Victor Emmanuel III

King of Italy (more...)
Reign29 July 1900 ? 9 May 1946
Coronation29 July 1900
PredecessorUmberto I
SuccessorUmberto II
Emperor of Ethiopia
Reign9 May 1936 ? 5 May 1941
PredecessorHaile Selassie I
SuccessorHaile Selassie I
King of the Albanians
Reign16 April 1939 ? 8 September 1943
PredecessorZog I
SuccessorTitle abolished

ConsortElena of Montenegro
Issue
Yolanda, Countess of Bergolo
Mafalda, Landgravine of Hesse
Umberto II
Giovanna, Queen of Bulgaria
Maria Francesca, Princess Luigi of Bourbon-Parma
Full name
Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro
HouseHouse of Savoy
FatherUmberto I of Italy
MotherMargherita of Savoy
Born(1869-11-11)11 November 1869
Naples, Kingdom of Italy
Died28 December 1947(1947-12-28) (aged 78)
Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt
BurialSaint Catherine's Cathedral, Alexandria, Egypt
Signature
ReligionNone

Victor Emmanuel III (Italian: Vittorio Emanuele III; 11 November 1869 ? 28 December 1947) was a member of the House of Savoy and King of Italy (29 July 1900 ? 9 May 1946). In addition, he claimed the thrones of Ethiopia and Albania as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936?41) and King of the Albanians (1939?43), which were unrecognised by the Great Powers. During his long reign (46 years), which began after the assassination of his father Umberto I, the Kingdom of Italy became involved in two World Wars. His reign also encompassed the birth, rise, and fall of Italian Fascism.

Victor Emmanuel abdicated his throne in 1946 to his son Umberto II, hoping to strengthen the support for the monarchy against an ultimately successful referendum to abolish it. He then fled to Alexandria, Egypt, where he died and was buried the following year.
Contents

1 Biography

1.1 Early years

1.2 Accession to the throne

1.3 Support to Mussolini

1.3.1 March on Rome

1.3.2 Lateran Treaty


1.4 Loss of popular support

1.4.1 Emperor of Ethiopia

1.4.2 Public silence concerning racial purity laws

1.4.3 King of the Albanians


1.5 Final efforts to save crown

1.5.1 Coup d'etat against Mussolini

1.5.2 Armistice with the Allies

1.5.3 1946 plebiscite



2 Legacy

3 Titles of the Crown of Italy

4 Ancestors

5 Family

6 Honours and awards

6.1 Italian

6.2 Foreign


7 See also

8 References

9 External links


Biography
Early years

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Young Victor Emmanuel with his mother, Margherita of Savoy, 1876.Victor Emmanuel as a teenager, 1886.Victor Emmanuel in 1895.

Victor Emmanuel was born in Naples, Italy. He was the only child of Umberto I, King of Italy, and his consort (first cousin by his grandfather Charles Albert of Sardinia), Princess Margherita of Savoy. Margherita was the daughter of the duke of Genoa.

Unlike his paternal first cousin's son, the 1.98 m (6 foot 6") tall Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta, Victor Emmanuel was short of stature even by 19th-century standards, to the point that today he would appear diminutive.