Victor Emmanuel died in 1947 in Alexandria, Egypt, a year after he abdicated in favor of his son in an unsuccessful attempt to preserve the monarchy. The ancient Roman monument is where Italy’s first two Savoy kings, Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I, and its first queen, Margherita, are buried. Victor Emmanuel, who reigned from 1900-1946, relinquished the throne to son Umberto II in 1946. The return of the king’s remains, and the use of an Italian air force plane to bring them from Egypt, angered some who remain proud of the Italians who resisted fascism. Ruth Dureghello, the head of Rome’s Jewish community, expressed “much bitterness” that the king’s remains were now interred in Italy.

Source: Washington Post December 17, 2017 13:27 UTC