oroto p. 534"/>
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===Liberation and republicanism===
Most of the Committee of National Liberation (CLN) leaders operating underground in the north tended to lean in a republican direction. Still, they were willing to accept Umberto temporarily out of the belief that his personality and widespread rumours about his private life would ensure that he would not last long as either Lieutenant General of the Realm or as King, should his father abdicate.<ref>Ellwood, David ''Italy 1943–1945'', Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1985 pp. 88–89</ref> After the liberation of Rome on 6 June 1944, the various Italian political parties all applied strong pressure on Umberto to dismiss Pietro Badoglio as Primeprime Ministerminister, as the Duke had loyally served the Fascist regime until the Royal coup on 25 July 1943, which resulted in the social democrat [[Ivanoe Bonomi]] being appointed Primeprime Ministerminister.<ref name="Gerhard Weinberg p.727">Gerhard Weinberg, ''A World in Arms'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 727</ref> On 5 June 1944, Victor Emmanuel formally gave up his powers to Umberto, finally recognising his son as Lieutenant General of the Realm.<ref>Giuseppe Mammarealla ''Italy After Fascism A Political History 1943–1965'', Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1966 p. 72</ref> After the liberation of Rome, Umberto received a warm welcome from ordinary people when he returned to the Eternal City.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.329"/> Mack Smith cautioned that the friendly reception that Umberto received in Rome may have been due to him being a symbol of normalcy after the harsh German occupation as opposed to genuine affection for the prince.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.329"/> During the German occupation, much of the Roman population had lived on the brink of starvation, young people had been arrested on the streets to be taken off to work as slave labourers in Germany, while the Fascist ''Milizia'', together with the ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' and [[SS]], had committed numerous atrocities.<ref>Giuseppe Mammarealla ''Italy After Fascism A Political History 1943–1965'', Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1966 p. 70</ref> Badoglio, by contrast, was greeted with widespread hostility when he returned to Rome, being blamed by many Italians as the man, together with the King, who was responsible for abandoning Rome to the Germans without a fight in September 1943.<ref>Ellwood, David ''Italy 1943–1945'', Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1985 p. 95</ref>
 
Umberto had ordered Badoglio to bring members of the Committee of National Liberation (CLN) into his cabinet after the liberation of Rome to broaden his basis of support and ensure national unity by preventing the emergence of a rival government.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.332"/> Umberto moved into the [[Quirinal Palace]], while at The Grand Hotel, the Rome branch of the CLN met with the cabinet.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.332"/> Speaking on behalf of the CLN in general, the Roman leadership of the CLN refused to join the cabinet as long as Badoglio headed it but indicated that Bonomi was an acceptable choice as Primeprime Ministerminister for them.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.332"/> [[Lieutenant General (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-General]] [[Noel Mason-MacFarlane|Sir Noel Mason-MacFarlane]] of the ACC visited the Quirinal Palace and convinced Umberto to accept Bonomi as Primeprime Ministerminister because the Crown needed to bring the CLN into the government, which required sacrificing Badoglio.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.332"/> As Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin were willing to see Badoglio continue as Primeprime Ministerminister, seeing him as a force for order, Umberto could have held out for him. However, as part of his efforts to distance himself from Fascism, Umberto agreed to appoint Bonomi as Primeprime Ministerminister.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.332"/> Reflecting the tense "institutional question" of republic vs. monarchy, Umberto, when swearing in the Bonomi cabinet, allowed the ministers to take either their oaths to himself as the Lieutenant General of the Realm or to the Italian state; Bonomi himself chose to take his oath to Umberto while the rest of his cabinet chose to take their oaths only to the Italian state.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.332"/> Churchill especially disapproved of the replacement of Badoglio with Bonomi, complaining that, in his view, Umberto was being used by "a group of aged and hungry politicians trying to intrigue themselves into an undue share of power".<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.332"/> Through the Allied occupation, the Americans were far more supportive of Italian republicanism than the British, with Churchill in particular believing the Italian monarchy was the only institution that was capable of preventing the Italian Communists from coming to power after the war.<ref>Gerhard Weinberg, ''A World in Arms'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 727–728</ref>
 
Unlike the conservative Badoglio, the social democrat Bonomi started to move Italian politics in an increasingly democratic direction as he argued that King Victor Emmanuel III, who had only turned against Mussolini when it was clear that the war was lost, was unfit to continue as monarch.<ref name="Gerhard Weinberg p.727"/> On 25 June 1944, the Bonomi government, which like Badoglio's government, ruled by Royal Decree as there was no parliament in Italy, had a Royal Decree issued in Umberto's name promising a Constituent Assembly for Italy after the war.<ref>Giuseppe Mammarealla ''Italy After Fascism A Political History 1943–1965'', Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1966 p. 73</ref> As Umberto continued as regent, he surprised many, after his rocky start in the spring of 1944, with greater maturity and judgement than was expected.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.331"/> Croce advised him to make a break with his father by choosing his advisers from the democratic parties, and it was due to Croce's influence that Umberto appointed [[Falcone Lucifero]], a socialist lawyer, as Minister of the Royal House.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.332"/> Lucifero suggested reforms, which were implemented, such as reducing the number of aristocrats and generals at the Royal Court, while bringing in people from all the regions of Italy instead of just Piedmont to make the Royal Court more representative of Italy.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.332"/>
 
Umberto, in September 1944, vetoed an attempt by the Bonomi government to start an investigation of who was responsible for abandoning Rome in September 1943 as he feared that it would show his father was a coward.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.334">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 334</ref> The same month, Badoglio, who was kept on as an adviser by Umberto, made an offer to the British and the Americans on behalf of the regent in September 1944 for Italy to be governed by a triumvirate consisting of himself, Bonomi and another former Primeprime Ministerminister, [[Vittorio Orlando]], which purged the prefects in the liberated areas who were "agents of Togliatti and Nenni" with Fascist-era civil servants.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.334"/> Badoglio also spoke of Umberto's desire not to lose any territory after the war to Greece, Yugoslavia and France.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.334"/> Badoglio's offer was rejected as Admiral [[Ellery W. Stone]] of the ACC was opposed to Umberto's plans to have Bonomi share power with Badoglio and Orlando, seeing this as upsetting the delicately achieved political consensus for no other reason than to increase the Crown's power.<ref>Ellwood, David ''Italy 1943–1945'', Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1985 p. 105</ref><ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.338">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 338</ref>
 
In October 1944, Umberto, in an interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'', stated that he favoured a referendum to decide whether Italy was to be a republic or a monarchy instead of having the "institutional question" decided by the national assembly that would write Italy's post-war constitution.<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press pp. 333–334</ref> Umberto's interview caused controversy as the republican parties widely feared that a referendum would be rigged, especially in the south of Italy.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.335">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 335</ref> In the same interview, Umberto mentioned his belief that, after the war, monarchies all over the world would move towards the left, and stated that under his leadership Italy would go leftwards "in an ordered, liberal way" as he understood "the weight of the past is the monarchy's greatest handicap", which he would resolve by a "radical revision" of the ''[[Statuto Albertino]]''.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.333">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 333</ref> Umberto spoke favourably of Togliatti as he was "clever, agreeable, and easy to discuss problems with".<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.333"/> In private, Umberto said he found Togliatti "to be a very congenial companion whose intelligence he respected, but was afraid that he suited his conversation according to his company".<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.334"/>
 
By late 1944, the question of whether the CLN or the Crown represented the Italian people came to a head.<ref name="Holland, James p.449">Holland, James ''Italy's Year of Sorrow, 1944–1945'', New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008 p. 449</ref> On 25 November 1944, Bonomi resigned as Primeprime Ministerminister, saying he could not govern owing to his difficulties with the CLN, and as the politicians could not agree on a successor. Umberto used the impasse to reassert the Crown's powers.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.335"/> The crisis ended on 12 December 1944 with Umberto appointing a new government under Bonomi consisting of ministers from four parties, the most important of which were the Communists and the Christian Democrats.<ref>Holland, James ''Italy's Year of Sorrow, 1944–1945'', New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008 pp. 449–450</ref> In response to objections from the CLN, Bonomi, in practice, accepted their claim that they represented the Italian people rather than the Crown, while still swearing an oath of loyalty to Umberto as the Lieutenant General of the Realm when he took the Primeprime Ministerminister's oath.<ref name="Holland, James p.449"/> An attempt by Umberto to have Churchill issue a public statement in favour of the monarchy led Macmillan to warn Umberto to try to be more politically neutral as regent.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.335"/> However, Churchill, during a visit to Rome in January 1945, called Umberto "a far more impressive figure than the politicians".<ref>Ellwood, David ''Italy 1943–1945'', Leicester: Leicester University Press, 1985 p. 219</ref> As a gesture to promote national unity after the traumas of the war, in June 1945, Umberto appointed as Primeprime Ministerminister, a prominent guerrilla leader, [[Ferruccio Parri]].<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.336"/>
 
In December 1945, Umberto appointed a new, more conservative government under [[Alcide De Gasperi]].<ref>Kogan, Norman ''A Political History of Postwar Italy'', London: Pall Mall Press, 1966 pp. 34–35</ref> One of the first acts of the new government was to announce the High Commission for Sanctions Against Fascism would cease operating as of 31 March 1946 and to start purging from the liberated areas of northern Italy civil servants appointed by the CLN, restoring the career civil servants who had served the Fascist regime back to their former posts.<ref>Kogan, Norman ''A Political History of Postwar Italy'', London: Pall Mall Press, 1966 p. 35</ref> Over the opposition of the left-wing parties who wanted the "institutional question" resolved by the Constituent Assembly, De Gasperi announced that a referendum would be held to decide the "institutional question".<ref name="Kogan, Norman p.36">Kogan, Norman ''A Political History of Postwar Italy'', London: Pall Mall Press, 1966 p. 36</ref> At the same time, Italian women were given the right to vote and to hold official office for the first time, again over the opposition of the left-wing parties, who viewed Italian women as more conservative than their menfolk, and believed that female suffrage would benefit the monarchist side in the referendum.<ref name="Kogan, Norman p.36"/> The monarchists favoured putting off the referendum as long as possible out of the hope that a return to normalcy would cause the Italians to take a more favourable view of their monarchy, while the republicans wanted a referendum as soon as possible, hoping that wartime radicalisation would work in their favour.<ref name="Kogan, Norman p.36"/>
 
==King of Italy==
[[File:King Umberto II visitingbehind Cairoof the Flag of Kingdom of Italy.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|King Umberto, [[PrinceII ofat Piedmont]], visitingthe [[CairoQuirinal Palace]] on his first day as king 10 May 1946.]]
[[File:King Umberto II behind of the FlagCrown of Kingdom of Italy.jpgpng|thumb|220px|upright|King Umberto II behind the flag[[Crown]] of the [[Kingdom of Italy]]]]
 
Umberto earned widespread praise for his role in the following three years, with the Italian historian Giuseppe Mammarella calling Umberto a man "whose Fascist past was less compromising" than that of Victor Emmanuel and who, as Lieutenant General of the Realm, showed certain "progressive" tendencies.<ref>Giuseppe Mammarealla ''Italy After Fascism A Political History 1943–1965'', Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1966 p. 112</ref> In April 1946, a public opinion poll of registered members of the conservative Christian Democratic party showed that 73% were republicans, a poll that caused immense panic in the monarchist camp.<ref name="Norman Kogan p.37">Norman Kogan ''A Political History of Postwar Italy'', London: Pall Mall Press, 1966 p. 37</ref> The American historian Norman Kogan cautioned the poll was of Christian Democratic members, which was not the same thing as Christian Democratic voters who tended to be "...rural, female, or generally apolitical".<ref>Norman Kogan, ''A Political History of Postwar Italy'', London: Pall Mall Press, 1966 p. 37</ref> Nonetheless, the poll led to appeals from Umberto to the ACC to postpone the referendum, leading to the reply that the De Gasperi cabinet had set the date for the referendum, not the ACC.<ref name="Norman Kogan p.37"/> The possibility of losing the referendum also led to the monarchists to appeal to Victor Emmanuel to finally abdicate.<ref>Kogan, Norman ''A Political History of Postwar Italy'', London: Pall Mall Press, 1966 p. 37</ref> De Gasperi and the other Christian Democratic leaders refused to take sides in the referendum, urging Christian Democratic voters to follow their consciences when it came time to vote.<ref name="Giuseppe Mammarealla p. 114">Giuseppe Mammarealla ''Italy After Fascism A Political History 1943–1965'', Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1966 p. 114</ref>
 
In the belated hope of influencing public opinion ahead of a [[Italian constitutional referendum, 1946|referendum on the continuation of the monarchy]], Victor Emmanuel formally abdicated in favour of Umberto on 9 May 1946 and left for Egypt.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.338"/> Before departing for Egypt, Victor Emmanuel saw Umberto for the last time, saying farewell in a cold, emotionless way.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.338"/> The Catholic Church saw the continuation of the monarchy as the best way of keeping the Italian left out of power, and during the referendum campaign, Catholic priests used their pulpits to warn that "all the pains of hell" were reserved for those who voted for a republic.<ref name="auto">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 339</ref> The Catholic Church presented the referendum not as a question of republic vs monarchy, but instead as a question of Communism vs Catholicism, warning to vote for a republic would be to vote for the Communists.<ref name="Norman Kogan p.37"/> On the day before the referendum, 1 June 1946, [[Pope Pius XII]], in a sermon on [[St. Peter's Square]], said in what was widely seen as endorsing Umberto: "What is the problem? The problem is whether one or the other of those nations, of those two Latin sisters [elections were taking place in France on the same day] with several thousands of years of civilisation, will continue to learnlean against the solid rock of Christianity;... or on the contrary, do they want to hand over the fate of their future to the impossible omnipotence of a secular state without extraterrestrial ideals, without religion, and without God. One of these two alternatives shall occur according to whether the names of the champions or the destroyers of Christian civilization emerge victorious from the urns".<ref name="Giuseppe Mammarealla p. 114"/> Umberto believed that the support from the Catholic Church would be decisive and that he would win the referendum by a narrow margin.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.340">Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press p. 340</ref> The De Gasperi cabinet accepted Umberto as King, but refused to accept the standard appellation for Italian kings "by the [[Grace of God]] and the will of the people".<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.338"/>
 
In northern Italy, which had been the scene of the guerrilla struggle against the Italian Social Republic and the Germans, much of the population had been radicalised by the struggle, and feelings were very much against the monarchy.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.336"/> Kogan wrote Victor Emmanuel's flight from Rome was "bitterly remembered" in the ''Nord'' as an act of cowardice and betrayal by the King who abandoned his people to the German occupation without a fight.<ref>Kogan, Norman ''A Political History of Postwar Italy'', London: Pall Mall Press, 1966 p. 34</ref> The socialist leader [[Sandro Pertini]] warned Umberto not to campaign in Milan as otherwise he would be lynched by the Milanese working class if he should appear in that city.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.336"/> Republican cartoonists mercilessly mocked Umberto's physical quirks, as the American historian Anthony Di Renzo wrote that he was: "Tall, stiff, and balding, he had smooth, clean-shaven blue cheeks, thin lips, and a weak chin. Dressed in military uniform as [[First Marshal of the Empire]], decorated with the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, he seemed more like a majordomo than a king.<ref name="Di Renzo">{{cite web|last=Di Renzo|first=Anthony|date=14 May 2014|title=Re di Maggio: Pasquino forgives King Umberto II|url=https://italoamericano.org/story/2014-5-12/Re-Di-Maggio|access-date=2019-02-01|publisher=L'Italo-Americano|archive-date=29 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329024024/https://italoamericano.org/story/2014-5-12/Re-Di-Maggio|url-status=dead}}</ref> On the campaign trail, Umberto was received with much more friendliness in the south of Italy than in the north.<ref name="Denis Mack Smith p.338"/> People in the ''[[Mezzogiorno]]'' loved their King, who on the campaign trail in Sicily showed an encyclopedic knowledge of Sicilian villages which greatly endeared him to the Sicilians.<ref name="Di Renzo"/> Umberto's principal arguments for retaining the monarchy were it was the best way to revive Italy as a great power; it was the only institution capable of holding Italy together by checking regional separatism; and it would uphold Catholicism against anti-clericalism.<ref>Denis Mack Smith, ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press pp. 338–339</ref> The republicans charged that Umberto had done nothing to oppose Fascism, with his major interest being his "glittering social life" in the high society of Rome and Turin, and that as a general knew that Italy was unready for war in 1940, but did not warn Mussolini against entering the war.<ref>Giuseppe Mammarealla ''Italy After Fascism A Political History 1943–1965'', Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1966 p. 62</ref>
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==In exile==
Umberto II lived for 37 years in exile, in [[Cascais]], on the [[Portuguese Riviera]]. He never set foot in his native land again; the 1948 constitution of the Italian Republic not only forbade amending the constitution to restore the monarchy but, until 2002, barred all male heirs to the defunct Italian throne from ever returning to Italian soil. Female members of the Savoy family were not barred, except former [[queen consort|queen consorts]]. Relations between Umberto and Marie José grew more strained during their exile, and in effect, their marriage broke up, with Marie José moving to [[Switzerland]]. At the same time, Umberto remained in [[Portugal]], though, as Catholics, the couple neverdid filed fornot divorce.<ref name="Queen Marie Jose of Italy"/>
 
At the time when Umberto was dying, in 1983, [[President of the Italian Republic|President]] [[Sandro Pertini]] wanted the [[Italian Parliament]] to allow Umberto to return to his native country. Umberto II died in [[Geneva]] and was interred in [[Hautecombe Abbey]], which for centuries was the burial place of the members of the [[House of Savoy]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Roy Palmer |last1=Domenico |title=Remaking Italy in the Twentieth Century |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |year=2002 |pages=101–102}}</ref>
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==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Denis Mack|title=Italy and Its Monarchy|date=1992|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300051322|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=axgfeXGFvF8C&q=italy+and+its+monarchy+1989}}
*{{cite book|last1=Katz|first1=Robert|title=The Fall of the House of Savoy|date=1972|publisher=George Allen & Unwin Ltd.|isbn=978-0049450110|edition=}}
* {{cite book|last1=Mack Smith|first1=Denis Mack|title=Italy and Its Monarchy|date=1992|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300051322|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=axgfeXGFvF8C&q=italy+and+its+monarchy+1989}}
 
==External links==
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[[Category:20th-century regents]]
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[[Category:Field marshals of Italy]]
[[Category:Italian admirals]]
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