Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 March 1861, when he assumed the title of

King of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...

and became the first king of an independent, united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878. Borrowing from the old

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

title ''

Pater Patriae ''Pater Patriae'' (plural ''Patres Patriae''), also seen as ''Parens Patriae'', is a Latin honorific meaning "Father of the Country", or more literally, "Father of the Fatherland". It is also used of U.S. President George Washington, the Swed ...

'' of the Roman emperors, the Italians gave him the epithet of '' Father of the Fatherland'' ( it, Padre della Patria). Born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

as the eldest son of Charles Albert, Prince of Carignano, and

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...

, he fought in the First Italian War of Independence (1848–1849) before being made King of Piedmont-Sardinia following his father's abdication. He appointed

Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement tow ...

, as his Prime Minister, and he consolidated his position by suppressing the republican left. In 1855, he sent an expeditionary corps to side with French and British forces during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

; the deployment of Italian troops to the Crimea, and the gallantry shown by them in the

Battle of the Chernaya The Battle of the Chernaya (also Tchernaïa; Russian: Сражение у Черной речки, Сражение у реки Черной, literally: Battle of the Black River) was a battle by the Chyornaya River fought during the Crimea ...

(16 August 1855) and in the siege of Sevastopol led the Kingdom of Sardinia to be among the participants at the peace conference at the end of the war, where it could address the issue of the Italian unification to other European powers. This allowed Victor Emmanuel to ally himself with

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, Emperor of France. France had supported Sardinia in the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

, resulting in liberating Lombardy from Austrian rule. Victor Emmanuel supported the

Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand ( it, Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa (now Quarto dei Mille) and landed in Mars ...

(1860–1861) led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, which resulted in the rapid fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in southern Italy. However, Victor Emmanuel halted Garibaldi when he appeared ready to attack

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, still under the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

, as it was under French protection. In 1860, Tuscany, Modena, Parma and Romagna decided to side with Sardinia-Piedmont, and Victor Emmanuel then marched victoriously in the Marche and Umbria after the victorious

Battle of Castelfidardo The Battle of Castelfidardo took place on 18 September 1860 at Castelfidardo, a small town in the Marche region of Italy. It was fought between the Sardinian army – acting as the driving force in the war for Italian unification, against the P ...

over the Papal forces. This led to his

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

from the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

until 1878, just before his death in the same year. He subsequently met Garibaldi at Teano, receiving from him the control of southern Italy and becoming the first King of Italy on 17 March 1861. In 1866, the

Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence ( it, Terza Guerra d'Indipendenza Italiana) was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in ...

allowed Italy to annex

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

. In 1870, Victor Emmanuel also took advantage of the Prussian victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War to conquer the Papal States after the French withdrew. He entered Rome on 20 September 1870 and set up the new capital there on 2 July 1871. He died in Rome in 1878, and was buried in the Pantheon. The Italian national Victor Emmanuel II monument in Rome, containing the

Altare della Patria The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument ( it, Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II), also known as Vittoriano or Altare della Patria ("Altar of the Fatherland"), is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor Em ...

, was built in his honor.

Biography

Victor Emmanuel was born as the eldest son of

Carlo Alberto Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Statuto Albertino, Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian ...

Prince of Carignano, and

. His father succeeded a distant cousin as King of Sardinia-Piedmont in 1831. He lived for some years of his youth in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

and showed an early interest in politics, the military, and sports. In 1842, he married his cousin, Adelaide of Austria. He was styled as the '' Duke of Savoy'' prior to becoming King of Sardinia-Piedmont. He took part in the First Italian War of Independence (1848–1849) under his father, King Charles Albert, fighting in the front line at the battles of Pastrengo, Santa Lucia,

Goito Goito ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a ''comune'' with a population of 10,005 in the Province of Mantua in Lombardy. Goito is north of Mantua on the road leading to Brescia and Lake Garda, and straddles the old east–west Via Postumia between Cremona a ...

and Custoza. He became King of Sardinia-Piedmont in 1849 when his father abdicated the throne, after being defeated by the Austrians at the Battle of Novara. Victor Emmanuel was immediately able to obtain a rather favorable armistice at

Vignale Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe.Radetzky. The treaty, however, was not ratified by the Piedmontese lower parliamentary house, the Chamber of Deputies, and Victor Emmanuel retaliated by firing his Prime Minister, Claudio Gabriele de Launay, replacing him with Massimo D'Azeglio. After new elections, the peace with Austria was accepted by the new Chamber of Deputies. In 1849, Victor Emmanuel also fiercely suppressed a revolt in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, defining the rebels as a "vile and infected race of canailles." In 1852, he appointed Count Camillo Benso of Cavour ("Count Cavour") as Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia. This turned out to be a wise choice, since Cavour was a political mastermind and a major player in the Italian unification in his own right. Victor Emmanuel II soon became the symbol of the "

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

", the Italian unification movement of the 1850s and early 60s. He was especially popular in the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont because of his respect for the new constitution and his liberal reforms. Ugolini̠-Ritratto di Re Vittorio Emanuele II

Ugolini̠-Ritratto di Re Vittorio Emanuele II

Crimean War

Following Victor Emmanuel's advice, Cavour joined Britain and France in the

against Russia. Cavour was reluctant to go to war due to the power of Russia at the time and the expense of doing so. Victor Emmanuel, however, was convinced of the rewards to be gained from the alliance created with Britain and, more importantly, France. After successfully seeking British support and ingratiating himself with France and Napoleon III at the Congress of Paris in 1856 at the end of the war, Count Cavour arranged a secret meeting with the French emperor. In 1858, they met at Plombières-les-Bains (in

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

), where they agreed that if the French were to help Piedmont combat Austria, which still reigned over the

Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia ( la, links=no, Regnum Langobardiae et Venetiae), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" ( it, links=no, Regno Lombardo-Veneto, german: links=no, Königreich Lombardo-Venetien), was a constituent land ...

in northern Italy, France would be awarded

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

and Savoy.

Wars of Italian Unification

The Italo-French campaign against Austria in 1859 started successfully. However, sickened by the casualties of the war and worried about the mobilisation of Prussian troops, Napoleon III secretly made a treaty with Franz Joseph of Austria at Villafranca whereby Piedmont would only gain Lombardy. France did not as a result receive the promised Nice and Savoy, but Austria did keep Venetia, a major setback for the Piedmontese, in no small part because the treaty had been prepared without their knowledge. After several quarrels about the outcome of the war, Cavour resigned, and the king had to find other advisors. France indeed only gained Nice and Savoy after the Treaty of Turin was signed in March 1860, after Cavour had been reinstalled as Prime Minister, and a deal with the French was struck for plebiscites to take place in the Central Italian Duchies. Later that same year, Victor Emmanuel II sent his forces to fight the papal army at Castelfidardo and drove the Pope into

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. His success at these goals led him to be

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

from the Catholic Church until 1878, when it was lifted just before his death. Then, Giuseppe Garibaldi conquered Sicily and Naples, and Sardinia-Piedmont grew even larger. On 17 March 1861 the Kingdom of Italy was officially established and Victor Emmanuel II became its king. Victor Emmanuel supported Giuseppe Garibaldi's

(1860–1861), which resulted in the rapid fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in southern Italy. However, the king halted Garibaldi when he appeared ready to attack Rome, still under the

, as it was under French protection. In 1860, through local plebiscites, Tuscany, Modena, Parma and Romagna decided to side with Sardinia-Piedmont. Victor Emmanuel then marched victoriously in the Marche and

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

after the victorious

battle of Castelfidardo The Battle of Castelfidardo took place on 18 September 1860 at Castelfidardo, a small town in the Marche region of Italy. It was fought between the Sardinian army – acting as the driving force in the war for Italian unification, against the P ...

(1860) over the Papal forces. The king subsequently met with Garibaldi at Teano, receiving from him the control of southern Italy. Another series of plebiscites in the occupied lands resulted in the proclamation of Victor Emmanuel as the first

by the new Parliament of unified Italy, on 17 March 1861. He did not renumber himself after assuming the new royal title, however.

became the capital of the new state. Only Rome,

, and

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

remained to be conquered.

Completion of the unification

In 1866 Victor Emmanuel allied himself with

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

in the

. Although not victorious in the Italian theater, he managed anyway to receive Veneto after the Austrian defeat in Germany. The British Foreign Secretary, Lord Clarendon, visited Florence in December 1867 and reported to London after talking to various Italian politicians: "There is universal agreement that Victor Emmanuel is an imbecile; he is a dishonest man who tells lies to everyone; at this rate he will end up losing his crown and ruining both Italy and his dynasty." In 1870, after two failed attempts by Garibaldi, he also took advantage of the Prussian victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War to capture Rome after the French withdrew. He entered Rome on 20 September 1870 and set up the new capital there on 2 July 1871, after a temporary move to

in 1864. The new Royal residence was the

Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzia ...

. The rest of Victor Emmanuel II's reign was much quieter. After the Kingdom of Italy was established he decided to continue on as King Victor Emmanuel II instead of Victor Emmanuel I of Italy. This was a terrible move as far as public relations went as it was not indicative of the fresh start that the Italian people wanted and suggested that Sardinia-Piedmont had taken over the Italian Peninsula, rather than unifying it. Despite this mishap, the remainder of Victor Emmanuel II's reign was consumed by wrapping up loose ends and dealing with economic and cultural issues. His role in day-to-day governing gradually dwindled, as it became increasingly apparent that a king could no longer keep a government in office against the will of Parliament. As a result, while the wording of the

Statuto Albertino The Statuto Albertino (English: ''Albertine Statute'') was the constitution granted by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to the Kingdom of Sardinia on 4 March 1848 and written in Italian and French. The Statute later became the constitution of t ...

stipulating that ministers were solely responsible to the crown remained unchanged, in practice they were now responsible to Parliament. Victor Emmanuel died in Rome in 1878, after meeting with the envoys of Pope Pius IX, who had reversed the excommunication, and received

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...

. He was buried in the Pantheon. His successor was his son

Umberto I Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900. Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...

Family and children

In 1842 he married his paternal aunt's daughter Adelaide of Austria (1822–1855). With her, he had eight children: * Maria Clotilde (1843–1911), who married Napoléon Joseph (''the Prince Napoléon''). Their grandson Prince Louis Napoléon was the Bonapartist pretender to the French imperial throne. Monument to Victor Emmanuel II (Venice)

* Umberto (1844–1900), later

. He married his first cousin

Margherita of Savoy Margherita of Savoy (''Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna''; 20 November 1851 – 4 January 1926) was Queen of Italy by marriage to Umberto I. Life Early life Margherita was born to Prince Ferdinand of Savoy, Duke of Genoa and Princess Elisabe ...

. * Amadeo (1845–1890), later King of Spain. He married

Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo (Maria Vittoria Carlotta Enrichetta; 9 August 1847 – 8 November 1876) was an Italian noblewoman and became the 6th Princess of Cisterna d'Asti and of Belriguardo after the death of her father.de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. ...

and later

Maria Letizia Bonaparte Maria Letizia Bonaparte (Marie Laetitia Eugénie Catherine Adélaïde; 20 November 1866 – 25 October 1926) was one of three children born to Prince Napoléon and his wife Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy. In 1888 she married Prince Amadeo, ...

. * Oddone Eugenio Maria (1846–1866), Duke of

Montferrat Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria, ...

. * Maria Pia (1847–1911), who married King Louis of Portugal. * Carlo Alberto (2 June 1851 – 28 June 1854),

Duke of Chablais The title Duke of Chablais ( it, Duca di Chiablese, french: duc de Chablais) was a subsidiary title of the Duke of Savoy and later the King of Sardinia, both of the House of Savoy. The title is named after the province of Chablais, whose capi ...

. * Vittorio Emanuele (6 July 1852 – 6 July 1852). * Vittorio Emanuele (18 January 1855 – 17 May 1855), Count of

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. In 1869 he married

morganatically Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

his principal mistress

Rosa Vercellana Rosa Vercellana, 1st Countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda (3 June 1833 – 26 December 1885), commonly known as ‘Rosina’ and, in Piedmontese, as La Bela Rosin, was the mistress and later wife of Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy. Despi ...

(3 June 1833 – 26 December 1885). Popularly known in

Piedmontese Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly reg ...

as "Bela Rosin", she was born a commoner but made Countess of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda in 1858. Their offspring were: * Vittoria Guerrieri (2 December 1848 – 29 December 1905), married three times: to Giacomo Spinola, Luigi Spinola and Paolo DeSimone. She had issue. * Emanuele Alberto Guerrieri (16 March 1851 – 24 December 1894), Count of Mirafiori and Fontanafredda, married and had issue. Brooklyn Museum - Caricature of King Victor Emmanuel II - Thomas Nast - overall

Brooklyn Museum - Caricature of King Victor Emmanuel II - Thomas Nast - overall

In addition to his morganatic second wife, Victor Emmanuel II had several other mistresses: 1) Laura Bon at Stupinigi, who bore him one daughter: * Maria Emanuela Alberta Vittoria Guerrieri di Roverbella (6 September 1853 – 1890) married to Vincenzo Pietraforte. 2) Baroness Vittoria Duplesis who bore him another daughter: * Savoiarda of Savoy (1856-1885). 3) Unknown mistress at Mondovì, mother of: * Donato Etna (1858-1938) who became a soldier during the First World War. 4) Virginia Rho at Turin, mother of two children: * Vittorio di Rho (1861 –

, 10 October 1913). He became a notable photographer. * Maria Pia di Rho (25 February 1866 –

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 19 April 1947). Married to count Alessandro Montecuccoli. 5) Rosalinda Incoronata De Domenicis (1846-1916), mother of one daughter: * Vittoria De Domenicis (1869-1935) who married doctor Alberto Benedetti (1870-1920), with issue. 6) Angela Rosa De Filippo, mother of: * Actor Domenico Scarpetta (1876-1952)

Honours and arms

Italian

* Knight of the Order of the Annunciation, ''23 December 1836''; Grand Master, ''23 March 1849'' * Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, ''1836''; Grand Master, ''23 March 1849'' * Grand Master of the

Military Order of Savoy The Military Order of Savoy was a military honorary order of the Kingdom of Sardinia first, and of the Kingdom of Italy later. Following the abolition of the Italian monarchy, the order became the Military Order of Italy. History The origin o ...

* Grand Master of the Order of the Crown of Italy * Grand Master of the Civil Order of Savoy *

Gold Medal of Military Valour The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The fac ...

Silver Medal of Military Valour The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, ...

* Medal of the Liberation of Rome (1849–1870) * Commemorative Medal of Campaigns of Independence Wars * Commemorative Medal of the Unity of Italy * Tuscan Grand Ducal family: Grand Cross of the Order of St. Joseph

Foreign

* : ** Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, ''1841'' ** Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen, ''1869'' * : ** Knight of the

House Order of Fidelity The House Order of Fidelity (german: Hausorden der Treue) is a dynastic order of the Margraviate of Baden. It was established by Charles III William, Margrave of Baden-Durlach as a reward for merit and to mark the laying of the foundation ston ...

, ''1864'' ** Grand Cross of the

Order of the Zähringer Lion The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted on 26 December 1812 by Karl, Grand Duke of Baden , house = Zähringen , father = Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden , mother = Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt ...

, ''1864'' * : Knight of the Order of St. Hubert, ''1869'' * : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold, ''25 July 1855'' * : Knight of the Order of the Elephant, ''2 September 1861'' * French Empire: **

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

** Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign * : Grand Cross of the Order of Kamehameha I, ''1865'' *

Mexican Empire Mexican Empire may refer to: * First Mexican Empire, the regime under Agustín de Iturbide (Agustín I) from 1821 to 1823 * Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy est ...

: Grand Cross of the Order of the Mexican Eagle, with Collar, ''1865'' *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

: ** Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...

, ''12 January 1866''; with Collar, ''1875'' **

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

(military), ''29 May 1872'' * : Knight of the

Order of the Rue Crown The Order of the Rue Crown (german: Hausorden der Rautenkrone) or Order of the Crown of Saxony was a dynastic order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Saxony. The order takes its name from the green floral crown of rue ('' crancelin'') found in th ...

, ''1850'' *

Sweden-Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden ...

: Knight of the

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...

, ''30 August 1861'' *

Beylik of Tunis The Beylik of Tunis (), also known as Kingdom of Tunis ( ar, المملكة التونسية) was a largely autonomous beylik of the Ottoman Empire located in present-day Tunisia. It was ruled by the Husainid dynasty from 1705 until the abolit ...

: Husainid Family Order * : Stranger Knight of the Order of the Garter, ''5 December 1855''Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) ''The Knights of England'', I, London
p. 59
/ref>

Arms

Ancestry

Notes

References

Sources

* * * old interpretations but useful on details; vol 1 goes to 1859]
volume 2 online covers 1859–62

In Italian

* * * * *

External links

*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060701112641/http://www.freereservation.com/roma2/1.htm View of Venezia Square Victor Emmanuel II monument {{DEFAULTSORT:Victor Emanuel 02 Of Italy 1820 births 1878 deaths 19th-century kings of Italy 19th-century kings of Sardinia Nobility from Turin Grand Masters of the Gold Medal of Military Valor Italian monarchs Kings of Italy (1861–1946) Princes of Savoy Italian people of the Italian unification Italian people of Polish descent Italian generals Claimant Kings of Jerusalem Princes of Savoy-Carignan Modern history of Italy People of the Revolutions of 1848 Roman Catholic monarchs People temporarily excommunicated by the Catholic Church Burials at the Pantheon, Rome Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Extra Knights Companion of the Garter Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)