 Umberto was the first cousin of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia.He was accorded the title Prince of Piedmont, which was formalised by Royal Decree on 29 September.In a 1959 interview, Umberto told the Italian newspaper "La Settimana Incom Illustrata" that in 1922 his father had felt that appointing Benito Mussolini prime minister was a "justifiable risk".