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Charles Felix (Italian: Carlo Felice Giuseppe Maria) was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831. He 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.
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. King Victor Emmanuel I abdicated on 12 March 1821 in favour of his brother Charles Felix. Since the latter was in Modena at the time, Charles Albert was appointed regent.
Charles Felix died without issue on 27 April 1831, in Turin at the Palazzo Chablais which had been given to him by his sister Princess Maria Anna, Duchess of Chablais, after a reign of ten years. He was buried at Hautecombe Abbey in Savoy, where his wife was also buried in 1849. With his death, the main line of the House of Savoy became extinct. He was succeeded by the senior male member of the House of Savoy-Carignano, the regent Charles Albert (1798-1849). The selection of Charles Albert as successor had not been made willingly, since Charles Albert had shown himself to be inclined to liberalism and friendly to the carbonari. |
