Editing Victor Amadeus III (section)

==Early life and personality==
[[File:Carlo Emanuele III with the future Vittorio Amedeo III.jpg|thumb|left|286x286px|Prince Victor Amadeus with his father, portrait by [[Maria Giovanna Clementi|Clementi]]]]
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 the ''Duke of Savoy'' from birth until he succeeded to his father's throne.<ref>Campbell. John: ''The present state of Europe'', London, 1761, p 341</ref> 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]], but died in 1725. His education was entrusted to [[Hyacinthe Sigismond Gerdil|Gerdil Giacinto Sigismondo]], with a particular emphasis on military training. Throughout his life, he had 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 a very religious person, and, as a young boy, stayed far from public life. His father felt him to be unsuitable to hold power.

Good-natured but naive, Savoy was loved by his subjects for his generosity.<ref>Botta, Carlo: ''Storia d'Italia dal 1789 al 1814'', 1837, Torino, p 105</ref>