The Fall of the House of Savoy

The always interesting blog The Mad Monarchist has a lengthy and interesting post about the House of Savoy in the period from 1922 until 1946 and the various possible risks to its survival throughout that period. It can be read at Did World War II Doom the Italian Monarchy?

Other posts on the Savoyard dynasty and era by the Mad Monarchist can be seen here.

TheArms of the Kingdom of Italy 1922-1943

The fasces replaced the lion supporters used hitherto.They were reinstated with the end of the Fascist government.

Image: clker.com

The evolution of the arms of the Kingdom of Italy can be seen in the illustrated online article here.

The lesser Royal Arms of Italy as authorised in 1890

The shield is encircled by the Collar of the Order of the Annunciation

Image; Wikimedia commons

Order of the Annunziata 650

Last year I posted in Order of the Annunziata about the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation of the House of Savoy.

I included amongst the links therein one to the Wikipedia article which can be found here and from that to the more detailed Order of the Most Holy Annunciation (Chivalric Orders site). There is also the link to the official website of the orders of the House of Savoy Ordine supremo della Santissima Annunziata which has some more illustrations of the insignia of this great Order.

It was founded by Duke Amadeus VI, 1343-83, in 1362 and is in the same tradition as the Order of the Garter (1348) and the short-lived French Order of the Star (1350). The Statutes of the Order of 1869 as issued by King Victor Emmanuel II in his new capacity as King of Italy can be read here.

Here is a photograph I found online of insignia made by Musy of Turin circa 1930 and which belonged to King Albert I of the Belgians. It was in January of that year that his daughter, Princess Marie-Jose married Prince Umberto, the heir to the Savoyard throne.

Image: Christies

I also found online a selection of pictures of King Umberto II and Queen Marie-Jose in their long and unmerited exile from their kingdom, and in which members of the House of Savoy can be seen wearing the Order of the Annunciation and other Orders. They can be viewed here.

Order of the Annunziata

Italy has just been celebrating the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the united Kingdom in 1861 - which still excluded Venetia (1866), the residual Papal State(1870) and the Trentino (1919). The modern republic included in its invitations members of the House of Savoy, led by Prince Emmanuel Philibert.

The Aosta branch of the House recently attended a usus antiquior Mass in the Pantheon in Rome - burial place of the Kings of Italy - and pictures can be seen here of that occasion.

The Mad Monarchist recently had some reflections on the House of Savoy and Italian unification which can be read here. Like him I see the problems of the Savoys stemming from a dangerous alliance with forces in the process of unification which were essentially hostile to the principle of monarchy and the traditions it represented. Politically it was a case of riding a tiger.

Again as he points out since 1946 the dynasty has not been without its problems, and there is now the dispute as to who is the heir to King Umberto II - outlined in a link from the second of the sites listed infra.

I am writing about this today because the oldest and most distinguished Order of the Savoyard-Italian monarchy was that of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation. With a predecessor founded in 1350, and a virtually continuous history from 1362 it is second only to the Garter in antiquity amongst European orders of chivalry.

There is an article about it, with links to ones on the other Savoyard royal orders here, and another, more detailed one, from which have taken the pictures of the insignia here. It has links to articles about the dispute as to the succession. There is a third article here, from the American group of the Savoy Orders, which has illustrations and more about the history of the Order.

The star of the Order

The star of the Order

The design can be seen more clearly in this example

The Collar and star of the Order of the Annunciation

Image: Almanach de la Cour

King Umberto II

He is wearing the collar and star of the Order of the Annunciation, the green riband and star of the Order of SS Maurice and Lazarus, and the stars of the Orders of the Crown of Italy and the Star of Italy, and the collarette of the Order of Malta

Image:Wikipedia

The arms of the House of Savoy encircled by the collar of the Order of the Annunciation