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.
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,