Biography

The Duke of Aosta was born on January 13, 1869 in Genoa, Liguria, Italy. He was married to Hélène d'Orléans. He died on July 4, 1931 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.

2nd Duke of Aosta. Commanded the Italian Third Army during World War I, which gained the nickname of Armata Invitta ("undefeated army"). Promoted to the rank of Marshal of Italy by Benito Mussolini in 1926.

Cousin of King Victor Emmanuel III.

His wife Princess Hélène was the 5th great-granddaughter of Philippe d'Orléans. Courted by Prince Albert Victor, the match was supported by her mother, his parents King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and his grandmother Queen Victoria. However, Hélène was Catholic: if they married, Albert Victor would have to forfeit his claim to the throne, pursuant to the Act of Settlement; his willingness to do just that was opposed by Victoria's Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil. Hélène offered to convert to Anglicanism so that he could keep his place in the line of succession, but her father would not consent to it, a decision supported by Leo XIII, to whom Hélène had beseeched for a dispensation.

Grandfather of Amedeo Duca D'Aosta.

Brother-in-law of Princess Louise d'Orléans (grandmother of Juan Carlos de Borbón), Queen Amélie, and Duc de Montpensier.