by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Kingdom of Sardinia: The House of Savoy had been Counts and then Dukes of Savoy, since the 11th century and ruled from the city of Turin in the Duchy of Savoy, now in northern Italy. Vittorio Amedeo II, Duke of Savoy became King of Sicily in 1713 as a result of his participation in the War of the Spanish Succession. However, in 1720, Vittoria Amedeo II was forced to exchange the Kingdom of Sicily for the less important Kingdom of Sardinia after objections from the Quadruple Alliance (Great Britain, France, Habsburg Austria, and the Dutch Republic).

Sardinia, now in Italy, is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily, also now in Italy, but the Kings of Sardinia of the House of Savoy ruled from Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy. They styled themselves as Kings of Sardinia because the title was superior to their original lesser title as Dukes of Savoy. However, they retained the regnal numerical order of the Dukes of Savoy.

Vittorio Emanuele II became the last King of Sardinia upon the abdication of his father in 1849. He then became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, while the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Note: Children of Kings of Sardinia were often styled “of Savoy” as their fathers were also Dukes of Savoy from the House of Savoy.

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Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlo Emanuele III was the King of Sardinia from 1730 until his death in 1773. Born on April 27, 1701, at the Royal Palace in Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy, he was the fifth of the six children and the second of the three sons of Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia and his first wife Anne Marie d’Orléans. His paternal grandparents were Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy and Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours and his maternal grandparents were King Louis XIV of France’s only sibling Philippe, Duke of Orléans and his first wife Princess Henrietta of England, the daughter of King Charles I of England. At birth, he was given the title Duke of Aosta, which came to be the traditional title of the second son of the reigning monarch of the House of Savoy.

Carlo Emanuele had five siblings:

• Princess Marie Adélaïde of Savoy (1685 – 1712), married Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin of France had three sons, only one son King Louis XV of France survived childhood
• Princess Maria Anna of Savoy (1687 – 1690), died in childhood
• Princess Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (1688 – 1714), married King Felipe V of Spain, had four sons, only two survived childhood and both became Kings of Spain
• Vittorio Amadeo, Prince of Piedmont (1699 – 1715), died in his teens from smallpox
• Prince Emanuele Philibert of Savoy (born and died 1705), died in infancy

Carlo Emanuele’s elder brother Vittorio Amedeo was the heir to the throne and bore the title Prince of Piedmont, the traditional title of the heir of the House of Savoy. Vittorio Amedeo II favored his eldest son and neglected Carlo Emanuele’s education except on the military field, where he sometimes accompanied the father. On March 22, 1715, fifteen-year-old Vittorio Amedeo died from smallpox and his younger brother Carlo Emanuele became the heir to the throne and the Prince of Piedmont.

Carlo Emanuele married three times but all three wives died young.

Anna Christine of Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont; Credit – Wikipedia

On March 15, 1722, in Vercelli, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy, Carlo Emanuele married Anna Christine of Sulzbach, daughter of Theodor Eustach, Count Palatine of Sulzbach and Eleonore of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg. They had one child and a few days later, on March 12, 1723, Anna Christine died of childbirth complications, aged nineteen. Anna Christine died before her husband became King of Sardinia and so she was titled Princess of Piedmont.

• Prince Vittorio Amedeo Teodoro of Savoy (1723 – 1725), died in early childhood

Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, Queen of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlo Emanuele’s second wife was Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, daughter of Ernst Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg and Eleonore of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort. Polyxena was the first cousin of Carlo Emanuele’s first wife and belonged to the only Roman Catholic branch of the reigning House of Hesse. After a proxy marriage on July 23, 1724, in Rotenburg, Landgraviate of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, now in Hesse, Germany, the couple was married in person on August 20, 1724, in Thonon, Chablais, then a province of the Duchy of Savoy, now in France. When her husband became King of Sardinia in 1730, Polyxena became Queen of Sardinia. She died on January 13, 1735, aged 28, having been ill since June 1734. Carlo Emanuele and Polyxena had six children.

The children of Carlo Emanuele and his second wife Polyxena; (L-R) Eleonora; Vittorio Amedeo; Maria Felicita and Luisa; Credit – Wikipedia

• Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia (1726 – 1796), married Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain, had twelve children
• Princess Eleonora of Savoy (1728 – 1781), unmarried
• Princess Luisa of Savoy (1729 – 1767), unmarried
• Princess Maria Felicita of Savoy (1730 – 1801), unmarried
• Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Duke of Aosta (1731 – 1735), died in childhood
• Prince Carlo of Savoy, Duke of Chablais (born and died 1733)

Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine, Queen of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine was the third wife of Carlo Emanuele. She was the daughter of Leopold Joseph, Duke of Lorraine and Élisabeth Charlotte d’Orléans the daughter of King Louis XIV of France’s only sibling Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and his second wife Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, known as Liselotte. Carlo Emanuele and Elisabeth Therese were half-first cousins as their mothers were half-sisters. After a proxy marriage on March 5, 1737, at the Château de Lunéville in the Duchy of Lorraine, now in France, Carlo Emanuele and Elisabeth Therese married in person on April 1, 1737, in Lyon, France. The couple had three children but only the third child Benedetto survived childhood. Sadly, Elisabeth Therese died on July 3, 1741, aged 29, from puerperal fever (childbed fever), thirteen days after giving birth to Benedetto.

• Prince Carlo Francesco of Savoy (1738 – 1745), died in childhood.
• Princess Maria Vittoria of Savoy (1740 – 1742), died in infancy
• Prince Benedetto of Savoy (1741 – 1808) married his niece Princess Maria Anna of Savoy, no children

Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia in his coronation robes; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 26, 1728, Carlo Emanuele’s mother Queen Anne Marie died after a series of heart attacks the day before her 59th birthday. Two years later, Carlo Emanuele’s father Vittorio Amedeo II secretly married Anna Canalis di Cumiana, a former mistress. To the surprise and dismay of the court, Vittorio Amedeo II and Anna Canalis di Cumiana made their marriage public on September 3, 1730. At the same time as the marriage announcement, Vittorio Amedeo II abdicated and retired from the royal court. His son succeeded him as Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. However, in 1731, Vittorio Amedeo attempted to reclaim the throne, accusing his son of incompetence. Carlo Emanuele III thwarted this power play by having his father arrested and confined for the remainder of his life. Anna Canalis di Cumiana was also separately confined for the rest of her life.

Carlo Emanuele was a soldier-king who gained territory for his kingdom by fighting on the French side in the War of the Polish Succession and then on the Austrian side in the War of the Austrian Succession. His ancestors were avid art collectors and Carlo Emanuele was no different. He added many new paintings to the collection of the House of Savoy.

Tomb of Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia; https://www.wga.hu/html_m/c/collino/filippo/carloem3.html

On February 20, 1773, at the Royal Palace in Turin, Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia died at the age of 71. He is buried in the Royal Crypt of the Basilica of Superga in Turin in a monumental tomb, the work of the sculptor Ignazio Collino. He survived his three wives, his five siblings, and six of his ten children.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anne Christine of Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Christine_of_Sulzbach,_Princess_of_Piedmont> [Accessed 17 June 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Emmanuel_III_of_Sardinia> [Accessed 17 June 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Therese_of_Lorraine> [Accessed 17 June 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyxena_of_Hesse-Rotenburg> [Accessed 17 June 2021].
• Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/vittorio-amedeo-ii-king-of-sardinia/> [Accessed 17 June 2021].
• It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Carlo Emanuele III di Savoia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Emanuele_III_di_Savoia> [Accessed 17 June 2021].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

The Kingdom of Sardinia: The House of Savoy had been Counts and then Dukes of Savoy, since the 11th century and ruled from the city of Turin, now in northern Italy. Vittorio Amedeo II, Duke of Savoy became King of Sicily in 1713 as a result of his participation in the War of the Spanish Succession. However, in 1720, Vittoria Amedeo II was forced to exchange the Kingdom of Sicily for the less important Kingdom of Sardinia after objections from the Quadruple Alliance (Great Britain, France, Habsburg Austria, and the Dutch Republic).

Sardinia, now in Italy, is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea after Sicily, also now in Italy, but the Kings of Sardinia of the House of Savoy ruled from Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy. They styled themselves as Kings of Sardinia because the title was superior to their original lesser title as Dukes of Savoy. However, they retained the regnal numerical order of the Dukes of Savoy.

Vittorio Emanuele II became the last King of Sardinia upon the abdication of his father in 1849. He then became a driving force behind the Italian unification movement along with Giuseppe Garibaldi, a general and nationalist, and Giuseppe Mazzini, a politician and journalist. Garibaldi conquered Naples and Sicily, the territories of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, while the Sardinian troops occupied the central territories of the Italian peninsula, except Rome and part of Papal States. With all the newly acquired land, Vittorio Emanuele II was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Note: Children of Kings of Sardinia were often styled “of Savoy” as their fathers were also Dukes of Savoy from the House of Savoy.

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Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

Vittorio Amedeo II reigned as King of Sardinia from 1720 – 1730 but he had also reigned as King of Sicily from 1713 – 1720, and was Duke of Savoy from the death of his father in 1675 until his abdication in 1730. Vittorio Amedeo Francesco was born on May 14, 1666, at the Royal Palace in Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Piedmont in northern Italy. He was the only child of Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy and Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours. His father’s maternal grandparents were Henri IV, King of France and his second wife Marie de’ Medici. His mother’s maternal great-grandparents were Henri IV, King of France and his mistress Gabrielle d’Estrées. From birth, Vittorio Amedeo was styled as Prince of Piedmont, the traditional title of the heir apparent to the Duchy of Savoy.

The infant Vittoria Amedeo with his parents; Credit – Wikipedia

Carlo Emanuele II, Duke of Savoy died on June 12, 1675, at the age of 40 and nine-year-old Vittorio Amedeo became Duke of Savoy. Marie Jeanne Baptiste served as regent during her son’s minority. She did a capable job, continuing the policies and projects of her husband. Because of her French background – she had been born at the Hôtel de Nemours in Paris and was a half-first cousin once removed of King Louis XIV of France – Marie Jeanne Baptiste promoted French interests.

In 1677, Marie Jeanne Baptiste began the search for a wife for Vittorio Amedeo who would reach his majority on his 14th birthday in 1680. There were several possibilities, but Marie Jeanne Baptiste pushed for her sister’s daughter Infanta Isabel Luísa of Portugal, the only daughter of King Pedro II of Portugal. The marriage was opposed by most of the Savoy court as it meant that Vittorio Amedeo would live in Portugal and his mother would remain in power after his majority. Openly disliking the possible marriage and approaching his majority, Vittorio Amedeo decided to postpone the marriage for two years.

Anne Marie d’Orléans, first wife of Vittoria Amedeo II; Credit – Wikipedia

Always eager to maintain his influence in the Duchy of Savoy which bordered France, King Louis XIV of France offered his niece Anne Marie d’Orléans as a bride. Anne Marie was the daughter of Louis XIV’s only sibling Philippe, Duke of Orléans and his first wife Henrietta of England, the daughter of King Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria, daughter of King Henri IV of France. Vittorio Amedeo agreed to the match. Marie Jeanne Baptiste had not given up her position of regent when her son reached his majority. Now that Vittorio Amedeo was to marry, he gained more power and enacted a kind of coup d’état, forcing his mother to yield her power to him.

The proxy marriage of Vittorio Amedeus and Anne Marie d’Orléans took place at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France on April 10, 1684. Anne Marie’s cousin Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine stood in for the groom and King Louis XIV gave Anne Marie a huge dowry of 900,000 livres. Philippe, Duke of Orléans accompanied his daughter as far as Juvisy-sur-Orge, 18 kilometers south of Paris, and then Christine d’Estrées, Comtesse de Lillebonne accompanied Anne Marie to Savoy. Anne Marie and Vittorio Amedeo met at the House of Savoy’s Château de Chambéry where the marriage ceremony was performed by Étienne Le Camus, Archbishop of Grenoble on May 6, 1684. Two days later, the newlyweds made their “Joyous Entry” into Turin.

Vittorio Amedeo and Anne Marie had six children:

• Princess Marie Adélaïde of Savoy (1685 – 1712), married Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petit Dauphin of France had three sons, only one son King Louis XV of France survived childhood
• Princess Maria Anna of Savoy (1687 – 1690), died in childhood
• Princess Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (1688 – 1714), married King Felipe V of Spain, had four sons, only two survived childhood and both became Kings of Spain
• Vittorio Amadeo, Prince of Piedmont (1699 – 1715), died in his teens from smallpox
• Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia (1701 – 1773), married (1) Anna Christine of Sulzbach, had one son who died in infancy (2) Polyxena of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, had six children, two died in infancy (3) Elisabeth Thérèse of Lorraine, had three children, only one survived childhood
• Prince Emanuele Philibert of Savoy (born and died 1705), died in infancy

The Duchy of Savoy was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. However, when Vittorio Amedeo’s mother Marie Jeanne Baptiste, who was French, was Regent, the Duchy of Savoy became closely linked with and heavily dependent upon France, more or less becoming a French satellite. Vittorio Amedeo severed this link by joining alliances against France in both the Nine Years War and the War of the Spanish Succession. The Duchy of Savoy was considered a valuable ally in both wars due to its geographical position – a border with southern France – enabling a second front to be opened against France in the south. The Duchy of Savoy relied heavily on foreign subsidies, particularly from England and the Dutch Republic, in both wars to maintain its armies.

As a reward for his aid in the War of the Spanish Succession, Vittorio Amadeo II received the Kingdom of Sicily in 1713 under the Peace of Utrecht which ended the war. In October 1713, Vittorio Amedeo and his wife Anne Marie traveled with a British squadron from Nice to Palermo to take personal possession of their new kingdom. They were crowned King and Queen of Sicily on December 24, 1713, at the Cathedral of Palermo in Sicily. After an eleven-month stay in Sicily, Vittoria Amedeo returned to Turin, in the Duchy of Savoy, leaving a viceroy to represent him and maintain the government in his place.

Coronation of Vittorio Amedeo II as King of Sardinia; Credit – Wikipedia

The Spanish invaded Sicily in 1718 during the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718 – 1720) in which Spain attempted to recover territories lost due to the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. The Quadruple Alliance (Great Britain, France, Austria, and the Dutch Republic) won the war. Under the conditions of the 1720 Treaty of The Hague, Vittorio Amedeo II was forced to exchange with Austria his Kingdom of Sicily for the less important Kingdom of Sardinia. The island Sardinia was closer to Turin in the Duchy of Savoy than the island of Sicily but it was less rich and less populated.

On August 26, 1728, at the Villa della Regina in Turin, Queen Anne Marie died after a series of heart attacks at the age of 58. She was buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin. Vittorio Amedeo II had extramarital affairs which his wife quietly accepted. His longest affair, eleven years, was with Jeanne Baptiste d’Albert de Luynes with whom he had two children:

• Maria Vittoria of Savoy (1690 – 1766), married Vittorio Amedeo I, Prince of Carignano, had four children
• Vittorio Francesco of Savoy (1694 – 1762), married Maria Lucrezia Franchi di Pont, had no children

Anna Canalis di Cumiana, second wife of Vittorio Amedeo II, King of Sardina; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 12, 1730, in a private ceremony at the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Turin, Vittorio Amedeo morganatically married Anna Canalis di Cumiana (1680 – 1769), after obtaining the permission of Pope Clement XII. Because the marriage was morganatic, Anna did not become Queen of Sardina but rather was created Marchioness of Spigno. Anna had been his mistress when she was a lady-in-waiting to Vittoria Amedeo’s mother. It is widely believed that Anna’s first child Paola Novarina, born in 1708, was Vittorio Amedeo’s child although Anna’s husband recognized the child as his. After her husband died in 1724, Anna was called back to court and became a lady-in-waiting to Polyxena, Princess of Piedmont, wife of Carlo Emanuele Prince of Piedmont, the son and heir apparent of Victor Amedeo II. To the surprise and dismay of the court, Vittorio Amedeo II and Anna Canalis di Cumiana made their marriage public on September 3, 1730.

At the same time as the marriage announcement, Vittorio Amedeo abdicated and retired from the royal court. His son succeeded him as Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia. Vittorio Amedeo favored his eldest son, also named Vittorio Amadeo, who died from smallpox at the age of sixteen. Vittorio Amedeo neglected Carlo Emanuele’s education except on the military field, where he sometimes accompanied the father. Vittorio Amadeo II and Anna moved into the Château de Chambéry in Chambéry, Duchy of Savoy, now in France. The couple had a small retinue of servants, and Vittorio Amdeo was kept informed of matters of state.

In 1731, Vittorio Amedeo attempted to reclaim the throne, accusing his son of incompetence. Carlo Emanuele III had his father arrested and confined to the Castle of Rivoli in Turin, Duchy of Savoy, now in Italy. However, Anna Canalis di Cumiana was brought to the Fortress of Ceva, which was extremely humiliating because the fortress was used as a reformatory for prostitutes. Eventually, Anna received permission to leave the Fortress of Ceva and go to the Castle of Rivoli to be with her husband.

Basilica of Superga in Turin, Italy, the traditional burial site of the House of Savoy; Credit – Di Paris Orlando – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74180727

On February 5, 1732, Vittorio Amedeo II suffered a stroke, and his health drastically deteriorated. He asked to move to the Castle of Moncalieri near Turin and was transported there on a litter guarded by a company of soldiers. Former King Vittorio Amedeo II of Sardinia died at the Castle of Moncalieri on October 31, 1732, aged 66, and was buried at the Basilica of Superga in Turin with his first wife Anne Marie d’Orléans. After her husband’s death, Anna Canalis di Cumiana was confined at the Convent of San Giuseppe di Carignano. She was later moved to the Convent of the Visitation in Pinerolo where she died, aged 88, on April 13, 1769, thirty-seven years after Vittorio Amedeo died. Anna Canalis di Cumiana was buried in a grave without a headstone at the Convent of the Visitation in Pinerolo.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of Sardinia Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of Sardinia Royal Burial Sites

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. 2021. Viktor Amadeus II. – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Amadeus_II.> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Emmanuel_II,_Duke_of_Savoy> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
• En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Amadeus_II_of_Sardinia> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
• It.wikipedia.org. 2021. Vittorio Amedeo II di Savoia – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vittorio_Amedeo_II_di_Savoia> [Accessed 14 June 2021].

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King Umberto I of Italy; source: Wikipedia

King Umberto I of Italy (Umberto Ranieri Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio) was born March 14, 1844, in Turin, Kingdom of Sardinia, now in Italy. the eldest son of the future King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy and Archduchess Adelheid of Austria. He had seven siblings:

• Marie Clotilde (1843 – 1911) – married Prince Napoléon Joseph Bonaparte, had issue
• Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (1845 – 1890) – later King Amadeo I of Spain – married (1) Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, had issue; (2) Princess Maria Letizia Bonaparte, had issue
• Prince Oddone, Duke of Montferrat (1846 – 1866) – unmarried
• Princess Maria Pia (1847 – 1911) – married King Luís I of Portugal, had issue
• Prince Carlo Alberto, Duke of Chablais (1851 – 1854) – died as a child
• Prince Vittorio Emanuele (born and died 1852) – died at birth
• Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Geneva (born and died 1855) – died as an infant

Umberto with his mother, Queen Adelheid of Sardinia, c.1850. source: Wikipedia

Umberto was just five years old when his father became King of Sardinia, and he was then styled Prince of Piedmont. He was educated privately, with some of the most prominent statesmen and artists among his tutors. After turning 14, he began his military career with the Sardinian forces and participated in the Italian Wars of Independence. In 1861, Umberto became heir to the throne of the newly unified Kingdom of Italy.

Due to the infighting within the Italian states during the wars, many other royal houses did not look kindly upon the House of Savoy and were unwilling to establish any relations with them. The House of Savoy’s conflicts with the Pope did not help when it came time to find an appropriate royal Catholic bride for Umberto.

In 1867, in an attempt to ease the tense relations between Austria-Hungary and Italy, an engagement was arranged with Archduchess Mathilde of Austria. She was the daughter of Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen, and Princess Hildegard of Bavaria. However, before the marriage could take place, Mathilde died as a result of an accident. While smoking before going to the theater, she had tried to hide the cigarette from her father and caught her dress on fire, suffering severe burns. She died several days later.

Umberto and Margherita, the late 1890s. source: Wikipedia

On April 22, 1868, Umberto married his first cousin, Princess Margherita of Savoy (their fathers were brothers). She was the daughter of Prince Ferdinando of Savoy, Duke of Genoa, and Princess Elisabeth of Saxony. Umberto and Margherita had one son:

• King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy (1869 – 1947) – married Princess Elena of Montenegro, had issue

When his father died on January 9, 1878, Umberto became King of Italy. Unpopular with the Italian people, Umberto was soon the target of an assassination attempt. While touring the kingdom with his wife in November 1878, an anarchist, Giovanni Passannante, attacked him with a dagger. Umberto was unharmed, but the Prime Minister who was accompanying the royal couple was severely wounded. A second assassination attempt would take place in April 1897, when Pietro Acciarito, an unemployed ironsmith, unsuccessfully attempted to stab Umberto.

In May 1898, workers organized a strike in Milan to protest against rising food costs in Italy. Wheat harvest in Italy had greatly diminished, and the cost of importing grain from America had risen due to the Spanish-American War. Despite attempts by the government to maintain the price by lowering the tariffs, it was too late and not enough. What began as a somewhat peaceful strike soon turned violent. In an attempt to control the crowds, the son of the Milan mayor was shot and killed. Soon, more workers were striking, and riots broke out. The government brought in General Fiorenzo Bava-Beccaris, one of the leaders in the Italian Wars of Independence, to restore order. All came to a head on May 7, when Bava-Beccaris ordered his troops to fire on the demonstrators. Nearly 100 people were killed and several hundred were wounded. A month later, King Umberto awarded the General with the Great Cross of the Order of Savoy, which brought further uproar among the Italian people. It would lead to a tragic end for the King.

The assassination of King Umberto I. source: Wikipedia

On July 29, 1900, while in the city of Monza, King Umberto I was shot four times and killed, by Gaetano Bresci, an anarchist who claimed he was avenging the deaths that occurred in the Bava-Beccaris massacre, and the insult of rewarding General Fiorenzo Bava-Beccarisfor his actions. King Umberto I was buried in the Pantheon in Rome. His son King Vittorio Emanuele III had a chapel monument, the Expiatory Chapel of Monza, built on King Umberto I’s assassination site.

• Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of Umberto I, King of Italy

Tomb of King Umberto I at the Pantheon. source: Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Italy Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of Italy Index
• Italian Royal Burial Sites
• Italian Royal Dates
• Profiles: Italian Kings and Consorts

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy; source: Wikipedia

Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Sardinia, King of Italy

King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy reigned from 1861 until 1878. He was born Prince Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso of Savoy on March 14, 1820, in Turin, the eldest son of Carlo Alberto, 7th Prince of Carignano, the future King of Sardinia, and Maria Theresa of Austria, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Tuscany. He had two younger siblings:

• Prince Ferdinando of Savoy, Duke of Genoa (1822 – 1855) – married Princess Elisabeth of Saxony, had issue, including the future Queen Margherita of Italy
• Princess Maria Cristina of Savoy (1826 – 1827) – died in childhood

In 1831, his father succeeded a distant cousin, becoming King of Sardinia. Vittorio Emanuele accompanied his father to Turin, where he underwent a very strict regimen of education and physical activities. Soon, he began his military career, attaining the rank of Colonel and commanding his own regiment. He later was elevated to the rank of General.

Vittorio Emanuele and his family, c1854. source: Wikipedia

On April 12, 1842, at the Palazzina de caccia di Stupinigi, Vittorio was married to Archduchess Adelheid of Austria. She was the daughter of Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria and Princess Elisabeth of Savoy. Vittorio and Adelheid were first cousins, as his father and her mother were siblings. They were also first cousins once removed through their mutual descent from Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. Adelheid died on January 20, 1855, just twelve days after giving birth to their youngest child.

The couple had eight children:

• Marie Clotilde (1843 – 1911) – married Prince Napoléon Joseph Bonaparte, had issue
• King Umberto I of Italy (1844 – 1900) – married Princess Margherita of Savoy, had issue
• Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (1845 – 1890) – later King Amadeo I of Spain – married (1) Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, had issue; (2) Princess Maria Letizia Bonaparte, had issue
• Prince Oddone, Duke of Montferrat (1846 – 1866) – unmarried
• Princess Maria Pia (1847 – 1911) – married King Luís I of Portugal, had issue
• Prince Carlo Alberto, Duke of Chablais (1851 – 1854) – died as a child
• Prince Vittorio Emanuele (born and died 1852) – died at birth
• Prince Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Geneva (born and died 1855) – died as an infant

In 1847,  27-year-old Vittorio Emanuele met 14-year-old Rose Vercellana when her father became the commander of the royal garrison at the Royal Castle of Racconigi, the hunting estate of the royal family of Sardinia. She soon became his mistress. At that time, Vittorio Emanuele had been married to his wife Adelheid of Austria for seven years and five of their eight children had been born.

Vittorio Emanuele’s many other relationships were brief but his relationship with Rosa lasted the rest of his life. Their early meetings were very secret because Vittorio Emanuele’s father Carlo Alberto, King of Sardinia was against the affair and because it was illegal to have sex with minors. Eventually, Rosa was given a home on the grounds of the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi (the hunting residence of Stupinigi), closer to Turin, the seat of government.

Rosa and Vittorio Emanuele had a daughter and a son, born when Rosa was fifteen and eighteen:

• Vittoria Guerrieri (1848 – 1905), married (1) Giacomo Filippo Spinola, had three children (2) Luigi Domenico Spinola, brother of her first husband, had one daughter (3) Paolo de Simone, no children
• Emanuele Alberto Guerrieri, Count of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda (1851 – 1894), married Bianca Enrichetta de Lardere, had two sons

Rosa and Vittorio Emanuele with their two children in the 1860s Credit – Wikipedia

Following a massive defeat by the Austrian forces, Vittorio Emanuele’s father abdicated on March 23, 1849, and he became King of Sardinia as Vittorio Emanuele II. He became a driving force behind the “Risorgimento”, the Italian unification movement.

Over the next twelve years, Vittorio Emanuele led the drive toward a unified kingdom. Under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi, a noted general and politician, the Sardinian forces soon gained Sicily and Naples. He then led his forces against the Papal army, driving the Pope into Vatican City. This resulted in the Pope excommunicating Vittorio Emanuele from the Roman Catholic church. Garibaldi soon conquered the Kingdom of Two Sicilies but was stopped from attacking Rome as it was under protection from the French. With all the newly acquired lands, on March 17, 1861, Vittorio Emanuele was proclaimed the first King of the new, united Kingdom of Italy.

After the death of Vittorio Emanuele’s wife Adelheid in 1855, his relationship with Rosa Vercellana continued, despite his numerous other lovers, and became more public. Although the relationship caused much scandal and hostility at court, Vittorio Emanuele did not yield to any pressure. In 1858, Vittorio created Rosa Countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda, recognized their two children, and gave them the surname Guerrieri. A year later, Vittorio Emanuele purchased the Castle of Sommariva Perno (link in Italian) for Rosa. Although Rosa was despised by the nobles, she was loved by the common people for her peasant origins.

When Vittorio Emanuele fell seriously ill in 1869 and feared he was dying, he married Rosa in a religious ceremony on October 18, 1869. However, Vittorio Emanuele did not die. The marriage was morganatic, a marriage between people of unequal social rank in which the position or privileges of the higher-ranked spouse are not passed on to the other spouse or any children. Rosa’s children had no succession rights and she did not become Queen of Italy, instead, she retained her titles Countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda, which the Vittorio Emanuele had given her in 1858. So that Rosa would have marriage civil rights, a civil marriage was held on October 7, 1877, just three months before Vittorio Emanuele’s death.

The Quirinal Palace. source: Wikipedia

In 1870, allied with Prussia, the King capitalized on Prussia’s victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War and captured Rome after the French forces withdrew. On September 20, 1870, Vittorio Emanuele entered Rome, established the city as the new capital of Italy, and took up residence at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy.

The remainder of his reign was more peaceful. The King focused on building up the new Kingdom, both financially and culturally, further cementing his legacy as ‘Father of the Fatherland’ (Padre Della Patria), a title given to him by the Italian people. King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy died at the Quirinal Palace on January 8, 1878. He is buried in the Pantheon in Rome.

Tomb of Vittorio Emmanuele II; Credit – By Fczarnowski – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10594487

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Italy Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of Italy Index
• Italian Royal Burial Sites
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• Profiles: Italian Kings and Consorts