The 47-year-old Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy is a reality TV star who has long flirted with politics | John Sciulli/Getty Images Italy’s dethroned crown prince announces ‘return of royal family’ Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia takes to Twitter ahead of planned TV show launch.

ROME — The heir to the Italian crown announced the “return of the royal family” on Twitter, more than seven decades after his grandfather was dethroned at the end of World War II.

Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, who along with the rest of his family was banned from the country until 2002, posted a video with the announcement Thursday night.

"Guided by a strong sense of responsibility the royal family pledges to defend citizens [in order to allow them to] look at the future with renewed optimism," he said, in what was later confirmed to be an advert for an upcoming television series.

The 47-year-old Savoy, who is married to French actress Clotilde Courau, is a reality TV star who has long flirted with politics. In 2009 he ran unsuccessfully for the European Parliament with an Italian center-right Catholic party. In September he told a television interviewer he might run again in the future, saying that "after all Italy is full of ministers without [an acceptable] CV."

He used the hashtags #theroyalsareback and #adv in his original tweet.

Sitting at a desk in what looked like a palatial drawing room, Emanuele Filiberto said it is time for Italians to return to the old elegance and splendor.

The heir had tweeted earlier on Thursday to promote an interview later that night: "In complex times a country needs a stable guide to offer people faith and be an example. I want to speak to the country about this and more."

Sta arrivando il momento. È per me un dovere, ma anche un grande onore, annunciarvi l’imminente ritorno della Famiglia Reale. #emanuelefiliberto #irealistannotornando #adv pic.twitter.com/O0J3U6IqsN — Emanuele Filiberto (@efsavoia) November 14, 2019

On Friday evening, Emanuele Filiberto confirmed he was advertising for Netflix. “I am honored to be the spokesperson of the return of the royals. And to witness a new glorious season comfortably from my couch,” he wrote.

The Savoy family lived in exile in Portugal and Switzerland for over 50 years after Italians opted for a republic in a referendum and a provision in Italy's 1947 Constitution banned male heirs to the throne from the country. The family was accused of having flirted with the fascists for two decades facilitating dictator Benito Mussolini's power grab.

This article has been updated.

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