PRINCE VITTORIO EMANUELE DI SAVOIA EXILED: 1948 RETURNED: DECEMBER 2002
His family's former palace in Turin has 137 rooms, but his current house outside Geneva sleeps only four. No wonder Vittorio, 65, the son of Italy's last king, was delighted to return late last year to a homeland he hadn't seen since age 11. "It has been the most beautiful day of my life," he proclaimed during a Dec. 23 whirlwind tour of Rome that included a meeting with the Pope. The Italian parliament voted last July to end an exile imposed on the royal heirs in 1948 because of the collaboration of King Vittorio Emanuele III (Vittorio's grandfather) with dictator Benito Mussolini. But the question of whether Vittorio and his wife, Marina, 67, will recoup property remains under debate. Says son Emanuele Filiberto, 30, a banker: "We are happy to be heading home. That's the most important thing."
GREECE
KING CONSTANTINE EXILED: 1967 RETURNED: NEXT YEAR, HE VOWS
"All Greeks are nostalgic—it is a Greek word. We want to go back home," Constantine, 62, told PEOPLE in November about the land he last visited in 1993. Unfortunately for the former king, he lost his battle to regain his three lavish estates. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in December that the Greek government need only compensate Constantine $12 million for property seized when he was deposed in a military coup. While the eight-year court battle disappointed Constantine—"They treat me sometimes as if I'm their enemy," he says of Greece's government—it hasn't dulled his appetite for future fights. Now living in London with wife Anne-Marie, 60, and the two youngest of their five children, Constantine, who won an Olympic gold medal for sailing in 1960, plans to be on hand when the Games return to Athens in '04. "It's the most beautiful country in the world," he says.
BULGARIA
KING SIMEON II EXILED: 1944 NOW: PRIME MINISTER
Not only has Simeon, 65, recovered most of his family's goodies—including the Vrana palace on the outskirts of Sofia, a ski chalet and vineyards—he's also prime minister. Made king in 1943 at age 6, when his father, Boris III, died, Simeon was raised in Egypt and Madrid after the Soviets set up Communist rule. He won election in June 2001, pledging political and economic reform.
AFGHANISTAN
KING MOHAMMED ZAHIR SHAH EXILED: 1973 RETURNED: APRIL 2002
"Even through 29 years of exile in Rome, I always knew I would return," Zahir Shah, 88, told PEOPLE a year ago. "The love for my country is so strong." Last April he got his wish, touching down in Kabul to support the war-devastated country's new government under President Hamid Karzai. Shah—whose 40-year rule (ended by a cousin's coup) was a welcome era of peace and modernization—has quarters in his former palace, the Arg, and a heartfelt mission: "To bring comfort to my people."
ALBANIA
PRINCE LEKA ZOG EXILED: 1939 RETURNED: 2002
In 1997, after Albania voted against restoring the WWII-ousted monarchy, Leka, 63, who had been campaigning to retake the throne of his father, King Zog I, was accused of leading an armed uprising. An amnesty let him come home—but to a rented villa, not to his family's former palaces, one of which is now the presidential residence.
YUGOSLAVIA
PRINCE ALEXANDER FAMILY EXILED: 1941 RETURNED: 2001
For his help rallying support to overthrow dictator Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, the Yugoslav government let Alexander, 57—who was born in London after his family fled the Nazis—resettle in the sumptuous White Palace outside Belgrade in 2001. "What matters is that we are here," he says, "and able to contribute to our nation."
- Contributors:
- Dejan Anastasijevic,
- Misha Savic,
- Llazar Semini,
- Violetta Simeonova,
- Praxilla Trabattoni,
- Toula Vlahou.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
