Adalberto off to East Africa to fight

September 29, 1935

Prince Adalberto of Savoy, Duke of Bergamo, today left for East Africa, becoming the first member of the Italian royal family to fight in the current war, the AP reports. "As the guns of warships roared a salute," Prince Adalberto sailed from Taranto with "4,000 cheering soldiers."
Crown Prince Umberto, and Prince Adalberto's brother, the Duke of Pistoia, saw him off at the dock. The Duke, who will sail on a later ship, "gave his brother the traditional Italian farewell, a kiss on both cheeks."
Adalberto's cousin, King Victor Emanuel, sent a "message of good luck." He will be serving in Africa as a captain of the cavalry. He was only just out of his teens when he fought in the world war, where he "received a medal for valor."
It was noted that Adalberto's departure, which will be followed by his brother's departure and the presence of the Crown Prince, "dispelled rumors" that the house of Savoy was opposed to an Italo-Ethiopian war.