A gripping retelling of an event that rocked Italy’s royal family

The King Who Never Was

Italian (Netflix)

Director: Beatrice Borromeo

Rating: 3/5

Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy was 9 when his family went into exile in 1946 after the Italian public voted for the dissolution of the monarchy. But his life of privilege didn’t stop there. 

In 1978, he was in the news again for allegedly killing Dirk Hamer, a 19-year-old who was partying along with friends in Cavallo island, near the more popular Corsica island in France. It was the summer home of the family.

The three-part documentary traces the events leading up to the murder and the ensuing incidents — from the arrest of Emanuele, to his release and the 38-year battle of Dirk’s sister, Birgit, to get justice for her brother. 

It begins with a visibly aged Emanuele talking about his days as a little boy. He seems to suggest that he never wanted to be king. However, the documentary demonstrates how he enjoyed and abused his privilege and connections.

The episodes do a good job of slowly revealing and building the personalities of the main people involved in the tragedy. A proud and defiant perpetrator (who is one interview says “I’m sorry, but I don’t know if I did it”), his beautiful wife (a former Olympian, who is determined to prove her husband’s innocence) and the devastated sister of the victim, who will stop at nothing but the conviction and sentencing of her brother’s killer. 

Though the whole story smacks of privilege and wealth — of the murderer, the victim and everyone else involved — one cannot ignore the fact that it resulted in tragedy. Birgit is met with utmost resistance at every stage of her fight for justice and the show skillfully highlights her struggles without making it repetitive. The documentary answers the question of how this was possible — how did Emanuele get away with it all, despite strong evidence? 

Overall it’s a show that fans of crime docu-series will find compelling. However, the introduction of too many witnesses, interviewees, experts and authorities can prove a bit confusing.