Italian Royalty and Spanish Monarch. He was the second son of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (Italian: Vittorio Emanuele II) and his wife, the former Archduchess Adelheid of Austria, a granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II. The young prince was granted the title of Duke of Aosta (Italian: Duca d'Aosta) and founded the Aosta branch of the Italian ruling dynasty of Savoy. The Duke attained the rank of Vice-Admiral in the Italian Navy and served in the Italian Army attaining the rank of Major-General. Following some initial reluctance, he was married on May 30, 1867 in Turin to a wealthy heiress, Donna Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, the only child of Carlo Emanuele dal Pozzo, 5th Prince of La Cisterna, a nobleman of princely rank, and not of equal royal rank to the Duke of Aosta. This disparity in rank was overlooked due to the great wealth she brought to her husband and ultimately to their descendants. They were to have three sons. Following the deposition of Queen Isabella II of Spain in 1868, he was elected the new King of Spain, reigning briefly from November 16, 1870 until February 11, 1873. His candidacy for the throne of Spain had the firm support of his father and he was seen as a favorable candidate by virtue of his Spanish Borbón ancestry through both his father and his mother, being a great-great-grandson and a great-great-great-grandson of King Carlos III of Spain, who reigned 1759-1788. His brief reign was marred by political disputes, civil unrest, and assassination attempts. Never able to gain adequate popular support, he abdicated the Spanish throne on February 11, 1873 and returned to Italy, where he resumed his Italian titles. Following the death of his wife, he was married on September 11, 1888 in Turin to his own niece, Princess Maria Letizia Bonaparte, who was twenty-one years his junior and the daughter of his sister. Their marriage required a papal dispensation due to their consanguinity. They were to have one son. The Duke of Aosta died in Turin and was buried in the Basilica di Superga, the traditional burial place of the House of Savoy, in the royal crypt, in the Sala delle Regine (English: Hall of the Queens).