House of Savoy to decide between retaining the monarchy or becoming a republic. On 9 May 1946, in a last-ditch attempt to save the monarchy, Victor Emmanuel formally abdicated in favour of his son, who became Umberto II. It did not work; the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946 was won by republicans with 54% of the vote. Victor Emmanuel went into exile in Egypt, dying there a year later. On 12 June 1946, the Kingdom of Italy formally came to an end as Umberto transferred his powers to Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi and called for the Italian people to support the new republic.
SS King Orry (1946) SS King Orry (1946) TSS (RMS) "King Orry" (IV) - the fourth vessel in the line's history to be so named - was the lead ship of the "King Orry Class" of passenger ferries and packet ships. More commonly referred to as "the six sisters", they were built for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company between 1946 & 1955 primarily to replace war-time losses. The company's previous , was one of three company losses during Operation Dynamo - the evacuation of British and French troops from the port of Dunkirk during May 1940. The name King Orry is a