Prince Umberto, Count of Salemi

Infobox Italian Royalty|prince
name = Prince Umberto
title = Count of Salemi
full name = Umberto Maria Vittorio Amedeo Giuseppe
titles = "HRH" The Count of Salemi
"HRH" Prince Umberto of Savoy


imgw = 200px
date of birth = birth date|1889|6|22
place of birth = Turin
date of death = death date and age|1918|10|19|1889|6|22
place of death = Crespano del Grappa
royal house = House of Savoy
father = Prince Amadeo, Duke of Aosta
mother = Princess Marie Laetitia Napoleon
place of burial = Crespano del Grappa

Prince Umberto of Savoy, Count of Salemi (22 June 1889 - 19 October 1918) was a member of the Aosta branch of the House of Savoy.

Early life

Umberto was born in Turin the only son of Prince Amadeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta and his second wife Princess Marie Laetitia Napoleon (1886-1926) the daughter of Prince Napoléon and Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy. His father, a former king of Spain, died when he was just a year old. He had three older half-brothers: the Duke of Aosta, the Count of Turin and the Duke of the Abruzzi.

In 1908 Umberto began studies at the Naval Academy in Livorno. In May 1911, while still at the academy, he was accused of theft. His cousin King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy wanted him arrested, but his mother took him to Turin and challenged the king to carry out the arrest. [cite news | title = Princess Defies Ruler of Italy | publisher = "Los Angeles Times" | page = 15 | date = 1911-05-14 ] In July Victor Emmanuel ordered that he be detained at the Castle of Moncalieri and then spend eighteen months' aboard a man-of-war, during which time a Gendarmerie colonel would act as his tutor and keeper. [cite news | title = King Punishes his Cousin | publisher = "Washington Post" | page = 13 | date = 1911-07-16 ]

First World War and death

During the First World War Umberto volunteered to serve in the Royal Italian Army. He joined the Army as a Lieutenant and served in a Catania Cavalry regiment. [cite news | title = More Princes Join Army | publisher = "New York Times" | page = 2 | date = 1915-05-19 ] During the war he was awarded a silver medal for bravery displayed while acting as a bombing officer. [cite news | title = Expect New Drive on Italian Front | publisher = "New York Times" | page = 2 | date = 1917-12-04 ]

Umberto died a month before the end of the war. The official court bulletin recorded that he was killed in action, but in fact he died of Spanish flu. He was buried in the cemetery of Crespano del Grappa. In 1926 his remains were moved to the Sacrario Militare del Monte Grappa.

Honours

* Knight of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy
* Knight of the Civil Order of Savoy
* Knight of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Ancestry

ahnentafel top|Ancestors of Prince Umberto of Savoy, Count of Salemi|width=100%ahnentafel-compact5
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1= 1. Prince Umberto of Savoy, Count of Salemi
2= 2. Amadeo I of Spain
3= 3. Princess Marie Laetitia Napoleon
4= 4. Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
5= 5. Maria Adelaide of Austria
6= 6. Prince Napoléon
7= 7. Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy
8= 8. Charles Albert of Sardinia
9= 9. Maria Theresa of Tuscany
10= 10. Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria
11= 11. Princess Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignan
12= 12. Jérôme Bonaparte
13= 13. Princess Catharina of Württemberg
14= 14. Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (= 4)
15= 15. Maria Adelaide of Austria (= 5)
16= 16. Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignan
17= 17. Princess Maria Christina of Saxony
18= 18. Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
19= 19. Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily
20= 20. Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
21= 21. Maria Louisa of Spain
22= 22. Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignan (= 16)
23= 23. Princess Maria Christina of Saxony (= 17)
24= 24. Carlo Buonaparte
25= 25. Letizia Ramolino
26= 26. Frederick I of Württemberg
27= 27. Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
28= 28. Charles Albert of Sardinia (= 8)
29= 29. Maria Theresa of Tuscany (= 9)
30= 30. Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria (= 10)
31= 31. Princess Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignan (= 11)ahnentafel bottom

References