History of Italy May") and the Constitutional Referendum that abolished the monarchy; De Gasperi briefly became acting Head of State as well as Prime Minister on 18 June 1946, but ceded the former role to Provisional President Enrico de Nicola ten days later. The aftermath of World War II left Italy with a destroyed economy and a divided society. Following Victor Emmanuel III's abdication, his son, the new king Umberto II, was pressured by the threat of another civil war to call a Constitutional Referendum to decide whether Italy should remain a monarchy or become a republic. On 2 June 1946, the republican
The Children of the King The Children of the King The Children of the King is a 2012 children's novel by Sonya Hartnett. It is about the adventures of a mother and her two children who have been evacuated from London to the country side during World War II. "The Guardian", in its review of "The Children of the King" wrote "This delicious novel is rich in irony, both linguistically and structurally." and concluded "She [Hartnett] takes her readers into the lush jungle of language and leaves them there, entranced by its sounds." "The Horn Book Magazine" wrote "As always, Hartnett's gift for language deftly