Amadeo Prince of Savoy, 3rd Duke of Aosta ¹⁷⁰⁹

   Cause of his death was Tuberculosis & Malaria.¹⁷⁰⁹

   Other names for Amadeo were Amedeo Umberto Isabella Ludovico Filippo Maria Giuseppe Giovanni ¹⁷⁰⁸ and Prince de Savoie Duke d'Aosta Amadeo.¹⁷⁰⁹

  General Notes:

Amadeo di Savoia (October 21, 1898 - March 3, 1942) was the third Duke of Aosta and a cousin of the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III. His baptismal name was Amadeo Umberto Isabella Luigi Filippo Maria Guiseppe Giovanni de Savoie. During World War II, he was the Italian Governor-General of Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana).

Amadeo was born 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 feet 6 inches).

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. ¹⁷⁰²

Amadeo married Anne Princess of Orleans-Savoy on 5 Nov 1927 in Naples, Campania, Italy.¹⁷⁰⁹ (Anne Princess of Orleans-Savoy was born on 5 Aug 1906 ¹⁷⁰⁹ and died on 19 Mar 1986 in Sorrento, Italy ¹⁷⁰⁹.)