Duke of Aosta (Italian: Duca d'Aosta; French: Duc d'Aoste) was a title in the Italian nobility. It was established in the 13th century when Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Aosta a duchy. The region was part of the Savoyard state and the title was granted to various princes of the House of Savoy, second sons of the reigning king of Sardinia or king of Italy.

Coat of arms of the Dukes of Aosta

The title was re-created in 1845 for Prince Amadeo, son of Victor Emmanuel II, and thereafter held by him and his descendants until the abolition of the Italian monarchy in 1946. Two holders briefly served as kings of European countries – Prince Amadeo ruled as king of Spain from 1870 to 1873, while his grandson Prince Aimone was titular king of Croatia from 1941 to 1943 during the Italian-backed fascist regime.

The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Aosta were Prince della Cisterna and of Belriguardo, Marquess of Voghera, and Count of Ponderano, originating from the heritage of Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, the mother of Duke Emanuele Filiberto. Ponderano was created in 1559, Voghera in 1618; Cisterna and Belriguardo as princely in 1670.

Duke of Aosta, 1701–1715

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Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Prince Carlo Emanuele
1701–1715
 
27 April 1701
Royal Palace of Turin
second son of Victor Amadeus II and Anne Marie d'Orléans
(1) Anne Christine of the Palatinate-Sulzbach
15 March 1722
Vercelli
one son
(2) Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg
20 August 1724
Toruń
six children
(3) Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine
1 April 1737
Royal Palace of Turin
three children
20 February 1773
Royal Palace of Turin
aged 71

Duke of Aosta, 1723–1725

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Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Prince Vittorio Amedeo
1723–1725
 
7 March 1723
Royal Palace of Turin
only son of Charles Emmanuel III and Anne Christine of the Palatinate-Sulzbach
never married 11 August 1725
Royal Palace of Turin
aged 2

Duke of Aosta, 1731–1735

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Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Prince Emanuele Filiberto
1731–1735
 
17 May 1731
Royal Palace of Turin
second son of Charles Emmanuel III and Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg
never married 23 April 1735
Royal Palace of Turin
aged 3

Duke of Aosta, 1738–1745

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Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Prince Carlo Francesco
1738–1745
 
1 December 1738
Royal Palace of Turin
eldest son of Charles Emmanuel III and Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine
never married 25 March 1745
Royal Palace of Turin
aged 6

Duke of Aosta, 1759–1802

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Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Prince Vittorio Emanuele
1759–1802
 
24 July 1759
Royal Palace of Turin
second son of Victor Amadeus III and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain
Maria Theresa of Austria-Este
25 April 1789
Royal Palace of Turin
seven children
10 January 1824
Castle of Moncalieri
aged 64

Duke of Aosta, 1845–present

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Name Portrait Birth Marriages Death
Prince Amedeo
1845–1890
(King of Spain
1870–1873)[1]
 
30 May 1845
Royal Palace of Turin
second son of Victor Emmanuel II and Adelaide of Austria[2]
(1) Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo
30 May 1863
Royal Palace of Turin
three sons
(2) Maria Letizia Bonaparte
11 September 1888
Royal Palace of Turin
one son
18 January 1890
Royal Palace of Turin
aged 44
Prince Emanuele Filiberto[1]
1890–1931
 
13 January 1869
Genoa
eldest son of Amedeo and Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo
Hélène d'Orléans[2]
25 June 1895
Church of St. Raphael, Kingston upon Thames
two sons
4 July 1931
Royal Palace of Turin
aged 62
Prince Amedeo
1931–1942
 
21 October 1898
Royal Palace of Turin
eldest son of Emanuele Filiberto and Hélène d'Orléans
Anne d'Orléans
5 November 1927
Naples
two daughters
3 March 1942
Nairobi
aged 43
Prince Aimone
1942–1948
(King of Croatia
1941–1943)
 
9 March 1900
Royal Palace of Turin
second son of Emanuele Filiberto and Hélène d'Orléans
Irene of Greece and Denmark
1 July 1939
Florence
one son
29 January 1948
Buenos Aires
aged 47
Prince Amedeo
1948–2021
 
27 September 1943
Florence
only son of Aimone and Irene of Greece and Denmark
(1) Claude d'Orléans
22 July 1964
Sintra, Portugal
three children
(2) Silvia Paternò di Spedalotto
30 March 1987
Villa Spedalotto
no issue
1 June 2021
Castiglion Fibocchi
aged 77
Prince Aimone
2021–present
 
13 October 1967
Florence
only son of Amedeo
Olga of Greece
27 September 2008
Patmos, Greece
three children
living

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Melville Amadeus Henry Douglas Heddle de la Caillemotte de Massue de Ruvigny, ed. (1914). The Titled Nobility of Europe: An International Peerage, Or "Who's Who", of the Sovereigns, Princes and Nobles of Europe, Part 1. Harrison & Sons. p. 187.
  2. ^ a b The World Almanac and Book of Facts, Volume 1896. Press Publishing Co. 1896. p. 346.
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