Ma il principe azzurro quanti anni ha?

The expression principe azzurro is generally believed to be specifically Italian and to have been coined on the occasion of the engagement of Victor Emmanuel of Savoy and Helen of Montenegro in 1896, the colour being a reference to the old flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia. A few years ago, I pointed out that the expression, corresponding to the French prince charmant, is attested earlier in that language in a number of variants, such as prince bleu and prince azur, and has equivalents also in Spanish; while pointing to 1901 as the year of its first attestation (not 1904 found in DELIn), I was at the time unable to find attestations prior to 1896. New evidence allows us now to go back to 1892 and thus to confirm the hypothesis which I then advanced. It is in any case quite likely that the reference to the Prince of Savoy may have contributed to defining the meaning of the expression as referring specifically to an ‘ideal fiancé or husband’.