Biography of Umberto II
Umberto II, King of Italy. (Racconigi 1904 - Geneva 1983) - Son Viittorio Emanuele III. He was the heir to the throne with the title of Prince of Piedmonte. In 1930 in Rome, he married Maria José, daughter of Albert I of Belgium.
On 5 June 1944 the day after the liberation of Rome, he was nominated Lieutenant General of the Realm. He ascended the throne on 9 May 1946 following the abdication of his father, but he remained king only until the Referendum of 2 June 1946, that instituted the Republic. He was called the King of May by the republicans. On 13 June he abandoned Italy and took up residence in Cascais, near Lisbon, under the name of the Count of Sarre. His remains have been buried at the Benedictine abbey of Hautecombe in France, the traditional burial place of the House of Savoy. In his will he left the Shroud of Turin, conserved in the Cathedral in Turin, to the Pope. He left the historical archives of the House of Savoy to the Italian state. They are conserved in the Archivio di Stato in Turin.
On 5 June 1944 the day after the liberation of Rome, he was nominated Lieutenant General of the Realm. He ascended the throne on 9 May 1946 following the abdication of his father, but he remained king only until the Referendum of 2 June 1946, that instituted the Republic. He was called the King of May by the republicans. On 13 June he abandoned Italy and took up residence in Cascais, near Lisbon, under the name of the Count of Sarre. His remains have been buried at the Benedictine abbey of Hautecombe in France, the traditional burial place of the House of Savoy. In his will he left the Shroud of Turin, conserved in the Cathedral in Turin, to the Pope. He left the historical archives of the House of Savoy to the Italian state. They are conserved in the Archivio di Stato in Turin.