Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice and Piedmont

Infobox Italian Royalty|prince
name = Prince Emanuele Filiberto
title = Prince of Venice and Piedmont
full name = Emanuele Filiberto Umberto Reza Rene Maria


imgw =
date of birth = birth date and age|1972|06|22
place of birth = Geneva,Switzerland
royal house = House of Savoy
spouse = Clotilde, Princess of Venice and Piedmont
issue = Princess Vittoria
Princess Luisa
father = Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
mother = Marina, Princess of Naples

Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice and Piedmont ("Emanuele Filiberto Umberto Reza Rene Maria di Savoia") (June 22, 1972 - ), a member of the House of Savoy and titular Prince of Venice and Piedmont, is the only child of Vittorio Emanuele, a pretender to the defunct throne of Italy. Although the titles and distinctions of the Italian royal family have been legally abolished, he is styled Prince of Venice and Piedmont by the remaining supporters of the former monarchy. He is commonly known in Italy as "Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia".

Titles and honours

Emanuele Filiberto is, through his father, a claimant to the position of heir apparent to the House of Savoy, Italy's former ruling dynasty. As such he has a claim to be titular Prince of Venice and Piedmont, though this has been disputed since June 2006 when Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta declared himself to be head of the house and rightful Duke of Savoy. He maintains that Vittorio Emanuele forfeited his dynastic rights when he married Emanuele Filiberto's mother in 1971 without the legally required permission of his father and sovereign-in-exile, Umberto II.

Emanuele Filiberto and his father have applied for judicial intervention to forbid Amedeo from using the title "Duke of Savoy". An initial hearing was scheduled in the court of Arezzo, with a ruling expected by 6 June 2008. [cite journal| author = Vincent Meylan| date = 2008-05-21| title = Duc d'Aoste ou Duc de Savoie?| journal = Point de Vue| pages = 79]

Early life and family

Emanuele Filiberto was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the only child of Vittorio Emanuele, head of the House of Savoy, and his wife, the former Marina Doria, a Swiss water ski champion.

Emanuele Filiberto grew up exiled from Italy, in accordance with the provision of the Italian constitution prohibiting the male line of the House of Savoy from entering Italy (see also Birth of the Italian Republic). This provision was repealed in 2002.

Emanuele Filiberto married Clotilde Courau, a French actress and daughter of Jean Claude Courau and Catherine du Pontavice des Renardières, in Rome, Italy at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, on 25 September 2003. The basilica was built on the ruins of the Diocletian baths, and is where Filiberto's great grandfather King Victor Emmanuel III married Helen of Montenegro in 1896. Prince Albert of Monaco, who introduced the couple in 2003, was the best man. Around 1,200 people are thought to have attended the wedding. The bride, then six months pregnant, wore a Valentino dress, a veil held in place by a diamond tiara and gems belonging to the House of Savoy.

The couple have two daughters:
* Princess Vittoria of Savoy, born on 29 December 2003
* Princess Luisa of Savoy, born on 16 August 2006

Return to Italy from exile

"(See also: Vittorio Emanuele)"

On 10 November, 2002, he accompanied his father and mother to Italy, following revocation of the provision in the Italian constitution that barred the male descendants of the House of Savoy from setting foot in the country. On the three day trip, he accompanied his parents on a visit to the Vatican for a special (and controversial) 20-minute audience with Pope John Paul II, a meeting that he has expressed touched him deeply. Reports of Emanuele Filiberto's response to visiting his ancestral homeland, all state he was quite moved, and that he was overjoyed seeing Italy, a cherished place he had "only visited via the television" and knew "only through the stories my father has told me." He added that, "what we experienced was indescribable."

Other activities

Emanuele Filiberto works in Geneva as a hedge fund manager. Since returning to Italy in 2002, he has also appeared on Italian television on football discussion programmes and in commercials for olives.

Emanuele Filiberto is involved in charitable and cultural activities. In 2001, he founded the Prince of Venice Foundation to promote 'cultural diversity' Fact|date=February 2007. He is a licensed pilot for helicopters and planes and owns Ducati and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, an Aston Martin and an AC Cobra. Emanuele Filiberto has also published two books, including "Sognando L'Italia" (Dreaming of Italy), a memoir about growing up in exile. In these he recounts a fond dream of eating pizza in Naples, his family's homeland.

In 2007 Emanuele Filiberto requested formally that the State of Italy pay him financial damages of 90 million Euro. The financial damages claim is based on having suffered moral injustice during the exile and submitted along his father's request for 170 million Euro. The government of Italy has rejected the demand and, in reponse, indicated that it may seek damages for historic grievances. [cite web| url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUKL2050234020071121 | author=Phil Stewart, Reuters| title=Fallen savoy royals seek damages over Italy exile| date=21-11-2007]

infobox hrhstyles
royal name=Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice & Piedmont


dipstyle=His Royal Highness
offstyle=Your Royal Highness
altstyle=Sir|

References

External links

* [http://www.disavoia.it Official Website of the Royal House of Savoy]
* [http://www.valoriefuturo.org/index_ENG.aspx/ Valori & Futuro web site]