Umberto II of Italy to serve the new republic. The monarchy of the House of Savoy formally ended on 12 June 1946, and Umberto left the country. Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi assumed office as Italy's interim Head of State. Umberto and Marie José separated in exile; it had been an arranged marriage of state, following a long tradition of royal families. However, they never divorced, partly for political reasons. Some academics have explored Umberto's possible homosexuality. As early as the 1920s, Mussolini had collected a dossier on his private life for purposes of blackmail. Certainly during the war, newspapers asserted that Umberto was
Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Leopold II Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Leopold II The Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Leopold II (, ) was a Belgian civilian and later military and police forces medal originally established on 21 July 1905 by royal decree to commemorate the 40th year of the reign of King Leopold II. The medal was initially awarded to civil servants with a minimum of 20 years of honourable service between 1865 and 1905 who were eligible for the Civic Decoration for long service. It was reissued slightly modified (see description below) in 1951 at the request of veterans' groups,