Inheritance battles and a link to Queen Victoria: Who is Aimone, 6th Duke of Aosta, the rarely seen royal who rubbed shoulders with King Charles and Stanley Tucci at Highgrove?
A claimant to the defunct throne of Italy, the husband of Princess Olga of Greece, and a surprise relation to King Charles himself: say buongiorno to Aimone of Savoy-Aosta, 6th Duke of Aosta
Prince Aimone, 6th Duke of Aosta, is a claimant to the defunct throne of Italy and a scion of European royalty – as he rubs shoulders with King Charles and Queen Camilla, who is this rarely seen nobleman?
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The culturati descended upon Highgrove House on Friday, as King Charles and Queen Camilla hosted the likes of David and Victoria Beckham, Donatella Versace, and Dame Helen Mirren for a dinner celebrating Italian culture ahead of the royal couple’s 20th-anniversary trip to Rome. It was a true slice of La Dolce Vita – think Stanley Tucci making martinis with His Majesty and Scottish crab panzanella cooked by Calabrian chef Francesco Mazzei.
Among all the Italian intrigue, however, you may well have missed a glimpse of one of the country’s most well-connected – but rarely seen – royals. Aimone of Savoy-Aosta, 6th Duke of Aosta, comes from a family whose storied splendour is matched only by dynastic intrigue. His regal marriage to Princess Olga of Greece connected him to a host of European royals, including Prince Philip and Christian IX of Denmark, and he enjoys an oh-so-blooded distant relation to King Charles himself. But who is the 6th Duke of Aosta? Worry not: Tatler reveals all. Andiamo.
Aimone of Savoy-Aosta and his wife, Princess Olga, arrive at the Duomo cathedral in Turin for to the funeral ceremony of late Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy – son of the last king of Italy who competed with the 5th Duke of Aosta for the head of the House of Savoy
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Born in 1967 in Florence to Prince Amedeo of Savoy, the 5th Duke of Aosta, and Princess Claude of Orléans (herself the daughter of Henri, Count of Paris, the Orléanist claimant to the French throne), Aimone was raised in the complex web of defunct European monarchies.
The Italian monarchy was dissolved by public vote in 1945 after many Italians charged the royal family with supporting Mussolini’s Fascist regime. The nation’s last king, Umberto II, reigned for 27 days before he was exiled to the Portuguese Riviera. In the years since, there have been two competing claimants over the head of the House of Savoy (and thus the claim to the Italian throne).
Princess Claude d'Orléans
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On the one hand, there was Prince Amedeo, Umberto's nephew. On the other, there was the King's son, the late Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples. This family feud waged on for several years. Aimone’s father argued that Emanuele had forfeited his right to the throne by marrying a commoner, Swiss water skier Marina Ricolfi-Doria. He had also lived largely in exile outside of Italy, until being allowed to return in 2002, and had found himself caught up in a series of scandals (including accusations that he shot and wounded a 19-year-old German boy on board his boat, and that he was involved in gambling and prostitution).
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The royalist association Council of Senators of the Kingdom named Prince Amedeo their true heir, and the feud between the two men came to a climax in 2004 – in a truly operatic fashion. At the wedding of Spain’s future King Felipe, Emanuele punched Prince Amedeo twice in the face, causing him to fall down some steps, and requiring medical attention.
The wedding of Aimone's parents, Prince Amedeo of Savoy, 5th Duke of Aosta, and Princess Claude Marie Agnes Catherine d'Orléans in 1964. The couple divorced on 26 April 1982.
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Prince Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta and Princess Claude of Orlèans in the 60s
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Both men have since passed away, with their sons now shouldering the burden of competing claims to the House of Savoy. Emanuele’s heir is Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice – perhaps best known for competing in the Italian iteration of Dancing With The Stars. It does not seem as if ancient grudge has broken to new mutiny, with Prince Amedeo’s son Aimone attending the funeral of his father's rival in February 2024.
As for Aimone himself, the Duke has found himself rubbing shoulders with British royalty. After studying at Bocconi University, Aimone worked for JPMorgan Chase in the UK and served in the special forces of Italy’s Navy. He went on to forge strong ties between his home nation and Russia, as president of Pirelli’s operations in the eastern European country (as well as CEO of the tyre company’s Nordic division). Indeed, so diplomatic were his efforts that he was appointed to Italy’s Order of Merit and Russia’s Order of Friendship.
In 2005, Aimone announced his engagement to Princess Olga of Greece, the daughter of the late Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark and his wife Marina Karella (recently seen at the wedding of Prince Nikolaos). The pair can both trace their lineage back to Prince Jean, Duke of Guise (pretender to the throne of France) and George I of Greece.
Aimone of Savoy-Aosta and Princess Olga attend the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards 2023
Daniele Venturelli
Princess Alexandra of Greece, Princess Marina of Greece, Prince Michel of Greece and Princess Olga of Greece in 1995
Luc Castel
Theirs is a family tree that extends over much of Europe: the Duke of Aosta, like King Charles, is a descendant of Queen Victoria and Christian IX of Denmark; his grandmother, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, was a cousin of Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, as was Aimone’s father-in-law, Prince Michael.
Greece's Crown Prince Pavlos and Aimone di Savoia Aosta arrive for the funeral of Prince Michael of Greece on 1 August, 2024
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After a series of apparent delays, the Duke and Princess Olga finally wed on 16 September 2008, at the Italian embassy in Moscow. They have three children: Prince Umberto of Savoy-Aosta, the 15-year-old heir apparent to the Dukedom of Aosta; Prince Amedeo Michele, Duke of Abruzzi, born on 24 May 2011; and Princess Isabella Vita Marina, 12, who was named in honour of her great-grandmother, Princess Isabelle of Orléans.
Inheritance disputes, interwoven royal roots, and now Zuppa Inglese with King Charles III. Next time the great and the gilded gather at Highgrove, keep an eye out for Aimone of Savoy-Aosta, 6th Duke of Aosta.