Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, son of Umberto II, the last king of Italy, and Maria José, died today, Saturday, February 3rd. He would have turned 87 on February 12th. By his side until the end was Maria Doria, Duchess of Savoy. A discreet presence, Marina Doria, 88, was the wife of the son of the last king of Italy. Their love was a contested one: she was a water ski champion, he was a scion of the House of Savoy. But love triumphed: the two stayed together and had a son, Emanuele Filiberto. Let's find out more about Marina Doria.
Marina Doria, Who is the Wife of Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia
Born in Geneva on February 12, 1935 (just like her husband), Marina Ricolfi Doria is the daughter of industrialist Renè Ricolfi Doria and Iris Amalia Benvenuti. She lives in Vesenaz, a municipality in Geneva, in a villa of a thousand square meters, surrounded by a park six and a half times larger.
A comfortable life that of Marina who soon became passionate about water skiing, reaching very high levels: in her palmares, there are 3 world championships (1953, 1955 and 1957), in addition to 23 Swiss titles, 12 European titles and 4 world titles. Her competitive career ended in 1960, at only 25 years old.
The story with Vittorio Emanuele
A "winning" woman in her career as well as in her private life: she met Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, they got engaged and stayed together until his death. Their meeting dates back to 1954, and since then they have been inseparable. After 16 years of engagement, they got married in 1970 in Las Vegas with a civil ceremony. Their union gave birth to Emanuele Filiberto, who made them grandparents of Vittoria and Luisa.
The Contested Marriage
Their union was not an easy one: Vittorio Emanuele's father, Umberto II did not agree that his son should marry a "common" woman. Despite paternal interference, the couple demonstrated their love in 1970, reaffirmed in 1969 with Vittorio Emanuele's self-proclamation and the conferment of the duchess title to Marina.
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