All THAT GLITTERS

Landmark castles, luxurious châteaux and trunks full of priceless jewellery and art. As ousted European royals fight for the return of their families' lost fortunes, we go inside the high-stakes tussle.

-  WILLIAM LANGLEY

Behind the movie star looks and high-society lifestyle, Prince Emanuele Filiberto is the man with not quite everything. Had fate treated him differently, Emanuele, heir to the ancient royal House of Savoy, would be the King of Italy, but 76 years ago his family was overthrown and forced into exile, and today he is better known as a TV personality and gossip column stalwart.

The 50-year-old prince says he isn't complaining. "I have a good life," he admits, "but the past is always on my mind and there are things that belong to my family, which we want back." In particular, he wants the Savoy crown jewels - a priceless collection of pieces adorned with more than 6000 diamonds and 2000 pearls - which are currently sitting in a vault beneath the Bank of Italy. Among them is a fabled diamond-encrusted tiara, made for his great-great-grandmother, Queen Margherita, by the famous Turin jeweller, Musy.

The prince is currently in negotiations with the bank and the Italian government to have the jewels handed back. Should the talks fail, warns his Rome-based lawyer, Sergio Orlandi, the prince intends to start legal action against the state that expelled his forebears.

"We have right on our side," says Signor Orlandi, "and we are  encouraged by what is happening elsewhere."

For across Europe a remarkable rebellion is stirring. Descendants of fallen monarchies are rising up to demand the return of their long-lost fortunes. From France to Bulgaria and from Spain to Serbia, a generation of dispossessed nobles is demanding the return of castles, artworks and treasures lost decades, even centuries, ago.