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Victor Amadeus III of Savoy

Victor Amadeus III
Clementi, attributed to - Victor Amadeus III.jpg
King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy
Reign 20 February 1773 – 16 October 1796
Predecessor Charles Emmanuel III
Successor Charles Emmanuel IV
Born (1726-06-26)26 June 1726
Royal Palace of Turin, Turin
Died 16 October 1796(1796-10-16) (aged 70)
Castle of Moncalieri, Turin
Burial Basilica of Superga, Turin
Spouse Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain
Issue Charles Emmanuel IV, King of Sardinia
Maria Giuseppina, Countess of Provence
Maria Teresa, Countess of Artois
Maria Anna, Duchess of Chablais
Victor Emmanuel I, King of Sardinia
Maurizio, Duke of Montferrat
Maria Carolina, Electoral Princess of Saxony
Charles Felix, King of Sardinia
Giuseppe, Count of Asti
Full name
Vittorio Amedeo Maria di Savoia
House Savoy
Father Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
Mother Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg
Full name
Vittorio Amedeo Maria di Savoia

Victor Amadeus III (Vittorio Amadeo Maria; 26 June 1726 – 16 October 1796) was King of Sardinia from 1773 to his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until he declared war on Revolutionary France in 1792. He was the father of the last three mainline Kings of Sardinia.

Born at the Royal Palace of Turin, he was a son of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia and his second wife Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg. He was styled as the Duke of Savoy from birth until he succeeded to his father's throne. He was the eldest son of his parents and was the heir apparent from birth which was greeted with much celebration. His father had had a son with his first wife, Countess Palatine Anne Christine of Sulzbach who was also named Victor Amadeus, Duke of Aosta, bur died in 1725. His education was entrusted to Gerdil Giacinto Sigismondo, with a particular emphasis on military training. Throughout his life he would have a great interest in the state military on which he lavished attention.

As a young prince, he surrounded himself with intellectuals and ministers, many of whom would come to prominence in his reign. He was privately conservative and very religious person, who, as a young boy, stayed far from public life. His father felt him to be unsuitable to hold power.

Good-natured but naive, Savoy would be loved by his subjects for his generosity.

He married Infanta Maria Antonietta of Spain (1729–1785), youngest daughter of Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese. They were married on 31 May 1750 at Oulx and later had twelve children. He had a loving relationship with his wife who exerted little influence over her husband. The marriage had been arranged by Maria Antonietta's half brother, the ruling Ferdinand VI of Spain. The Spanish Infanta had been previously rejected by Louis, Dauphin of France. The union was used to strengthen relations between Madrid and Turin having fought on opposing sides in the War of the Austrian Succession. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war.


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