A prince has said he is ready to renounce his rights to the defunct throne Italy in favour of his teenage daughter – who he described as a “rock ‘n’ roll princess”. Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia is the son and heir of Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, the only son of the last king of Italy, Umberto II.
While Italians ditched the monarchy with a referendum in 1946, the Savoy family never gave up the dream of seeing the throne of Italy restored.
And Prince Emanuele Filiberto believes his daughter Vittoria could do a better job than him as a royal, when the time for her to step up is right.
Speaking about the 19-year-old – who is a model as well as a political science and history of art student at the University of London – her father told the Telegraph: “I will, with great pleasure, step down and let her take on the role, which I’m sure she will do better than me.
“It won’t be tomorrow or in one year, but when she is ready.
“It’s important that the younger generation have a chance to put new, modern ideas into practice.
“They are much more conscious than us of the problems facing the world.
“And it is important that she doesn’t become the heir at too late a stage in her life.”
Vittoria, who boasts almost 80,000 followers on Instagram and has been featured on the front cover of French Vogue, is the daughter of Prince Emanuele Filiberto and French actress Clotilde Courau.
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Born in 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland, Vittoria loves arts and fashion but has shown an interest in social issues as she previously campaigned for educational changes.
Princess Vittoria already made history in 2020 after her grandfather included her in the line of succession by abolishing the Salic Law, which excludes women as heirs.
Speaking with the New York Times in 2021, Vittoria said: “It was the best present he could ever give me.”
Asked whether she thought Italians were ready for a Queen, she added: “Italy isn’t a very progressive country, but they will learn.”
Following the end of World War II and the referendum that marked the end of Umberto II’s reign, the Savoys were banished from Italian soil.
They were allowed to return in 2003, after pledging their allegiance in writing to the Republican Constitution and the Italian President.
