Florentine nobleman Prince Filippo Corsini killed in London bike crash

Filippo Corsini, a Florentine nobleman, was fatally run over by a truck in London on 31 October.

The 21-year-old prince was hit while cycling near Knightsbridge Tube station. The truck stopped at the scene and the Metropolitan Police said they arrested the driver, a 42-year-old man, on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.

Corsini was reportedly on his way to class at Regent's University London, where he was studying for a BA in International Business. He was a keen equestrian and friends remembered his passion for the sport and for his horse, Claretta Bella.

"With your smile, with the laughter you gave us and the great undertakings you accomplished with your beloved Claretta Bella, we will never forget you. Bye, Prince. RIP", one of his friends, a fellow equestrian, wrote on Facebook.

"I cannot believe it, he was a wonderful boy. I think about his mother Clotilde, his grandfather Paolo and all the other relatives whom I don't know. I hug them all, with huge sadness", another friend recalled.

Corsini is survived by his parents, Duccio and Clotilde, as well as two younger sisters. The family has a wine and oil production business and also rents various properties in Tuscany as holiday homes.

The Corsini family are one of Florence's oldest, whose lineage goes all the way back to the Middle Ages. Their family tree includes Pope Clemente XII, who ruled from 1730 to 1740, founding Rome's Capitoline Museums and commissioning the Trevi Fountain.

Corsini is the eighth person to be killed in a biking accident in London this year.