King of Italy

The King of Italy is the sovereign of the Kingdom of Italy, from the House of Savoy.

History
In 1504, Charles III inherited the Duchy of Savoy from his brother, Philibert II. In 1534 and 1535, he would launch failed attacks on Geneva. As he was allied with the House of Habsburg in the battle for control of the Italian Peninsula, this was followed in 1536 by a French invasion and occupation of Savoy. In commonsense for his lost territory, the Emperor Charles V would grant him the recently vacant neighboring Duchy of Millan, as he had a claim to it via his wife being the sister of the last Sforza Duke. Charles' son, Emmanuel Philibert, would enter the service of the Habsburgs in the hopes of eventually reclaiming Savoy itself.

Emmanuel Philibert led several successful campaigns against the French and would gradually reclaim parts of the Duchy, before finally being restored to the entire territory with the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. As part of the peace, he married Margaret of France, the sister of Henry II, and as a reward for his loyal service Emperor Philip I would allow the merger and elevation of Savoy and Millan into the Grand Duchy of Savoy, granting him royal status. Much of the rest of Emmanuel Philibert's reign would be focused on consolidating his control of the Duchy, acquiring numerous subfiefs and moving the capital to Turin.

Charles Emmanuel I would continue the policies of his father after his death in 1590, taking advantage of the Bourbon Ascension in France to claim disputed territory, such as Saluzzo. He would also lead Counter-Reformation efforts against Protestants in his nation, particularly in border regions near Geneva. He would settle the long standing dispute with the city by declaring the River Rhone to be the Duchy's border with the Swiss. His son, Victor Amadeus I succeeded in 1630 and would pursue a more pro-French policy in the second half of the Thirty Years War, sealed with a marriage to Christine of France, daughter of King Henry IV.

The reign of Charles Emmanuel II, beginning in 1647, would see a brief return to the Habsburg side with his marriage to Maria Theresa of Spain. War with Genoa in 1672-3 would see minor gains at the Republic's expense, but the real benefit of the war was the major military reform that followed. The growing power of Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, would also see Savoy once again fall under French influence. Victor Amadeus II ascended to the Savoyard throne in 1681, and swiftly began major administrative and military reforms; he would also marry Anna Maria de' Medici as a show of independence from France, who offered an Orléans princess instead. The final break with France came when he sided with Austria in the Nine Years War, which allowed him to seize control of several border towns.

Following the Nine Years War, attention in Europe was directed to the Spanish Succession, for Charles II was childless and lacked any close male relatives, so the succession fell to the descendants of his sisters. Victor Amadeus was the son of the youngest sister, and thus held a claim - though the leading candidates were Charles of Austria, second son of Emperor Leopold, and Charles of France, youngest grandson of Louis XIV. The other major powers feared that either one acquiring the Spanish Empire in its entirety would give either dynasty too much power, particularly if they ever ended up in personal union. While some advocated Victor Amadeus as a compromise candidate, neither dynasty were willing to give up their claims, and Victor Amadeus for his part had no desire to rule the Spanish Empire in its entirety - instead laying claim to its Italian territories - all three of which were kingdoms, the status of which would allow him and his descendants to be independent of both France and the Empire.

Several years of negotiations between Victor Amadeus and both dynasties went by; when Charles II finally died in 1700 he declared his support for Charles of Austria. Savoy proper suffered a major invasion by France, and was heavily supported by Milan throughout the war. The war would end in 1709 with the Treaty of Utrecht confirming Charles of Austria as King of Spain; under it Victor Amadeus was granted the kingdoms of Sardinia and Sicily and was allowed to annex the Duchy of Mantua. Naples was granted to the defeated Charles of France - however illness would ravage the French Royal Family, leaving Charles and his sole son as heirs to France; as such he was forced to abdicate there, with the kingdom being granted to Victor Amadeus - this firmly leaving the House of Savoy as the dominant power in the Italian Peninsula, and effectively allowing it independence from its more powerful neighbours.

Victor Amadeus would begin looking towards his own succession, and in 1715 married his son, the future Victor Amadeus III, to Enrichetta d'Este of Modena. In 1720, Enrichetta's sole brother Francesco would die, and with the absence of any close male heirs it became apparent she was her father's effective heir. A similar situation would also emerge in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, with Victor Amadeus II's brother-in-law childless and lacking male heirs. Victor Amadeus II would spend the rest of his life trying to secure the succession of his dynasty to both territories against much opposition to the continued expansion of the Savoy. Victor Amadeus III, upon his succession in 1732, would secure it by pledging to support Emperor Joseph I's daughter, Maria Josepha, succession to the Habsburg lands - both territories, as well as Savoy itself, being imperial fiefs - he would ascend to both in 1737.

Victor Amadeus III would keep to his word and supported Maria Josepha in the War of the Austrian Succession, during which he invaded and annexed mainland Genoa. An attempted intervention in Corsica would be repulsed, and he would sell his nominal claim to the island to France in 1762. With the end of the War in 1745, Victor Amadeus would spend the rest of his reign consolidating control over his various territories, which covered most of the Italian Peninsula and its neighbouring islands, but were separated by the Papal States - one of the fiercest critics of the growing power of Savoy. Victor Amadeus III would ensure continued good relations with the Habsburgs by marrying his son Charles Emmanuel III to the Empress's daughter Maria Amalia, and he would succeed in 1773 and would continue his father's policies up until 1792.

In 1789 the French Revolution broke out, and in 1792 the new French Republic invaded Savoy, to fierce resistance. Charles Emmanuel, realising that his forces could not hold for long, evacuated to Naples with his court and a large section of his forces to hold out there. While France would annex Savoy proper, Charles Emmanuel would strike back in 1793 when his son, Victor Emmanuel, led an invasion of Corsica with the aid of Corsican nationalists and the British Royal Navy. Attempts on the Peninsula itself would be less fruitful, and the French revolutionaries would gradually capture all of the north and centre - even defeating the Papal States and capturing Rome in 1798.

In 1797, Victor Emmanuel I had succeeded to the Savoyard lands, and in 1799 would lead an assault to capture Rome - shockingly succeeding in capturing the city with ease. 1801 would see the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire's Kingdom of Italy - to which Victor Emmanuel responded by declaring himself King of Italy, with Rome as its capital, on 20 September. Attempts by the French to invade the new kingdom would be held off, partially due to the power of the Royal Navy, and the new state would be gradually recognised by the other Coalition powers. With the foundation of the First French Empire by Napoleon in 1804, Northern Italy was reorganised into a rival puppet kingdom, though many recognised Victor Emmanuel as the true king.

With Napoleonic France beginning to collapse after the disastrous Russian Campaign of 1812, Victor Emmanuel was able to advance and begin his conquest of the rest of Italy, ending with the defeat and capture of Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleon's Viceroy and step-son. Following this, Victor Emmanuel took part in the Congress of Vienna, where he was confirmed as King of Italy, and the precise borders of his nation were defined - in addition to the pre-war Savoyard territories, the Kingdom of Italy was allowed to include the Papal States, Venice, Corsica and a large portion of the Illyrian Provinces. The Pope was the most vocal against the arrangement, however Victor Emmanuel granted him total sovereignty over the Leonine City within Rome, numerous special privileges within Italy and hefty financial compensation. As such, the Pope allowed him to crowned by the Vicar General in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, finally completing Italian unification.