Editing Victor Emmanuel II (section)

===Completion of the unification===
[[File:Artgate Fondazione Cariplo - Magistretti Emilio, Il 9 gennajo 1878 in Milano o Il 9 Gennaio 1878 o L'annuncio della morte di Vittorio Emanuele a Milano.jpg|thumb|9 January 1878, Milan: Announcement of the death of Victor Emmanuel II, by [[Emilio Magistretti]] (1879)]]
[[File:Pantheon 0935 2013.jpg|thumb|left|Tomb of Victor Emmanuel II in the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]]]]
{{main|Third Italian War of Independence}}{{See also|Plebiscite of Veneto of 1866}}
In 1866, Victor Emmanuel allied himself with [[Prussia]] in the [[Third Italian War of Independence]]. Although not victorious in the Italian theatre, he managed 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."<ref>Mack Smith, Denis ''Italy and its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989 p. 42</ref> 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 [[Florence]] in 1864. The new Royal residence was the [[Quirinal Palace]].

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 Piedmont–Sardinia 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]] 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]]. He was buried in the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]]. His successor was his son [[Umberto I]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Excommunicating Politicians |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/497/article/excommunicating-politicians |date=27 September 2004}}</ref>
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