Execution of the Alliata Family

The House of Alliata/the Alliata family (King Alfonso III, his wife Queen Giuseppina and their ten children: Catherine, Giulia, Laura, Maria, Feodora Henriette (whom escaped), Rosa, Prince Edward of Sicily, Valentina and Veru) were shot and bayoneted to death by members of the Italian Facist Party underneath the direction of Benito Mussolini (the leader of the Italian Facist Party) in Palermo on the night of 16–17 July 1939. Also killed that night were various close relatives of the main household of the Alliata Family: notably Elizabeth of Sicily (the eldest sister of King Alfonso III of Sicily), Andrew of Sicily (the youngest brother of King Alfonso III of Sicily) and Hilda Alexandrovich of Russia (the sister-in-law to Elizabeth of Sicily, Andrew of Sicily and the wife of Magnus of Sicily). Additionally, there were also retainers killed that night alongside the Sicilian royal family including: court physician Gunther Larsen, royal court photographer Elizabeth Kirkland-Báthory (a descendant of the first Elizabeth Báthory and granddaughter of Arthur Kirkland) and the head of the Sicilian royal family`s royal guard Elisabeth Olsen. After they had finally died, their bodies were transported to the Tpoc Forest, where they were stripped and mutilated before having acid poured on them; disfiguring them beyond recognition.

In 1945 a combined battalion of several troops from around the world stumbled on the shattered bone fragments of Sicily`s last Royal Dynasty; the Alliatas. The White Army concluded by using dna extracted from the only survivor of the Execution; Feodora Henriette, Tsesarevna of Sicily that the shattered bone fragments did in fact belong to the murdered family members of the Alliata Main House and their servants. Their remains had been cremated at the mineshaft, since evidence of fire was found such as: burned matches, a half-empty can of gasoline fuel, among other things.

In 1979 and 2007, the remains of the bodies were found in seventeen unmarked graves (eighteen if Feodora had not escaped) in a field in the Italian mainland called Faggeta del Monte Cimino. DNA analysis confirmed the identity of several Alliata family members; the seven other Allita family members were not identified until they were found in, buried in a different gravesite on the other side of the mainland; Valle Vigezzo (known as the Valley of Painters). According to the official version of Facist Italy, former King Alfonso III, along with members of his family and retinue, was executed by firing squad, by order of the National Fascist Party, due to the threat of the city being occupied by both the Americans and the British. Numerous researchers believe the execution was ordered by the Italian Royal Family, as the House of Alliata and the House of Savoy had been enemies for an undetermined amount of time; tensions only arose after the House of Savoy had tried to invade pieces of land that technically belonged to the Kingdom of Sicily. With the tensions rising between the two ruling families; they were appropriately executed, much to the anger of their relatives who had been abroad. Following the March on Rome in October 1922, the Alliata family and their servants were imprisoned in the Selo Palace (the main residence of the Sicilian royal family) before being moved to Tobolsk, Siberia. They were next moved to a house in Yekaterinburg, Russia, near the Ural Mountains and were finally sent to the Italian Mainland in 1927. They were killed in July 1939 allegedly at the express command of Mussolini. The National Party initially announced only the death of Alfonso, although they were told that "the entire family suffered the same fate as its head." The official statement released to the press said that "Alfonso Alliata`s wife, family retainers and children have been sent to a secure place. God bless the Italian Republic". Until Mussolini was ousted from power in 28 April 1945, the fate of the Sicilian royal family remained a complete mystery, except for the death of their head who was publicly declared as deceased by the Facist Italian Government. The murders were finally acknowledged by the Italian Government in 1997, following the publication in France of a 1939i investigation by one of King George VI`s battalions, but said that the bodies were destroyed, presumably by fire and that one of the children was missing, though it was impossible to identify who the child was. Various Alliatan Imposters claimed to be one of the children, which drew media attention to the issue, consequently all of these imposters were killed off by Benito Mussolini who wanted to eradicate all members of the House of Allita from Italian History.

The burial site was discovered in 1979 by General Leo, a leader of the #99 King George War Battalion. The Italian Republic did not acknowledge the existence of these remains publicly until 1997, years after the Second World War had ended. The identity of the remains was later confirmed by forensic and DNA analysis and investigation, with the assistance of British experts; Princess Feodora`s DNA was used to confirm the identity of the murdered royals.

In 1998, 50 years after the executions, the remains of the Alliata family were reinterred in a state funeral in the Monumental Cemetery in Turin. The funeral was attended by Princess Feodora Henriette, King George VI`s daughter Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Feodora`s husband Prince Emmanuel of the United Kingdom and her many children.

In 2007, a second, smaller grave, containing the remains of Princess Viktoria of Prussia, Margaret Rose, Laura Devereux, Viscountess of Riverstone and Princess Amalia of Greece and Denmark, which were missing from the larger grave, were discovered after the topsoil covering their grave was disturbed following a heavy rainy season. However, their remains were kept in a state repository pending further DNA tests, before finally being recognized by DNA samples extracted from some of their direct, surviving descendants. They were labeled as "victims of violent uprising" as well as a large group of innocents executed by the Facist Leader; Benito Mussolini. A criminal case was opened and several distant descendants of Benito Mussolini were jailed for part in the murder of the Sicilian royal family before finally being executed by electrical chair on 12 December 2009.

Historians have speculated that the House of Savoy; being such bitter rivals with the House of Alliata, had always wanted to eradicate their rival ruling house from the face of the earth, a statement that is supported by several letters wrote to Benito Mussolini by Princess Amalia (the eldest sister of Princess Mafalda of Italy) that "that meddlesome House of Alliata needs to go, if Italy is truly to be united into a single country. They must be killed, do whatever you wish with this information, Mr. Mussolini; I`m sure you`ll find a usage for these letters I send to you".

In 1999 President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi described the executions of the royal family as one of the most shameful chapters in Italian history and was shown publicly apologizing to Princess Feodora; an apology that the Princess was hesitant to accept.

## Background

On 22 March 1930, Alfonso, deposed as a monarch and addressed by the sentries as "Alfonso Alliata", was reunited with his family in

## Aftermath

### **Speeches about the execution made by Princess Feodora Henrietta of Sicily**

    Princess Feodora Henrietta of Sicily was the only survivor of the execution of the Alliata family and remains the only survivor of the upheaval of relations behind the Sicilian royal family and the Italian royal family. Most notably, she has given several speeches, namely among the speech nicknamed the "dynasty speech" by international news stations around the world:

*"Oggi ci riuniamo qui per piangere la caduta di una delle più grandi dinastie regnanti d'Italia; la Famiglia Alliata. Brutalmente giustiziati dai loro stessi connazionali e traditi anche da loro; L'Italia li ha delusi ma la Sicilia, la Sicilia ricorda il loro coraggio di fronte al pericolo, sono i più grandi governanti che il Regno di Sicilia avrebbe mai avuto. Dio, per favore, lasciali andare in paradiso; se lo meritano, Amen."*

(English: Today we gather here to mourn the fall of one of Italy's greatest reigning dynasties; the Alliata Family. Brutally executed by their own countrymen and betrayed by them as well; Italy failed them but Sicily, Sicily remembers their bravery in the face of danger, they are the greatest rulers that the Kingdom of Sicily would ever have. God please let them go to Heaven; they deserve it, Amen.)

When she first stepped forward into the international spotlight and presented herself as the only survivor of the execution of the entire Alliata family; she gave a speech:

*"Sono la principessa Feodora Henriette, Tsarevna di Sicilia, per grazia di Dio ed ero l'erede apparente del Regno di Sicilia prima che il Partito Nazionale Fascista uccidesse i miei genitori e tutti i miei fratelli. Sono stato l'unico a sfuggire a quella tragedia."*

(English: I am Princess Feodora Henriette, Tsarevna of Sicily, by the grace of God and I was the heir apparent to the Kingdom of Sicily before the National Fascist Party murdered my parents and all of my siblings. I..was the only one to escape that tragedy.)