Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia

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Charles Emmanuel IV.
Charles Emmanuel IV.

Charles Emmanuel IV (May 24, 1751October 6, 1819) was King of Sardinia from 1796 to 1802.

[edit] Biography

Charles Emmanuel was born in Turin, the eldest son of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia (at the time styled "Duke of Savoy") and of his wife Infanta Antonia of Spain. From his birth until his own succession to the throne of Sardinia in 1796 Charles Emmanuel was styled "Prince of Piedmont".

In 1775 Charles Emmanuel married Marie Clotilde of France, the daughter of Louis, Dauphin of France and Princess Marie-Josèphe of Saxony, and sister of King Louis XVI of France. Although the union was arranged for political reasons, Charles Emmanuel and his wife became devoted to each other. Their attempts to have children, however, were unsuccessful.

At the death of his father (October 14, 1796), Charles Emmanuel succeeded as King of Sardinia. The kingdom included not only the island of Sardinia, but also significant territories in northwest Italy including all of Piedmont.

At his succession to the throne in 1796, Sardinia had been forced to conclude the disadvantageous Treaty of Paris (1796) with the French Republic, giving the French army free passage through Piedmont. On December 6, 1798, the French under Joubert occupied Turin and forced Charles Emanuel to abdicate all his territories on the Italian mainland and to withdraw to the island of Sardinia, which stayed out of the reach of the French army. The following year he tried unsuccessfully to regain Piedmont. He and his wife lived in Rome and in Naples as guests of the wealthy Colonna family.

Coat of Arms of Kings of Sardinia of House of Savoy after 1720.
Coat of Arms of Kings of Sardinia of House of Savoy after 1720.

On March 7, 1802 Charles Emmanuel's wife Marie Clothilde died. He was so moved by her death that he decided to abdicate, June 4, 1802 in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel. Charles Emmanuel retained the personal title of King. He lived in Rome and in the nearby town of Frascati.

In Frascati he was a frequent guest of his second-cousin Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York, last member of the Royal House of Stuart.

When Henry died in 1807, Charles Emmanuel became the senior heir-general of King Charles I of England and Scotland, and was thus regarded by Jacobites as King Charles IV of England, Scotland, France and Ireland. There is no documentary evidence that Charles Emmanuel ever attempted to make a public claim to the title of King of England or Scotland.

Indeed, in 1815 at the age of sixty-four Charles Emmanuel took simple vows in the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). He was never ordained to the priesthood, but lived the rest of his life at the Jesuit novitiate in Rome.

Charles Emmanuel died at Rome, October 6, 1819. He is buried in the Church of Sant'Andrea al Quirinale.

[edit] Ancestors

Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia's ancestors in three generations
Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia Father:
Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia
Paternal Grandfather:
Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Anne Marie of Orléans
Paternal Grandmother:
Polyxena Christina of Hesse-Rotenburg
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Ernest Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Eleonore of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort
Mother:
Maria Antonietta of Spain
Maternal Grandfather:
Philip V of Spain
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Louis, le Grand Dauphin
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Maria Anna of Bavaria
Maternal Grandmother:
Elisabeth of Parma
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Odoardo II Farnese
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg

[edit] External links

Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia
Born: 24 May 1751 Died: 6 October 1819
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Victor Amadeus III
King of Sardinia
1796–1802
Succeeded by
Victor Emmanuel I
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Henry IX and I
Jacobite succession
1807–1819
Succeeded by
Victor I
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