The opening shot of The King Who Never Was lingers on a faded, gilded portrait of Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, the last heir to the Italian throne, now a man wanted for murder. Beatrice Borromeo’s docuseries isn’t just another true crime retread—it’s a meticulous dissection of power, privilege, and justice gone awry.

At its core, The King Who Never Was is a three-part examination of the 1978 killing of German teenager Dirk Hamer. The series weaves together the testimony of Hamer’s sister, Birgit, with the defiant accounts of Vittorio Emanuele and his cousin, Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia. Borromeo’s direction is measured, allowing the weight of the evidence—and the sheer absurdity of a royal family evading accountability—to speak for itself.

The series’ strongest moments come when it contrasts the opulence of the Savoy lifestyle with the grim details of the crime. One standout sequence juxtaposes Vittorio Emanuele’s lavish yacht parties against security footage of the shooting, the audio distorted but the violence unmistakable. The docuseries also excels in its use of archival footage, particularly a chilling interview where Vittorio Emanuele smirkingly dismisses the murder as “a misunderstanding.” Borromeo doesn’t need to editorialize; the man’s own words condemn him.

Where the series falters is in its pacing. At times, The King Who Never Was feels bogged down by tangential interviews with historians and legal experts, diluting the emotional core of Birgit Hamer’s quest for justice. The structure also suffers from an over-reliance on talking heads, which, while informative, occasionally saps the tension.

Still, Borromeo’s commitment to unraveling this story is evident. She doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable truths—like how Vittorio Emanuele’s royal connections allowed him to evade consequences for decades. The series’ final act, which details the failed prosecutions and subsequent cover-ups, is a damning indictment of a system that protects its own.

In the end, The King Who Never Was succeeds as both a gripping crime documentary and a scathing critique of aristocratic impunity.

Tags: Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, The King Who Never Was, Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia