The eldest grandson of Italy’s last king, Umberto II, has split from his wife of nearly 22 years – and revealed he’s ‘very happy’ with his new girlfriend, a former Miss Mexico winner.

Prince Emanuele Filiberto, 52, from the dethroned House of Savoy, has been separated from the French actress Clotilde Courau, with whom he has two daughters, for ‘four years’, he revealed in a wide-ranging interview on Saturday.

When asked by Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera if he was still married, he confirmed the separation and explained why his former wife still featured on the family’s official Christmas card.

‘We get along very well, I respect her and love her and she will always be the mother of my daughters, who are amazing,’ said Italy’s Dancing with the Stars 2009 winner.

Elsewhere in the interview, Emanuele was asked whether Miss Mexico 1988, Adriana Abascal, could be labelled ‘your new partner’, to which he simply replied: ‘You can write that I am very happy’, according to an English translation of the article.

In January, local media snapped the prince and the 54-year-old businesswoman, who runs her own luxury shoe brand, Maison Skorpios, kissing after a fashion event that they attended together in Seville.

The former model – who won fifth place in the Miss Universe pageant in 1989 and has been married three times – isn’t the first woman that’s been romantically linked to Emanuele in the last couple of years.

His friendships with singer Nadia Lanfranconi and French personality Laeticia Hallyday have been thrown into the spotlight, and he was reportedly pictured sharing a kiss in Los Angeles with the former, according to Today.it.

Adriana Abascal and Prince Emanuele Filiberto at a fashion show in Seville, Spain, in January 2025

Meanwhile, Emanuele made his current relationship official by taking Adriana to Pope Francis’ mass in Ajaccio in December, reported Corriere della Sera. 

‘When stories end, you have to move on, respecting the people you love. I think my little girls, today, know that it’s important for their father to be happy and to have found someone he feels good with,’ added the prince. 

Emanuele shares two daughters with Clotilde, 21-year-old Vittoria, who will become the head of the Italian royal family after her father, and Luisa, 18. 

Proving just how positive his relationship remains with the mother of his children, the heir to the Italian monarchy that was abolished by referendum in 1946 took to his official Instagram page in September 2023 to mark their 20th wedding anniversary.

Sharing a sweet photograph of them together on their big day, the prince wrote: ‘It’s because of you that I said yes to the world,’ in an English translation of his caption. 

Clotilde and the prince were both seen at the funeral of Emanuele’s father Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Naples, who died at the age of 86. The service took place at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in northern Italy in February 2024.

The couple used to spend most of the year apart, with Clotilde living in Paris and Emanuele based in Monte Carlo, which ‘always aroused curiosity’, according to local media.

Now, Emanuele has moved on with Adriana, who is said to be ‘enchanted’ with her new lover, reported Hola.

Prince Emanuele Filiberto, 52, from the dethroned House of Savoy, has been separated from the French actress Clotilde Courau (pictured in Milan in 2014), with whom he has two daughters, for ‘four years’, he revealed in a wide-ranging interview on Saturday

Elsewhere in the interview, Emanuele was asked whether Miss Mexico 1988, Adriana Abascal (pictured), could be labelled ‘your new partner’, to which he simply replied: ‘You can write that I am very happy’, according to an English translation of the article

The former model (pictured) won fifth place in the Miss Universe pageant in 1989 and has been married three times

Proving just how positive his relationship remains with the mother of his children, the heir to the Italian monarchy that was abolished by referendum in 1946 took to his official Instagram page in September 2023 to mark their 20th wedding anniversary. Pictured on their wedding day

Adriana was married to Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, the billionaire who created the largest media empire in the Spanish-speaking world, from 1990 until his death aged 66 in 1997. Their was a 40-year age gap between them.

The well-known personality in Spain, especially among high society, then wed Spanish businessman Juan Villalonga in 2000 before divorcing nine years later. They share three children.

Her third husband was French entrepreneur Emmanuel Schreder but they separated in 2022.

MailOnline has contacted Prince Emanuele Filiberto for comment.

Emanuele, meanwhile, has recently revealed how he hired a prostitute to teach him how to have sex with his first girlfriend but was still left ‘feeling like an imbecile’.

Speaking in January, he said he had always felt awkward about sex as a young men and so he had relied on an adult worker to show him the ropes.

He told Italian daily la Repubblica: ‘I had a girlfriend and I wanted to make love with her, but I didn’t know how to do it. So I had a prostitute teach me how to do it. It became clear to me very quickly.’

During the interview it became apparent no topic was off limits as the prince said he liked to be seduced and admitted to participating in threesomes where he had felt ‘a little bit like an imbecile’.

In January, local media snapped the prince and the 54-year-old businesswoman (pictured at the event), who runs her own luxury shoe brand, Maison Skorpios, kissing after a fashion event that they attended together in Seville

Adriana (pictured in Seville in January with the prince) was married to Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, the billionaire who created the largest media empire in the Spanish-speaking world, from 1990 until his death aged 66 in 1997. Their was a 40-year age gap between them

Emanuele shares two daughters with Clotilde (pictured together), 21-year-old Vittoria, who will become the head of the Italian royal family after her father, and Luisa, 18

Adriana (pictured in 2023) then wed Spanish businessman Juan Villalonga in 2000 before divorcing nine years later

Emanuele, who shot to fame after winning Italy’s popular Dancing with the Stars TV show in 2009, has many different business interests.

Examples of these include owning restaurants in the US and also being the Chief Executive Officer for a video game called RoyaLand which is currently in development with seven other royal families. 

Emanuele is currently petitioning for his grandfather and grandmother, Umberto and Marie-José of Belgium, to be reburied in the Pantheon in Rome from their final resting place in France, reported The Times.

Currently, Italy does not have its own royal family, having abolished the monarchy in a referendum in 1946. 

But the House of Savoy, which was the birth family of Italy’s kings, has never given up hope that the monarchy could be restored – although the last opinion poll showed less than 10 per cent of the country were in favour.

The house – which has existed since 1003 – has long pointed to the example of Spain, where the monarchy was reinstated following the death of General Franco in 1975. 

The country’s King, Felipe VI, is the son of King Juan Carlos, who led Spain’s transition to democracy. His heir presumptive is Leonor, Princess of Asturias. 

Despite there being little support for reinstating the monarchy in Italy, Prince Emanuele feels that there is still a need for one, previously saying: ‘I think in times of crisis people see a strong, almost spiritual presence in kings and queens.’ 

Maria Pia di Savoia (L), Emanuele Filiberto (2nd L), Clotilde Courau (C), with their daughters Princesses Vittoria and Luisa Savoia sit near the coffin of Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia as he lies in state on the eve of his funeral ceremony in Saint Hubert Chapel in the Reggia of Venaria Reale, near Turin, on February 9, 2024

Adriana’s third husband was French entrepreneur Emmanuel Schreder but they separated in 2022. Pictured, Adriana in 2022 in France

Emanuele shot to fame after winning Italy’s popular Dancing with the Stars TV show in 2009. Here he is pictured with dance partner Natalia Titova after winning the show

The House of Savoy was exiled from Italy for 50 years, only being allowed to return in 2002.

In 2022, the House of Savoy changed the lineage protocol, known as the Salic Law, from only allowing male heirs to inherit the title to women as well.

‘In a few years time there will be more queens than kings in Europe’, Prince Emanuele said at the time. 

‘People are now understanding, even if it is a bit belated, that the intelligence and sensitivity of a woman makes them great leaders.’ 

Speaking to the New York Times in May 2021, Vittoria said the change in the law  ‘was the best gift [my grandfather] could give me’.

When asked if she felt Italy was ready to accept her as a queen, or the head of her family, she said: ‘Italy is not really progressive, but they will learn.’

During her free time, Vittoria travels between Geneva, where she was born in 2003, and Monte Carlo, where her father Emanuele lives, and an Italian farmhouse owned by her family in Umbertide, Umbria.