Aimone was officially named King by his cousin Victor Emmanuel III. On assuming
the Crown of Zvonimir he took the regnal name Tomislav II in memory of Tomislav, the
first Croatian king. Originally on learning that he had been named King of Croatia,
His full title was "King of Croatia, Prince of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Voivode of
Dalmatia, Tuzla and Knin".

He was due to be crowned in Duvno (Tomislavgrad), in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina,
but he refused to go to Croatia due to the "Dalmatian question" which arose due to Italy
taking some of Dalmatia's coastal territory. Aimone felt that Dalmatia "was a land that
could never be Italianized" and was an obstacle to Italian-Croatian reconciliation. Other
reasons why he never went to Croatia were because of an ongoing insurgency, and that his
safety could not be guaranteed. Because of this he exercised what little power he had
from Italy and Hungary, however he never held any real authority throughout his reign as
the Ustaše government had deprived the monarchy of most powers and reduced the status of
the king to that of a figurehead. In spite of this he did have some symbolic powers such
as the ability to grant noble titles. Baron Gyula István Cseszneky de Milvány et Cseszneg
was the counselor to the King for Croatian affairs. Prince Aimone also established a
Croatian office in Rome where he received confidential reports, official documents, and
military, political and economic information from Croatia.

Following the dismissal of Mussolini on 25 July 1943, the Prince abdicated on 31 July on
the orders of Victor Emmanuel III. With the Italian capitulation on 8 September, he formally
renounced on October 12 his rights to the title. This happened shortly after the birth of
his son Amedeo (born 27 September 1943) who received Zvonimir as one of his given names.

In the late months of World War II, he became the commander of the Italian Naval Base of
Taranto but he was dismissed from his post for his criticism of the judges that had found
General Mario Roatta guilty. During his naval career he reached the rank of Squadron Admiral.

In 1947 following the birth of the Italian Republic the previous year, Prince Aimone left
Italy for South America. He died early the next year on 29 January 1948 in his hotel room
in Buenos Aires. His son Prince Amedeo succeeded him as Duke of Aosta.

The Genealogy of The Royal House

   

ZVONIMIR II, Amedeo Umberto Constantino Giorgio Paolo Elena 
Maria Fiorenzo Zvonimir, Duke of Aosta, de jure King of Croatia,
(b.Florence 27 Sep 1943); m.1st Sintra, Portugal 22 Jul
1964 (div 1982) Pss Claude d'Orléans (b.11 Dec 1943); m.2d
Bagheria, Sicily 30 Mar 1987 Marchesa Silvia Paterno di
Spedalotto (b.Palermo 31 Dec 1953)

Bianca Irene Olga Elena Isabella Fiorenza Maria
(b.Florence 2 Apr 1966); m.San Giustino Valdarno
11 Sep 1988 Cte Gilberto Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga
(b.Rome 5 Jul 1961)

Viola Moreschina Nuschi Adec Nicoletta Maria
Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga, b.Rome 31 May 1991

Vera Clementina Verde Aimone Elena Maria Arrivabene
Valenti Gonzaga, b.Samedan, Switzerland 18 Aug 1993

Mafalda Violante Giovanna Olga Maria Valenti
Gonzaga, b.Conegliano Veneto 27 Dec 1997

Maddalena Smeralda Brandolina Maria
Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga, b.24 Apr 2000

Leonardo Amedeo Moreschino Sai Maria Arrivabene
Valenti Gonzaga, b.Conegliano 5 Oct 2001

Aimone Umberto Emanuele Filiberto Luigi Amedeo Elena
Maria Fiorenzo, Duke of Apulia, de jure Crown Prince
of Croatia, (b.Florence 13 Oct 1967)

Mafalda Giovanna Shams Maria Fiorenza Isabella
(b.Florence 20 Sep 1969); m.1st San Giustino Valdarno,
Tuscany 18 Sep 1994 (div) Alessandro Ruffo di Calabria
(b.Turin 4 Nov 1964); m.2d London 27 Apr 2001 Nobile
Francesco Ferrante Carlo Napoleone Lombardo di San
Chirico (b.Milan 31 Jan 1968)

Nobile Anna Egizia Maria Carla Chiara Benedetta
Lombardo di San Chirico, b.Milan 11 Apr 1999

Nobile Carlo Ferrante Gennaro Antonio Francesco
Lombardo di San Chirico, b.Milan 28 Jan 2001

Nobile Elena Maria Carlotta Claude Silvia Stefania
Vittoria Lombardo di San Chirico, b.Milan 10 Mar 2003