 The disastrous Italian defeats at Stalingrad and El Alamein turned Umberto against the war and led him to conclude that Italy must sign an armistice before it was too late.In late 1942, Umberto had his cousin Prince Aimone visit Switzerland to contact the British consulate in Geneva, where he passed on a message to London that the king was willing to sign an armistice with the Allies in exchange for a promise that he be allowed to keep his throne.In 1943, the Crown Princess Marie José involved herself in vain attempts to arrange a separate peace treaty between Italy and the United States.