Editing Charles Felix of Sardinia (section)

=== Abdication of Victor Emmanuel and regency of Charles Albert ===
[[File:Bernero - Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia.jpg|thumb|[[Victor Emmanuel I]], who abdicated in favour of Charles Felix after the rebellion of 1821|296x296px]]
On Sunday 11 March 1821, King Victor Emmanuel I met with the Crown Council, of which Charles Albert was a member. As a result of the king's indecision, no action was taken.

On 12 March, the [[Citadel of Turin]] fell into the hands of the rebels. Victor Emmanuel encouraged Charles Albert and [[Cesare Balbo]] to negotiate with the Carbonari, who refused to listen to their messages. Thus, in the evening, in the face of the spreading military uprising, 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|2000|pp=85–89, 98}}</ref>

The abdication of the king, which followed the dismissal of the ministers of state, led to chaos because it created a dynastic crisis which foreign powers would not ignore and because it split the army and bureaucracy, preventing every possibility of maintaining order.

The regent tried to take control by naming a new government (the lawyer, Ferdinando del Pozzo (1768-1843) as Minister of the Interior, general Emanuele Pes di Villamarina as minister of war, and Lodovico Sauli d'Igliano as minister of foreign affairs) and attempted to negotiate with the rebels, but he achieved nothing.

Given the impossibility of taking any decisions without the agreement of the new king, Charles Albert sent Charles Felix an account of the events, seeking instructions, but the letter took a very long time to reach its destination.

Fearful of becoming the object of popular anger, on the evening of 13 March 1821, Charles Albert signed a decree granting a constitution along the lines of the Spanish constitution of 1812, which would not become law until approved by the king.<ref>{{harvnb|Bertoldi|2000|pp=91–95}}</ref>

The next day, the regent decided to form a junta, which was to protect the parliament. Two days after that, he swore to observe the Spanish Constitution, in a Savoyard version which had been slightly altered according to the requests of Victor Emmanuel's consort, [[Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Sardinia|Maria Therese]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bertoldi|2000|pp=95–96}}</ref>