Datasets:
HHazard
/
continuous-learning

Dataset card Data Studio Files
xet
Community
1
text
stringlengths
13
991
After the dismissal of Mussolini on 25 July 1943, the prince abdicated on 31 July as king on the orders of Victor Emmanuel III.
Prince Aimone Roberto Margherita Maria Giuseppe Torino of Savoy-Aosta was born in Turin the second son of Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta (eldest son of Prince Amedeo, 1st Duke of Aosta (and sometime "King Amadeo I of Spain") by his wife, "née" Vittoria dal Pozzo, Principessa della Cisterna) and Princess Hélène of Orléans (daughter of Philippe, comte de Paris, and Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans). As his patrilinal great-grandfather was King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, he was a member of the House of Savoy.
On 22 September 1904, he was given the title Duke of Spoleto for life. With his brother Amedeo, he was educated at St David's College, Reigate, Surrey, England, and Aimone later went to study at the naval academy in Livorno. On 1 April 1921, Prince Aimone became a member of the Italian Senate. Princes of the House of Savoy became members of the Senate at age 21, obtaining the right to vote at age 25.
In 1929, twenty years after his uncle Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi had attempted to climb K2 in Karakoram, Prince Aimone led an expedition to Karakorum. A member of the expedition was Ardito Desio. Due to the failure to climb K2 twenty years earlier, Prince Aimone's expedition concentrated solely on scientific work. He was afterwards awarded the 1932 Royal Geographical Society's Patron's Gold Medal for his work.
After being romantically linked with Infanta Beatriz of Spain, the daughter of King Alfonso XIII, he married, on 1 July 1939 in Florence, Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, daughter of King Constantine I and Princess Sophie of Prussia. They had one son, Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta, born in 1943.
On 18 May 1941, in a ceremony at the Quirinal Palace, to which Ante Pavelić, the leader of the nazist Ustaše movement that had assumed power in Croatia in April 1941 after the invasion of Yugoslavia, led a delegation of Croats requesting that Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III name a member of the House of Savoy as King of King of Croatia. The Independent State of Croatia was a fascist puppet state that was partly under Italian and German control, covering most of present-day states of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but its leaders tried to assert their legitimacy by instating a monarchy that would resemble the medieval Croatian state.
After the fall of the Fascist regime in Italy, Aimone abdicated as king of Croatia on 31 July 1943 on the orders of Victor Emmanuel III.
Prince Aimone succeeded to the title Duke of Aosta on 3 March 1942, following the death of his elder brother Prince Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta, in a British Prisoner of War camp in Kenya.
In the Autumn of 1942, Aimone contacted Allied forces via his courier, the consul general Alessandro Marieni, about the possibility of a peace settlement between Italy and allied forces. Secret talks would continue into 1943, motivated in part by the aim of preserving the royal dynasty of Savoy.
In the latter months of World War II, he became the commander of the Italian Naval Base of Taranto but he was dismissed from his post for his criticism of the judges that had found General Mario Roatta guilty of war crimes. During his naval career he reached the rank of Squadron Admiral.
In 1947 following the birth of the Italian Republic the previous year, Prince Aimone left Italy for South America. Just a year after his arrival, he suddenly died on 29 January 1948 in his temporary residence, a private suite at the Alvear Palace Hotel in the French Borough of Recoleta in Buenos Aires, while his entourage was arranging his permanent residency documents and the purchase of his new home in Argentina. His son Prince Amedeo succeeded him as Duke of Aosta.
Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (born 1943)
Prince Amedeo, 5th Duke of Aosta (Amedeo Umberto Costantino Giorgio Paolo Elena Maria Fiorenzo Zvonimir di Savoia; born 27 September 1943) is a claimant to the headship of the House of Savoy, the family which ruled Italy from 1861 to 1946. Until 7 July 2006, Amedeo was styled Duke of Aosta; on that date he declared himself Duke of Savoy, a title that is disputed between him and his third cousin, Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples.
Amedeo was born at "Villa della Cisterna" in Florence, the only child of Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta, formerly designated king of Croatia as Tomislav II, and of Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark.
Only three weeks before Amedeo's birth, Italy had surrendered to the Allies. His father, then king-designate of Croatia, abdicated. Italy's former ally, Germany, thereupon launched a military operation to occupy Italy. The infant Amedeo was arrested by the Nazis along with his mother, aunt, and two cousins, and sent to an internment camp in Austria.
When Amedeo was only four years old, his father died in exile in Buenos Aires, and he succeeded as Duke of Aosta, Prince della Cisterna e Belriguardo, Marchese di Voghera, and Count di Ponderano.
Amedeo studied at the Collegio Navale Morosini in Venice and in England. He then attended the Naval Academy in Livorno from which he graduated as an officer in the Italian Navy.
He is an Honorary Companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, assigned insignia number 21015, as a great-grandson of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris.
On 22 July 1964 Amedeo married his second cousin, Princess Claude of Orléans (born 11 December 1943) in Sintra, Portugal. She was the ninth child and fifth daughter of Henri, comte de Paris, Orléanist claimant to the French throne, and of Princess Isabelle of Orléans-Braganza. Amedeo and Claude officially separated 20 July 1976, obtained a civil divorce 26 April 1982, and an ecclesiastical annulment from the Roman Rota 8 January 1987. Amedeo and Claude have three children:
On 30 March 1987 Amedeo married Silvia Paternò di Spedalotto (b. Palermo, 31 December 1953) in the chapel of Villa Spedalotto in Bagheria, Sicily. She is the daughter of Vincenzo Paternò di Spedalotto, 6th Marchese di Reggiovanni, and of Rosanna Bellardo e Ferraris. Amedeo and Silvia have no children.
Amedeo has a daughter with Kyara van Ellinkhuizen, born outside of wedlock:
Amedeo and his wife Silvia live in the village of San Rocco near the town of Castiglion Fibocchi in Tuscany (about 15 km northwest of Arezzo). He is involved in various agricultural activities including the production of wine marketed under the name "Vini Savoia Aosta".
Since 1997, Amedeo has been president of the "International Foundation Pro Herbario Mediterraneo". From 2003 to 2006, he was president of the committee responsible for the nature reserve on the island of Vivara.
On 21 May 2004, at a "soirée" held at the Zarzuela Palace near Madrid during the wedding celebrations of the Spanish royal heir apparent, Felipe, Prince of Asturias, Amedeo approached Vittorio Emanuele who reportedly punched him twice in the face, causing him to stumble backward down the steps. The swift intervention of another guest, former Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, who propped him up, prevented Amedeo from falling to the ground. She helped him move indoors and stanched his bleeding facial wound until first aid was administered. Upon learning of the incident Spain's King Juan Carlos I, a cousin of both men, reportedly declared that "never again" would an opportunity to abuse his hospitality be afforded the rivals.
Amedeo is a Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation named by Umberto II, a Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, and a Knight of Honor and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem. He is an honorary citizen of the towns of Marigliano, Pantelleria, and Abetone.
Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1730 until his death.
He was born in Turin to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and his first wife the French Anne Marie d'Orléans. His maternal grandparents were Prince Philippe of France and his first wife Princess Henrietta, the youngest daughter of Charles I of England and Henrietta Maria of France. Charles Emmanuel was the oldest surviving brother of Princess Maria Adelaide of Savoy - the mother of Louis XV of France; he was also the brother of Maria Luisa of Savoy, Queen of Spain as wife Philip V of Spain.
At the time of his birth, when he was known as Duke of Aosta, Charles Emmanuel was not the heir to Savoy; his older brother Victor Amadeus, Prince of Piedmont, was the heir apparent. Charles Emmanuel was the second of three sons that would be born to his parents. His older brother died in 1715 and Charles Emmanuel then became heir apparent.
As a result of his aid in the War of the Spanish Succession, Victor Amadeus II was made king of Sicily in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht which ended the war. Victor Amadeus was forced to exchange Sicily for the less important kingdom of Sardinia in 1720 after objections from an alliance of four nations, including some of his former allies.
On 3 September 1730, Victor Amadeus who, in his later years had exhibited reticence and melancholy, abdicated the throne and retired from the royal court. His son became King Charles Emanuel III. He had not been a favorite of his father's, who had neglected his education except on the military field, where the son had sometimes accompanied the father.
After some time spent at his residence in Chambéry, however, the former king started to intervene in his son's government. Victor Amadeus reclaimed the throne, accusing his son of incompetence. He established himself in Moncalieri, but Charles Emmanuel managed to have the former king arrested by the Crown Council, in order to prevent him from attacking Milan and probably causing an invasion of Piedmont. Victor Amadeus was then confined to the Castle of Rivoli, where he later died without further interference with his son's regime.
In the War of the Polish Succession Charles Emmanuel sided with the French- backed king Stanislaw I. After the treaty of alliance signed in Turin, on 28 October 1733 he marched on Milan and occupied Lombardy without significant losses. However, when France tried to convince Philip V of Spain to join the coalition, he asked to receive Milan and Mantua in exchange. This was not acceptable for Charles Emmanuel, as it would recreate a Spanish domination in Italy as it had been in the previous centuries. While negotiations continued about the matter, the Savoy-French-Spanish troops attacked Mantua under the supreme command of Charles Emmanuel himself.
His only Cousin Was Isabel Luísa, Princess of Beira
Sure that in the end Mantua would be assigned to Spain, he voluntarily thwarted the expedition. The Franco-Piedmontese army was victorious in two battles at Crocetta and Guastalla. In the end, when Austria and France signed a peace, Charles was forced to leave Lombardy. In exchange, he was given some territories, including Langhe, Tortona and Novara.
The outcome was the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which revealed his qualities as a negotiator, inasmuch as he both regained the lost provinces of Nice and Savoy, and obtained Vigevano as well as other lands in the Pianura Padana. Ties with Spain were reestablished with the marriage of his son Prince Victor Amadeus to the Infanta Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain in 1750.
He declined to participate in the Seven Years' War (1756–63), preferring to concentrate on administrative reforms, maintaining a well-disciplined army and strengthening his fortresses. In an attempt to improve the poor condition of the newly acquired Sardinia, he also restored the Universities of Sassari and Cagliari.
Charles Emmanuel died in Turin in 1773. He was buried in the Basilica of Superga.
Charles Emmanuel's ancestors were avid art collectors. He added many new paintings to the collection he inherited from his ancestors. He also received paintings from the collection of Prince Eugene of Savoy who had remained childless. The collection contained many works of Flemish and Dutch painters. As a result, the Sabauda Gallery in Turin was the largest collection in Italy of 16th and 17th century Flemish and Dutch paintings. In 1731 he established a tapestry workshop in Turin. The Flemish battle painter Jan Peeter Verdussen was his court painter and painted many of his military victories.
Charles Emmanuel married three times, but all of his three wives died young. There were plans for him to marry his cousin [[Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans]], but his mother declined the offer. [[Amalia d'Este]], daughter of [[Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena|Rinaldo, Duke of Modena]], and [[Infanta Francisca Josefa of Portugal]], daughter of [[Pedro II of Portugal]], were also candidates.
[[File:Enfants de Charles-Emmanuel III.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The children of Charles and his second wife; (L-R) [[Eleonora Maria Teresa of Savoy|Eleonora]]; [[Victor Amadeus III of Savoy|Victor Amadeus]]; [[Princess Maria Felicita of Savoy|Maria Felicita]] and [[Princess Maria Luisa of Savoy (1729–1767)|Maria Luisa Gabriella]].]]
[[Category:Italian military personnel of the War of the Polish Succession]]
Prince Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta (Amedeo Umberto Isabella Luigi Filippo Maria Giuseppe Giovanni di Savoia-Aosta; 21 October 1898 – 3 March 1942) was the third Duke of Aosta and a first cousin, once removed of the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III. During World War II, he was the Italian Viceroy of Italian East Africa ("Africa Orientale Italiana", or AOI).
Amedeo was born in Turin, Piedmont, to Prince Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta (son of Amadeo I of Spain and Princess Maria Vittoria), and Princess Hélène (daughter of Prince Philippe of Orléans and Princess Marie Isabelle of Orléans). As his patrilinal great-grandfather was King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, he was a member of the House of Savoy. He was known from birth by the courtesy title of "Duke of Apulia".
Amedeo was a very tall man. According to Amedeo Guillet, he was once referred to by a journalist as "Your Highness" (which in Italian could also be interpreted to mean "your height"). The Duke replied in jest: "198 centimetres" (6 feet, 6 inches).
Amedeo was educated at St David's College, Reigate, Surrey, in England. He cultivated British mannerisms, spoke Oxford English, and even enjoyed the pastimes of fox hunting and polo. Amedeo entered the Nunziatella, the military academy in Naples, joined the Italian Royal Army ("Regio Esercito") and fought with distinction in the artillery during World War I. He left the army in 1921 and traveled widely in Africa.
On 4 July 1931, upon the death of his father, Amedeo became the Duke of Aosta.
In 1937, after the Italian conquest of Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, the Duke of Aosta replaced Marshal Graziani as Viceroy and as Governor-General of Italian East Africa. It was generally conceded that he was a vast improvement over Graziani. As Viceroy and Governor-General, the Duke of Aosta was also the Commander-in-Chief of all Italian military forces in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland.
When Italy declared war on the United Kingdom and France on 10 June 1940, the Duke of Aosta became the commander of the Italian forces in what is known as the East African Campaign of World War II. He oversaw the initial Italian advances into the Sudan and Kenya and, in August, he oversaw the Italian invasion of British Somaliland.
Shortly after his surrender, the Duke of Aosta was interned in a prisoner-of-war camp in Nairobi, Kenya. He was placed in command of his fellow prisoners, but never saw the end of World War II. On 3 March 1942, shortly after his internment, he died at the prison camp, reportedly as a result of complications from both tuberculosis and malaria. Amedeo was succeeded by his brother, Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta. From 18 May 1941, the same day Amedeo surrendered Amba Alagi, Aimone was proclaimed King of Croatia under the regal name Tomislav II.
Amedeo was well known and highly regarded for being a gentleman. In one instance, before he fled his headquarters at Addis Ababa, he wrote a note to the British to thank them in advance for protecting the women and children in the cities.
Count Galeazzo Ciano, Italian Foreign Minister under his father-in-law Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, paid Amedeo a high compliment in his famous diaries. Upon being given the news of the Duke's death Ciano wrote, "So dies the image of a Prince and an Italian. Simple in his ways, broad in outlook, and humane in spirit."
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia was also impressed by the respect and care that the Duke of Aosta showed to the exiled Emperor's personal property left behind in Addis Ababa. In a gesture of thanks, the Emperor during his state visit to Italy in 1953 invited the widowed Duchess of Aosta to tea during his stay in Milan, but was then informed by the Italian government that receiving the Duchess would cause offense to the Italian Republic, and so the Emperor sadly canceled the visit. Instead he invited the 5th Duke of Aosta to Ethiopia in the mid-60s, and accorded him all the protocol due to visiting royalty.
Amedeo was married 5 November 1927, in Naples, to his first cousin Princess Anne of Orléans (1906–1986), daughter of Prince Jean, Duke of Guise, and his wife, Princess Isabelle of Orléans.
Prince Amedeo's time in Italian Cyrenaica was depicted in the 1981 film "Lion of the Desert"; Amedeo was played by Sky du Mont.
Amado was also briefly mentioned in "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
Marie of Savoy, Countess of Saint-Pol, de Brienne, de Ligny, and Conversano (20 March 1448) was the second wife of Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, Constable of France. She was a younger daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan, Princess of Cyprus, one of nineteen children.
Marie was born on 20 March 1448, one of the 19 children of Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan of Cyprus.
In 1454 at the age of six, she was betrothed to Filippo Maria Sforza (1448–1492), the son of Francesco I Sforza, Duke of Milan, and Bianca Maria Visconti. The contract was dated 13 December 1454. For reasons unknown, the betrothal was annulled, and he married instead his cousin, Costanza Sforza.
In 1466, she married Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, de Brienne, de Ligny, and Conversano, Constable of France (1418–19 December 1475). The marriage contract was dated 1 August 1466. She was his second wife, his first wife, Jeanne de Bar, Countess of Marle and Soissons having died in 1462. Together Louis and Marie had three children:
Charles Felix (; 6 April 1765 – 27 April 1831) was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831.
Charles Felix was born in Turin as the eleventh child and fifth son born to Victor Amadeus III of Savoy and Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain. His paternal grandparents were Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy and his German wife Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg. His maternal grandparents were French born King Philip V of Spain and his Italian wife, Elisabeth Farnese.
He was a younger brother of two other rulers of Savoy Charles Emmanuel IV and Victor Emmanuel I. He spent his childhood with his sister Maria Carolina and his younger brother, Giuseppe Benedetto Placido, Count of Moriana, at the Castle of Moncalieri.
From his youth, Carlo Felice was reported as having a very complex character: on the one hand consistent and inflexible, private, distrustful, and impulsive, if not touchy and vindictive; on the other hand honest, sincere, and capable of emotion and fondness. He had a clever mind, at times even ironic. He possessed a sacral conception of the monarchy and the right to reign.
During the years of the French Revolution and the Italian Campaign, Charles Felix formed part of a "parallel court" opposed to Charles Emmanuel IV's circle, along with his brother Victor Emmanuel, the latter's wife Maria Theresa, Maurizio Giuseppe Duke of Monferrat, and Giuseppe Placido, count of Moriana.
In this period, Charles Felix began to keep a personal diary, which is an important source for events and for his conflicts with the court in Savoy.
When war broke out with France, Charles Felix did not distinguish himself as a soldier, despite having received a military education. In 1792, after the French occupation of the Duchy of Savoy and the county of Nice, he followed the troops to Saluzzo and in 1793, he accompanied his father, Victor Amadeus III, who had directed the operations for the reconquest of Nice and Savoy along with the Austrians under general J. de Vins, into the Susa Valley, to Pinerolo, Cuneo, and Tende.
Charles Felix remained very far from the front lines in any case. In spring 1794, after the arrival in Aosta of his brother the Duke of Monferrat, Charles Felix and Giuseppe Placido went to Morgex in order to retake some positions of relative strategic importance, but they did not achieve anything.
On 28 April 1796, Victor Amadeus III was forced to sign the Armistice of Cherasco with the French, which was followed by the Treaty of Paris on 15 May, which accepted French control of Nice, Savoy, Genevoise, and some fortresses. Charles Felix, who had been titled Duke of Genoa, obtained the title of Marquis of Susa in compensation for his nominal loss.
Victor Amadeus III died in October of the same year and was succeeded as Prince of Piedmont by Charles Emmanuel IV. The relationship between the new king and Charles Felix had never been good, but now deteriorated as the king strove to keep his brothers in the dark about affairs of state.
Two years into his reign, Charles Emmanuel IV was forced to surrender all royal control on the mainland. Along with the king and the rest of the royal family, Charles Felix left Turin on the evening of 9 December 1798 for Cagliari, where they arrived on 3 March 1799.
Charles Emmanuel IV was childless and, after the death of his wife, he abdicated in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel I on 4 June 1802. The latter did not take possession of the domains in Sardinia himself, preferring to entrust them to Charles Felix as viceroy.
Charles Felix's government of Sardinia was rather rigid and authoritarian. Since the in 1794, the island had experienced a period of disorder, exacerbated by widespread poverty, which had led to an increase in crime, which the viceroy suppressed with notable harshness, writing to his brother the king, "slaughter, slaughter, for the good of the human race."
Charles Felix established a military regime, such that his Sardinian subjects referred to him as "Carlo Feroce" (Charles the Ferocious). The tool of this regime was the special court of the Viceregal delegation for the investigation of political proceedings, which took action immediately against the "capopolo" (popular leader), Vincenzo Sulis, who was guilty of nothing other than having been more successful than the viceroy in defeating the revolutionary movements. When Sulis was condemned to twenty years in gaol, the viceroy considered it a lenient sentence. Furthermore, in the persecution of "state criminals," Charles Felix legitimated the adoption of military procedures and granted every power to the police, from spying, to censoring letters and placing bounties on suspects.
In his reorganisation work, however, he displayed notable energy to control the autonomy of the judiciary and the local bureaucracy and managed to correct some abuses of the feudal regime.
In fact, when the Stamenti, the parliament of the kingdom, voted to pay a tax of 400,000 lire, Charles Felix exerted significant pressure to have the poorest classes exempted from the tax and he judged disputes in feudal jurisdiction in favour of vassals rather than feudal lords. When an anti-feudal revolt took place against the Duke of Asinara, who had refused to conform to the regulations of the viceroy, Charles Felix decided to punish both the duke, who was stripped of his property, as well as the revolutionaries.
Despite the precarious political and social situation, Charles Felix was able to bring some improvements to the agriculture and economy of the island. Under his rule, an agrarian society and an office for the administration of Crown mines and forests were established. Additionally, the farming of olives was encouraged and commercial contracts were granted in order to encourage local production. Finally, he began a project to systematise the road network.
On 7 March 1807, in the Cappella Palatina of the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo, Charles Felix married by proxy Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily (17 January 1779 - 11 March 1849), daughter of Ferdinand IV King of Naples and Sicily and Maria Carolina of Austria.
The marriage, which had originally been opposed by Charles Felix, had been arranged for dynastic reasons. Neither Charles Emmanuel nor Victor Emmanuel had male children (the son of the latter had become sick and died in Sardinia), while the Duke of Montferrat and the Count of Morian were deceased, so Charles Felix had become the heir presumptive and therefore had to produce a male heir.
Although the marriage to Maria Cristina proved harmonious, she was unable to have children, forcing Victor Emmanuel to consider the succession of Charles Albert, prince of Carignano, from a collateral line of the House of Savoy.
After the fall of Napoleon and the return of Victor Emmanuel to Turin on 20 May 1814, Charles Felix joined him for a brief period before returning to Sardinia the following year with his wife. He formally retained the role of Viceroy until 1821, although he returned to the court in Turin after a short period.
Following revolts in Cadiz in 1820, King Ferdinand VII of Spain was forced to restore the Spanish Constitution of 1812 and hope of obtaining similar concessions from their own sovereigns arose in many European states. Insurrections broke out in Naples and Palermo.
The initial indications of crisis were confirmed on 11 January 1821 when four students were stopped by the police at a theatre performance in Turin because they were wearing red caps with black bows, symbol of the carboneria. The young men offered resistance and were arrested, provoking a large brawl.
The next day, all the students and many of their teachers protested, calling for the release of the youths and, when this was refused, they blockaded themselves in the university and the government was forced to call in the army. Although nobody was killed, the wounded were very numerous and the situation escalated.
A connection was made between the protestors and the secret society of the "Federati", whose leaders Santorre di Rossi, Giacinto Collegno, Carlo Emanuele Asinari, and Guglielmo Moffa di Lisio Gribaldi (all soldiers, officials, or sons of ministers) and Roberto d'Azeglio met with Charles Albert on 6 March. They were ready to act, having identified the prince as a new man for the House of Savoy, who might be willing to break with the absolutist past.
The goal of the conspirators was not to abolish the House of Savoy, but to induce it to enact political and social reforms and then undertake a war against Austria, which seemed possible in light of the deeply anti-Austrian sentiments of the Victor Emmanuel I.
In this, the conspirators took advantage of the absence of Charles Felix, whom they thought would have been able to induce Victor Emmanuel to oppose their plans. They planned to raise the army, surround the royal residence at Moncalieri castle and force him to grant a constitution and declare war on Austria. The role of Charles Albert would have been to mediate between the conspirators and the king, but the following morning, he changed his mind and attempted to escape from the conspirators, although he did not disavow them.
The conspirators grew suspicious and prepared to cancel the insurrection which they had planned for the 10th. The same day, Charles Albert, completely penitent, raced to Moncalieri in order to confess everything to Victor Emmanuel and beg for pardon. In the night the garrison of Alessandria, commanded by one of the conspirators, Guglielmo Ansaldi, rebelled and occupied the city. Although they had been abandoned by the Prince, the rest of the revolutionaries decided to act at this point.
Abdication of Victor Emmanuel and regency of Charles Albert.
On Sunday 11 March 1821, King Victor Emmanuel I met with the Crown Council, which Charles Albert was a member of. As a result of the king's indecision, no action was taken.
On 12 March, the Citadel of Turin fell into the hands of the rebels. Victor Emmanuel encouraged Charles Albert and Cesare Balbo to negotiate with the Carbonari, who refused to listen to their messages. Thus, in the evening, in the face of the spreading military uprising, the king abdicated in favour of his brother Charles Felix. Since the latter was in Modena at the time, Charles Albert was appointed regent.
The abdication of the king, which followed the dismissal of the ministers of state, led to chaos because it created a dynastic crisis which foreign powers would not ignore and because it split the army and bureaucracy, preventing every possibility of maintaining order.
The regent tried to take control by naming a new government (the lawyer, Ferdinando del Pozzo (1768-1843) as Minister of the Interior, general Emanuele Pes di Villamarina as minister of war, and Lodovico Sauli d'Igliano as minister of foreign affairs) and attempted to negotiate with the rebels, but he achieved nothing.
Given the impossibility of taking any decisions without the agreement of the new king, Charles Albert sent Charles Felix an account of the events, seeking instructions, but the letter took a very long time to reach its destination.
Fearful of becoming the object of popular anger, on the evening of 13 March 1821, Charles Albert signed a decree granting a constitution along the lines of the Spanish constitution of 1812, which would not become law until approved by the king.
The next day, the regent decided to form a junta, which was to protect the parliament. Two days after that, he swore to observe the Spanish Constitution, in a Savoyard version which had been slightly altered according to the requests of Victor Emmanuel's consort, Maria Therese.
At this point, Charles Felix, who had now received the letter from Charles Albert notifying him of his brother's abdication, decided to act. He told the messenger not to address him as "majesty", then asserted that since the abdication had been extracted through violence, it could not be considered valid. Finally, he said, "tell the Prince that, if there is still a drop of our royal blood in his veins, he should set out for Novara immediately and wait there for my orders."
As for the Spanish constitution, he declared any sovereign acts taken after the abdication of his brother to be null and void, then he issued the following proclamation, "Far from consenting to any change in the pre-existing form of government with the nominal abdication of the king, our beloved brother, we consider all the royal subjects who have aided or abetted the traitors or who have presumed to proclaim a constitution, to be rebels."
Charles Albert, deeply discouraged, did as Charles Felix commanded, went to Novara, and issued a proclamation renouncing the regency and calling on everyone to submit to Charles Felix. On the 29th, he received a letter from Charles Felix ordering him to depart with his family for Florence.
With Charles Albert out of the way, Charles Felix dispatched several letters to Francis I of Austria, asking him to send troops in order to suppress the revolt.
On 3 April, he issued a second proclamation which granted a pardon to the soldiers while applying strict sanctions to rebel officials, which ultimately, prevented any form of compromise. Chancellor Metternich himself said to Francis IV of Modena that this proclamation had been imprudent and was written "with animosity, passion, and hatred."