King of Italy the deposition of Napoleon I (1814) until the Italian Unification (1861), there was no Italian monarch claiming the overarching title. The "Risorgimento" successfully established a dynasty, the House of Savoy, over the whole peninsula, uniting the kingdoms of Sardinia and the Two Sicilies to form the modern Kingdom of Italy. The monarchy was superseded by the Italian Republic, after a constitutional referendum was held on 2 June 1946, after World War II. The Italian monarchy formally ended on 12 June of that year, and Umberto II left the country. After 887, Italy fell into instability, with many rulers claiming the
The king is dead, long live the king! term—here—of "dignitas") was transferred from the defunct sovereign to the new one. In the United Kingdom and other realms which permit female succession to the throne, the phrase can be altered to accommodate succession between monarchs of different sexes, e.g. "The King is dead, long live The Queen!", as happened in 1952, when King George VI died and was succeeded by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, or "The Queen is dead, long live The King!" as happened in 1901, when Queen Victoria was succeeded by her son, King Edward VII. "The King is dead, long live The King!" was last