Umberto II of Italy Umberto II of Italy Umberto II (; 15 September 190418 March 1983) was the last King of Italy. He reigned for 34 days, from 9 May 1946 to 12 June 1946, although he had been "de facto" head of state since 1944, and was nicknamed the May King (). Umberto was the only son of the five children of King Victor Emmanuel III and Queen Elena. In an effort to repair the monarchy's image after the fall of Benito Mussolini's regime, Victor Emmanuel transferred his powers to Umberto in 1944 while retaining the title of king. As a referendum was
Umberto II of Italy limited to male-line descendants only. He was the first cousin of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. He was accorded the title of Prince of Piedmont, which was formalised by Royal Decree on 29 September. Umberto was married in Rome on 8 January 1930 to Marie José of Belgium (1906–2001), daughter of King Albert I of the Belgians and his wife Queen Elisabeth, "née" Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. They had four children: As Prince of Piedmont, Umberto visited South America, between July and September 1924. With his preceptor, Bonaldi, he went to Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. This trip was part