Editing Charles Albert of Sardinia (section)

=== Regency and Spanish Constitution ===
[[File:Bernero - Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Victor Emmanuel I]]
[[File:Carlo Alberto costituzione spagnola.jpg|upright|thumb|The decree by which Charles Albert announced the Spanish Constitution of 1821]]
On 11 March 1821, Victor Emmanuel I called a meeting of the council of the Crown, in which Charles Albert also participated. Along with the majority of those who were present, Charles Albert declared his willingness to grant the constitution. Rumours spread however that armed intervention to restore order in Italy by a joint Austrian and Russian force were imminent. The king decided to wait, therefore, but the next day, the Citadel of Turin fell into the hands of the rebels. Victor Emmanuel I then asked Charles Albert and [[Cesare Balbo]] to negotiate with the [[Carbonari]], but the latter refused any contact with the two. That evening, as the armed uprising spread, the king abdicated in favour of his brother Charles Felix. Since the latter was in [[Modena]] at the time, Charles Albert was appointed regent.<ref>{{harvnb|Bertoldi|pp=85–89, 98}}</ref>

Only 23 years of age, Charles Albert found himself in charge of resolving a serious political crisis which he himself had been responsible for provoking. The old ministers abandoned him and he was forced to nominate a new government: the lawyer [[Ferdinando dal Pozzo]] as Minister of the Interior, the general {{ill|Emanuele Pes di Villamarina|it}} as Minister of War, and {{ill|Lodovico Sauli d'Igliano|it}} as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He tried to negotiate with the rebels, with no results. Terrified, he claimed that it was impossible to make any decisions without the agreement of the new king and therefore sent Charles Felix a letter with an account of the events that had taken place and a request for instructions. But he was also afraid that he would become the object of popular anger if he continued to delay and so, on 13 March 1821, Charles Albert published a proclamation conceding the Spanish Constitution, with the reservation that this grant was pending the approval of the king.<ref>{{harvnb|Bertoldi|pp=91–95}}</ref>

On 14 March, the regent decided to form a Junta which would be able to act as guardians of the parliament. The head was Canon Pier Bernardo Marentini, a [[Jansenist]], who was Vicar-General of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Turin|Archdiocese of Turin]] and had been chosen as [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Piacenza–Bobbio|Bishop of Piacenza]] in 1813 but denied the role by the Pope. Charles Albert replaced the minister of war he had appointed the previous day with Santorre di Rossi, the leader of the armed uprising. On 15 March, in the presence of the Junta, Charles Albert swore to observe the Spanish Constitution, which had been amended with a few clauses requested by Victor Emmanuel I's queen, Maria Theresa.<ref>{{harvnb|Bertoldi|pp=95–96}}</ref>

Meanwhile, the representatives of liberals of [[Lombardy]] had arrived: [[Giorgio Pallavicino Trivulzio]], {{ill|Gaetano Castiglia|it|Gaetano De Castillia}}, and {{ill|Giuseppe Arconati Visconti|it}}. They asked Charles Albert to declare war on Austria in order to free Milan, but the prince refused. Instead, he accepted the advice of Cesare Balbo, who reported the discipline of the armed forces, stopped excesses and firmly established the troops loyal to the king. Charles Felix himself, however, had responded very badly to the news of his brother's abdication, which he considered an "abominable act of violence" and, from Modena, he sent an order to Charles Albert, ordering him to come to [[Novara]], and declaring any actions taken in the name of the king after the abdication of his brother, including the concession of the Spanish Constitution, to be null and void.<ref>{{harvnb|Bertoldi|pp=97–99}}</ref>