The virtuous Turin heiress Maria Victoria dal‘ Pozzo was of Piedmont's high aristocracy and her family had historic connections with the Savoy royal court. And she was marrying the spare, not the heir. In 1970, the Savoys were not socially isolated from the other Catholic royal dynasties and King Umberto was well regarded among fellow deposed royalty. He had only one son and his daughters were fast disappointing him. Maria Pia, the one who married royally, had just divorced after giving birth to twins fathered by another royal man. Gabriella, on whom all had pinned high hopes, had married a commoner. And there was very little hope that Maria Beatrice would marry suitably. So all the King's hopes were on his only son salvaging the Royal Family's tarnished status. VE's insistence on marring a commoner and long-term mistress was the last straw for a king who, despite his own personal inclinations, had fulfilled his dynastic duty by consenting to an arranged marriage with a royal princess and producing a family with her. He firmly expected his heir to do the same.
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