Draft:Succession to the Italian throne

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
  • Comment: References must be fixed. JeBonSer (talk) 06:59, 3 November 2025 (UTC)


Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy
Coat of arms of the Italian monarchy

Succession to the throne of Italy refers to the rules of the House of Savoy governing the transmission of the title of King of Italy.

Dynastic laws

[edit]

Dynastic succession in the House of Savoy, closely connected with the regulations on princely marriages, has been governed by a series of norms originating since the early history of the dynasty. These rules were transmitted orally at least since the year 1000, codified in writing starting from 1780, and never abrogated.[1]

Kingdom of Sardinia

[edit]
Art. 1. It shall not be lawful for Princes of the Blood to contract marriage without first obtaining Our permission or that of Our royal successors, and any of them failing in this indispensable duty shall be subject to such measures as We or Our royal successors shall deem appropriate.
Art. 2. If, in addition to the lack of this obligation, the marriage is contracted with a person of inferior condition and status, both the contracting parties and their descendants shall be deprived of the goods and rights deriving from the Crown and of the right to succeed thereto, as well as of every honor and prerogative of the Family.
Art. 3. When, however, particular circumstances determine Us or Our royal successors to allow an unequal marriage, We reserve the right to prescribe the conditions and precautions to be observed.
  • Royal edict of 16 July 1782, also by Victor Amadeus III:
Art. 10. The marriages of the Princes of our House, being of essential interest to the decorum of the Crown and to the good of the State, cannot be contracted without Our permission or that of Our royal successors. Any Prince failing in this indispensable duty shall be subject to provisions determined by Us or Our royal successors, in accordance with the letters patent of 13 September 1780, with the reservation to accompany permissions with proper conditions.
Art. 2. The state is governed by a Representative Monarchy. The Throne is hereditary according to Salic law.

Kingdom of Italy

[edit]

The fundamental rules regarding royal marriages were incorporated into the Civil Code:

Art. 69. For the validity of the marriages of Princes and Princesses of the Royal Family the King’s assent is required.
Art. 81. The consent of ascendants, if not given personally before the civil officer, must appear from an authentic act containing precise indication of the spouse to whom consent is given.
  • Civil Code of 16 March 1942:
Art. 92. For the validity of the marriages of Princes and Princesses of the Royal Family the assent of the King-Emperor is required.

Analysis

[edit]
Victor Amadeus III of Savoy
Victor Amadeus III of Savoy

The marriages of the princes of the House of Savoy have traditionally been contracted between social equals. This practice, combined with primogeniture and the exclusion of female lines, has been attested since the foundation of the dynasty under Humbert the White-Handed. By the year 1000, an heir was considered legitimate only if he had contracted an equal marriage with prior assent of the Head of the House.

In the 18th century, Victor Amadeus III codified these traditions in the royal letters patent of 13 September 1780.[2] Similar to other European royal families, the prince about to marry must receive the assent of the Head of the House under penalty of losing all succession rights.[3]

  • Article 1 of the letters patent: marriages without authorization may incur sanctions.
  • Article 2: marriages with persons of inferior condition automatically result in exclusion from succession.
  • Article 3: unequal marriages may be allowed with prior consent, potentially being declared dynastic or morganatic.[4]

Royal assent remains mandatory, and succession is always determined by dynastic law, never arbitrarily or testamentarily.[5]

    • Summary of succession rules in the House of Savoy:**
  • Salic law, excluding women.
  • Primogeniture.
  • Equality of marriage (derogable only with consent).
  • Principle of prior assent (non-derogable).
Marriage scenario Consequences
Prince, with prior assent, marries a princess Dynastic marriage: titles and rights transmitted to wife and children
Prince, with prior assent, marries a woman of inferior condition Marriage may be dynastic or morganatic; titles and succession affected
Prince, without prior assent, marries a princess Sanctions decided case by case
Prince, without prior assent, marries a woman of inferior condition Automatic loss of titles and succession rights; wife and children receive none

Line of succession in June 1946

[edit]

At the abolition of the monarchy, the line of succession was:

Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878)

Controversy over the title of Head of the House

[edit]
Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta and Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy in 1964

At the end of the 1950s Italian magazines reported rumours about a possible marriage between Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy and actress Dominique Claudel. On 25 January 1960 King Umberto II warned his son that an unequal marriage without royal assent would imply forfeiture of dynastic rights, loss of title and rank, and equality with his sisters in inheritance matters.[6] He also stated that such rules had been followed by his predecessors.

In 1963 the king reiterated the warning in relation to Vittorio Emanuele’s new relationship with water-ski champion Marina Doria.[7] Umberto II suspended his son’s allowance and clarified that in case of forfeiture, the nearest male relative, Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, would succeed.[8]

After Vittorio Emanuele married Marina Doria civilly in Las Vegas in 1970,[9] Umberto II considered his dynastic rights automatically lost under the royal letters patent of 13 September 1780.[10] He discreetly prohibited members of the House from attending the religious wedding in Tehran (1971) and did not grant Vittorio Emanuele’s son Emanuele Filiberto any title, honour or the style of Royal Highness.[11]

After the death of Umberto II

[edit]

Umberto II died on 18 March 1983. Vittorio Emanuele proclaimed himself Head of the House, assuming titles and prerogatives, although his status remained disputed among Italian monarchists.[12] His son subsequently began to use the titles Prince of Piedmont and his son the title of Prince of Venice.[13]

Restrictions in the 1948 Constitution had barred male Savoy descendants from entering Italy and holding public office.[14] These were partially repealed in 2002,[15] allowing Vittorio Emanuele’s return in 2003. Disputes continued and in 2006 Amedeo was proclaimed Head of the House by a faction of the Consulta dei senatori del Regno, assuming the title Duke of Savoy.[16] After Amedeo’s death in 2021, his son Aimone continued the claim.

Many Italians tend to recognise any dynastic rights as passing to Emanuele Filiberto. Supporters argue that the royal marriage rules requiring the assent of the Head of the House lost effect with the Constitution of the Italian Republic and no longer apply to the former royal family. They also note that King Umberto II never publicly declared Vittorio Emanuele excluded from the succession. Vittorio Emanuele refers to a warning letter from 25 January 1960 about his relationship with Dominique Claudel, later published in 2006, in which Umberto II stated that such a decision would be communicated to members of the house, other sovereigns, and the Italian people, including the loss of the title of Prince of Naples.[17] No public announcement was made. He also claims that Umberto II orally recognised the dynastic legitimacy of his son Emanuele Filiberto as Prince of Venice, although no written act confirms this.[18] Supporters of the Savoy-Aosta branch argue that after an unequal marriage without assent, no further act is needed to confirm the loss of dynastic rights.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Crosa, Giuseppe. I Savoia: storia di una dinastia. Garzanti, 1967.
  • Miceli, Francesco. Il Regime del Titolo Nobiliare. Jovene, 1960.
  • Ranelletti, Raffaele. Le Leggi Statutarie. UTET, 1940.
  • Speroni, Carlo. Il Titolo Reale in Italia. Rivista di Diritto Pubblico, 1950.
  • Enciclopedia Italiana. Re. Istituto Treccani, 1939.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Le Regie Patenti" (PDF). Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  2. ^ Crosa, Giuseppe (1967). I Savoia: storia di una dinastia. Garzanti. p. 20.
  3. ^ "Re". Enciclopedia Italiana. Treccani. 1939.
  4. ^ "Conti di Villafranca-Soisson". Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  5. ^ Ranelletti, Raffaele (1940). Le Leggi Statutarie. UTET. p. 160.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference lettera1960 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ …
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference ammonizioni was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ …
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference spiegazione was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ …
  12. ^ …
  13. ^ …
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference xiii was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ …
  16. ^ …
  17. ^ "Letter of Umberto II to Vittorio Emanuele, 25 January 1960" (PDF).
  18. ^ "Savoia: Vittorio Emanuele turns 70, family birthday celebration". Retrieved 18 February 2020.


Category:Italian monarchy Category:House of Savoy Category:Lines of succession