Body Italian king in homeland united with woman

- The remains of the former Italian king Victor Emmanuel III, who sat on the throne from 1900 to 1946 and experienced the fascist period under Mussolini closely, was repatriated by plane from Egypt on Sunday. The monarch died in exile there in 1947.

Victor Emmanuel and his wife will be buried in the mausoleum of the royal family in Vicoforte, a town in Piedmont between Cuneo and Savona. The remains of Queen Elena have already been brought there Friday, a spokesperson said. She died in 1959 and was buried in the southern French town of Montpellier.

Victor Emanuel III became king in the summer of 1900 after his father Umberto I was murdered and he witnessed the fascist period under Benito Mussolini. He received strong criticism because he did nothing to prevent the dictator from coming to power in 1922. The Italian monarch, nicknamed saber, resigned in 1946 and was succeeded by his son Umberto II. In a plebiscite, however, the Italians preferred a republic over a kingdom.