King of Italy During this period, the holders of the title were crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. A Kingdom of Italy was restored from 1805 to 1814 with Napoleon as its only king, centered in Northern Italy. It was not until the Italian unification in the 1860s that a Kingdom of Italy covering the entire peninsula was restored. From 1861 the House of Savoy held the title of "King of Italy" until the last king, Umberto II, was exiled in 1946 when Italy became a republic. After the deposition of the last Western Emperor in 476, Heruli leader Odoacer was appointed
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