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BIOGRAPHY Amadeo was born in Turin to Prince Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke Of Aosta (son of Amadeus I Of Spain and Princess Maria Vittoria ) and Princess Hélène (daughter of Prince Philippe Of Orléans and the Infanta Maria Isabel Of Spain ). His great-grandfather was King Victor Emmanuel II Of Italy , making him a member of the House Of Savoy . Amadeo was a very tall man. Once asked by a journalist about his height, he replied: "198 centimetres" (6 ft 6 in). Amadeo entered the Italian army and fought with distinction in the Artillery in World War I . He left the Italian army in 1921 , and travelled widely in Africa . He subsequently rejoined the Italian army and served under Marshall Rodolfo Graziani in the Pacification of Libya . In 1932 , he joined the Air Force, and became Governor Of Ethiopia after the Italian conquest in 1937 . After the Second Italo-Abyssinian War , Amadeo was made the Governor-General (and hence Commander-in-Chief ) of Italian East Africa in 1940 , in which capacity, he led the Italian forces in the East African Campaign the same year. He supervised the Italian conquest of British Somaliland and the subsequent defence of Italy's African Empire. Unable to counter the British counter-invasion, he surrendered at Amba Alagi near Gondar on May 18 , 1941 . Shortly after his surrender, Amadeo died of Tuberculosis and Malaria at a prisoner-of-war camp in Nairobi , Kenya on March 3 , 1942 . He was succeeded by his brother, Aimone, 4th Duke Of Aosta . Amadeo was often known as a gentleman. In one instance, before he fled his headquarters at Addis Ababa , he wrote a note to the British to thank them in advance for protecting the women and children in the cities. FAMILY Prince Amadeo of Savoy, 3rd Duke of Aosta was married 5 November 1927 at Naples to his first wife HRH Princess Anne of Orléans ( 1906 - 1986 ), daughter of Prince Jean of Orléans, styled Duc de Guise, and his cousin-wife Princess Isabelle of Orléans (herself daughter of Prince Philippe Of Orléans and the Infanta Maria Isabel Of Spain ). By birth, the Duke and Duchess of Aosta were thus in distant remainder to the Spanish throne. They had two daughters: Margherita and Maria Cristina (born September 10 , 1933 Miramar). Both married royal princes -
Margherita's eldest son Lorenz, Archduke Of Austria-Este is now HRH Prince Lorenz of Belgium (from 10 November 1995) by virtue of his marriage to HRH Princess Astrid Of Belgium , only daughter of King Albert II of Belgium. Their two sons and three daughters are members of the Belgian Royal Family , and as such use the surname "de Belgique" or its variants. EXTERNAL LINKS
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