“I'll step aside and let a woman come forward once more, I'm sure she'll do better than me . It was my father who made this decision which I find very right and modern. Soon, in Europe, there will be more queens than kings. Everyone is realizing it, even if a little late, that the intelligence and sensitivity of women in charge can be wonderful».

With these words Emanuele Filiberto, heir to the throne of the House of Savoy, confirmed his intention to "abdicate" in favor of his daughter Vittoria.

A handover - and a crown - obviously symbolic, given that Italy is a republic. But, in an interview with Corriere della Sera, the prince confirmed his willingness to respect the decision of his father Vittorio Emanuele - son of Umberto II , king of Italy for just over a month, who died in 1983 - who in recent years he had endorsed the renunciation of the custom, based on the ancient Salic law, of handing down the scepter only to the male heirs of the dynasty.

According to Emanuele Filiberto, in fact, «the Salic Law is anachronistic, it is depassé. Men, compared to women, have nothing more, if anything less».

But who is – indeed who would she be, given the result of the institutional referendum of 1946 – the future queen of Italy?

Born in 2003, born in Geneva from the marriage between Emanuele Filiberto and the actress Clotilde Courau, Vittoria di Savoia (full name is Vittoria Cristina Adelaide Chiara Maria di Savoia) lives in Paris where she works as a model. Last January he already represented the royal house at an official event, namely the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.

(Unioneonline/lf)