Editing Charles Albert of Sardinia (section)

=== Marriage and personality ===
[[File:Maria Teresa di Toscana.jpg|upright|thumb|left|[[Maria Theresa of Austria (1801–1855)|Maria Theresa of Austria]], Charles Albert's wife]]
The court decided that marriage would provide the prince with internal equilibrium. The chosen bride, accepted by Charles Albert, was the sixteen-year-old daughter of [[Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinand III of Tuscany]], [[Maria Theresa of Austria (1801–1855)|Archduchess Maria Theresa]], a relative of Queen Maria Theresa. Charles Albert travelled to the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]] and then to Rome on 18 March 1817 and, after a 6-month engagement, married Maria Theresa on 30 September in [[Florence Cathedral]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bertoldi|pp=41–44}}</ref> The wedding was followed by a ball organized by the Sardinian embassy in Florence. After that, on 6 October, the couple departed for Piedmont. On 11 October, they reached [[Castello del Valentino]] and from there they made their formal entrance into Turin.<ref>{{harvnb|Comandini, I|pp=954, 956}}</ref>

The young Maria Theresa was very shy and religious, quite different from Charles Albert's temperament. The couple resided in the Palazzo Carignano, to which Charles Albert began to invite young intellectuals with whom he shared liberal ideas. The most intimate of these friends were [[Annibale Santorre di Rossi de Pomarolo, Count of Santarosa|Santorre di Rossi de Pomarolo]], [[Roberto d'Azeglio]], [[Giacinto Collegno]], [[Cesare Balbo]], Guglielmo Moffa di Lisio Gribaldi and Carlo Emanuele Asinari di San Marzano.<ref>{{harvnb|Bertoldi|pp=46–47}}</ref>

In these years, Charles Albert also suffered from a deep religious crisis. This led to a friendship with the French diplomat Jean Louis de Douhet d'Auzers and a visit by the prince to Rome in 1817 to visit the former king Charles Emmanuel IV, who had retired to a monastery. In the years following his marriage, however, Charles Albert had extramarital affairs with several women, including [[Marie-Caroline de Bourbon-Sicile, duchesse de Berry|Marie Caroline de Bourbon]], widow of the [[Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry|Duke of Berry]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bertoldi|pp=52–55, 57}}</ref> Maria Theresa had two miscarriages – the second in 1819 as a result of a carriage accident – but gave birth to a son on 14 March 1820, [[Victor Emmanuel II|Victor Emmanuel]], the future [[King of Italy]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bertoldi|p=59}}</ref>