Prince Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta (''Aimone Roberto Margherita Maria Giuseppe Torino''; 9 March 1900 – 29 January 1948) was a prince of Italy's reigning

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

and an officer of the

Royal Italian Navy The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' (" ...

. The second son of Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta he was granted the title

Duke of Spoleto The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. Th ...

on 22 September 1904. He inherited the title Duke of Aosta on 3 March 1942 following the death of his brother Prince Amedeo, in a British prisoner of war camp in Nairobi. From 18 May 1941 to 31 July 1943, he was designated king of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH) though he never ruled there. He formally accepted the position and took the name Tomislav II, after the first Croatian king.dr. Marijan Rogić, Pod Zvonimirovom krunom (Under the crown of Zvonimir) Munchen 2008.Hrvoje Matković, Designirani hrvatski kralj Tomislav II. vojvoda od Spoleta. Povijest hrvatskotalijanskih odnosa u prvoj polovici XX.st. (Designated Croatian king Tomislav II, Duke of Spoleto. History of Croatian-Italian relationships in first half of the 20th century), Zagreb 2007. Later, however, he refused to assume the kingship in protest of the Italian annexation of the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

region, and is therefore referred to in some sources as king designate. Regardless, many sources refer to him as King Tomislav II and the nominal head of the NDH during its first two years (1941–1943). After the dismissal of Mussolini on 25 July 1943, the prince abdicated on 31 July as king on the orders of Victor Emmanuel III.

Early life

Prince Aimone Roberto Margherita Maria Giuseppe Torino of Savoy-Aosta was born in Turin the second son of Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta (eldest son of Prince Amedeo, 1st Duke of Aosta (and sometime "King Amadeo I of Spain") by his wife, ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Vittoria dal Pozzo, Principessa della Cisterna) and Princess Hélène of Orléans (daughter of

Philippe, comte de Paris Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris (Louis Philippe Albert; 24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894), was disputedly King of the French from 24 to 26 February 1848 as Louis Philippe II, although he was never officially proclaimed as such. ...

, and Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans). As his patrilinal great-grandfather was King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, he was a member of the

. With his brother Amedeo, he was educated at St David's College, Reigate, Surrey, England, and Aimone later went to study at the naval academy in Livorno. On 1 April 1921, Prince Aimone became a member of the

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...

. Princes of the House of Savoy became members of the Senate at age 21, obtaining the right to vote at age 25. In 1929, twenty years after his uncle Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi had attempted to climb K2 in

Karakoram The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...

, Prince Aimone led an expedition to Karakorum. A member of the expedition was

Ardito Desio Count Ardito Desio (18 April 1897 – 12 December 2001) was an Italian explorer, mountain climber, geologist, and cartographer.

. Due to the failure to climb K2 twenty years earlier, Prince Aimone's expedition concentrated solely on scientific work. He was afterwards awarded the 1932

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

's Patron's Medal for his work.

Marriage and issue

After being romantically linked with

Infanta Beatriz of Spain Infanta Beatriz of Spain, Princess of Civitella-Cesi (''Beatriz Isabel Federica Alfonsa Eugénie Cristina Maria Teresia Bienvenida Ladislàa de Borbón y Battenberg''; 22 June 1909 – 22 November 2002) was a daughter of King Alfonso XIII of Spain ...

, the daughter of King Alfonso XIII, he married, on 1 July 1939 at the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, daughter of King

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea ...

and Princess Sophie of Prussia. They had one son, Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, born in 1943.

War years

Croatian throne

On 18 May 1941, in a ceremony at the Quirinal Palace, to which Ante Pavelić, the leader of the nazist Ustaše movement that had assumed power in Croatia in April 1941 after the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was p ...

, led a delegation of Croats requesting that Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III name a member of the

as king of Croatia. The Independent State of Croatia was a fascist puppet state that was partly under Italian and German control, covering most of present-day states of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but its leaders tried to assert their legitimacy by instating a monarchy that would resemble the medieval Croatian state. Aimone was then officially named king by his cousin Victor Emmanuel III. On assuming the Crown of Zvonimir he took the regnal name Tomislav II. Originally on learning that he had been named king of Croatia he told close colleagues that he thought his nomination was a bad joke by his cousin King Victor Emmanuel III, though he accepted the crown out of a sense of duty. The Italian Foreign Minister and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's son in law, and

Count Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944) was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law, Benito Mussolini, from 1936 until 19 ...

's informants said of Aimone "The Duke doesn't give a damn about Croatia and wants only money, money and more money." Ciano's diary noted a conversation between Aimone and himself, where Aimone was "proud of having been chosen King of Croatia, but has no exact idea of what he is supposed to do and is vaguely uneasy about it". He was due to be crowned in

Duvno Tomislavgrad (), also known by its former name Duvno (), is a town and municipality located in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It mainly covers an area of the historical and geographica ...

(Tomislavgrad), in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, but he refused to go to there due to the "

n question" which arose due to Italy taking some of Dalmatia's coastal territory. Aimone felt that Dalmatia "was a land that could never be Italianized" and was an obstacle to Italo-Croatian reconciliation. Other reasons why he never went to Croatia were because of an ongoing insurgency, and that his safety could not be guaranteed. Because of this he exercised what little power he had from Italy and Hungary, however he never held any real authority throughout his reign as the Ustaše government had deprived the monarchy of most powers and reduced the status of the king to that of a figurehead. Count

Gyula Cseszneky Vitéz Count Gyula István Cseszneky de Milvány et Csesznek ( hu, vitéz cseszneki és milványi gróf Cseszneky Gyula István; 28 June 1914 – after 1970) was a Hungarian aristocrat, poet, cavalry officer who took part in the Hungarian reann ...

was the counselor to the king for Croatian affairs. Prince Aimone also established a Croatian office in Rome where he received confidential reports, official documents, and military, political and economic information from Croatia. After the

fall of the Fascist regime in Italy The fall of the Fascist regime in Italy, also known in Italy as 25 Luglio ( it, Venticinque Luglio, ; "25 July"), came as a result of parallel plots led respectively by Count Dino Grandi and King Victor Emmanuel III during the spring and sum ...

, Aimone abdicated as king of Croatia on 31 July 1943 on the orders of Victor Emmanuel III.B. Krizman, NDH između Hitlera i Mussolinija (Independent State of Croatia between Hitler and Mussolini,)p.102 Prince Aimone succeeded to the title duke of Aosta on 3 March 1942, following the death of his elder brother Prince

Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta Prince Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta (Amedeo Umberto Isabella Luigi Filippo Maria Giuseppe Giovanni di Savoia-Aosta; 21 October 1898 – 3 March 1942) was the third Duke of Aosta and a first cousin, once removed of the King of Italy, Victor Emmanu ...

, in a British prisoner of war camp in Kenya. In the autumn of 1942, Aimone contacted Allied forces via his courier, the consul general Alessandro Marieni, about the possibility of a peace settlement between Italy and allied forces. Secret talks would continue into 1943, motivated in part by the aim of preserving the royal dynasty of Savoy.

Aftermath

In the latter months of World War II, he became the commander of the Italian Naval Base of Taranto but he was dismissed from his post for his criticism of the judges that had found General

Mario Roatta Mario Roatta (2 February 1887 – 7 January 1968) was an Italian general. After serving in World War I he rose to command the Corpo Truppe Volontarie which assisted Francisco Franco's force during the Spanish Civil War. He was the Deputy Chief of ...

guilty of war crimes. During his naval career he reached the rank of

Squadron Admiral The rank insignia of the Italian Navy are worn on epaulettes of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels. Rank structure Officers Notes: 1 The rank of ''"ammiraglio"'' (admiral) is assigned to the only naval off ...

Death

In 1947 following the

birth of the Italian Republic An institutional referendum ( it, referendum istituzionale, or ) was held in Italy on 2 June 1946,Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1047 a key event of Italian contemporary history. Until 1946 ...

the previous year, Prince Aimone left Italy for South America. Just a year after his arrival, he suddenly died on 29 January 1948 in his temporary residence, a private suite at the

Alvear Palace Hotel The Alvear Palace Hotel is a luxury hotel located in Avenida Alvear in Recoleta, an upscale neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The hotel was inaugurated in 1932 and, following extensive refurbishment, was reinaugurated in 1994. History T ...

in the French Borough of Recoleta in Buenos Aires, while his entourage was arranging his permanent residency documents and the purchase of his new home in Argentina. The claim to the Aosta ducal title passed to his son Prince Amedeo.

Honours

National

* : Sovereign Knight Commander of the Military Order of the Iron Trefoil, 1st Class * : Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir, Special Class * : Sovereign Recipient of the Medal of the Crown of King Zvonimir * Italy: Knight Grand Collar of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciationvivailre.it
Aimone wearing the Greek Italian and Romanian orders
* Italy: Knight Grand Cordon of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus ( it, Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the wo ...

* Italy: Knight Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( it, Ordine della Corona d'Italia, italic=no or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for civi ...

* Italy: Knight Grand Cordon of the Military Order of Savoy * Italy: Knight of the Civil Decoration of Savoy * Italy: Recipient of the Silver Medal of Military Valor * Italy: Recipient of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor * Italy: Recipient of the

Medal of Military Valor The Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: ''Medaglia al valor militare'') is an Italian medal, originally established as a Sardinian award. It is awarded to military personnel, units above the level of company, and civilians for excepti ...

* Italy: Recipient of the Medal of Honour for Long-time Maritime Navigation ** Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 1st Class

Foreign

* Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III * Greece: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer * Iran: Knight Grand Cordon of the

Order of Pahlavi The Order of Pahlavi of the Empire of Iran, in Persian: "Neshan-e Pahlavi" was the highest order of the former Imperial State of Iran. History The Order was instituted in 1932 by Rezā Shāh, the founder of the Dynasty of the Pahlavi, and it w ...

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/ref> * Romania: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of Carol I The Order of Carol I (Romanian: Ordinul Carol I) was the highest ranking of the Romanian honours of the Kingdom of Romania until the abolition of the monarchy in 1947. It was instituted on 10 May 1906 by King Carol I to celebrate the Ruby Jubilee ...

* United Kingdom: Recipient of the Victory Medal

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aimone, Prince, Duke of Aosta Dukes of Aosta Military personnel from Turin 1900 births 1948 deaths Princes of Savoy Italian princes Nobility from Turin Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy Italian admirals Independent State of Croatia Burials at the Basilica of Superga Princes della Cisterna Recipients of the War Cross for Military Valor Collaboration with the Axis Powers Regia Marina personnel of World War II