The heir of the Italian Pretender to the throne, Prince Emanuele Filiberto, has announced the return of the monarchy in Italy in a live televised address to the Italian people on Thursday night. Mediaset aired it live after interrupting their normal programming for the announcement.

The Prince had hinted to a big announcement on his social media platforms earlier in the day, and later he posted the video of his statement to his Twitter page saying, “The time is coming. It is a duty for me, but also a great honour, to announce to you the imminent return of the Royal Family.”

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

He said in his short speech, “Good evening to all Italians. I have a duty to officially announce the return of the royal family. It is time to return, to ensure the peace, confidence and elegance that are needed more than ever today.

“Guided by a strong sense of duty, the Royal Family aims to protect civilians and to look to the future with renewed optimism. Thanks, everyone. The Royal Family is coming back.”

He provided no information regarding when or how they will return to Italy. A survey by the Istituto Piepoli showed in 2018 that only 15% of Italians want the monarchy to return and 8% supported the idea of him as king.

Prince Emanuele Filiberto is the only male-line grandson of the last reigning King of Italy, Umberto II. He grew up in Switzerland as an exile from Italy, in accordance with the provision of the Italian constitution prohibiting the male issue of the Savoy Kings of Italy from entering or staying on Italian territory. All male members of the Savoy family were banned from entering Italy in 1948, a law which was first repealed in 2002. That year, he made the first visit to Italy with his family including his father, Prince Vittorio Emanuele, the pretender to the throne.