Prince of Carignano

The Prince of Carignano a titke used by the head of the senior cadet branch of the House of Savoy. It was founded by Thomas Francis of Savoy, Prince of Carignano (1596–1656), an Italian military commander who was the fifth son of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. His descendants were accepted as princes étrangers at the court of France, where some held prominent positions. They eventually came to reign as kings of Sardinia from 1831 to 1861, and as kings of Italy from 1861 until the dynasty's deposition in 1946. The Carignano branch of the House of Savoy also, briefly, supplied a king each to Spain and Croatia, as well as queens consort to Bulgaria and Portugal.

Origin
Born in Turin, Thomas Francis of Savoy was the youngest of the five legitimate sons of Charles Emmanuel I, sovereign Duke of Savoy, by his wife, Catherine Micaela of Spain (daughter of King Philip II of Spain and his consort, Elizabeth of Valois. While still a young man, he bore arms in Italy in the service of the King of Spain.

Princes of Carignano

 * 1) Prince Thomas Francis of Savoy  married Marie de Bourbon, Countess of Soissons.
 * 2) Prince Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy married Maria Angela Caterina d'Este
 * 3) Prince Victor Amadeus of Savoy (1690–1741) married Vittoria Francesca o Savoy (illegitimate daughter of Victor Amadeus II and The Countess of Verrua)
 * 4) Prince Louis Victor of Savoy (1721–1778) married Princess Christine of Hesse-Rotenburg.
 * 5) Prince Victor Amadeus of Savoy (1743–1780) married Princess Joséphine of Lorraine.
 * 6) Prince Charles Emmanuel of Savoy (1743–1780)  married Princess Maria Christina of Saxony.
 * 7) Prince Charles Albert of Savoy (2 October 1798 – 28 Julie 1849)  married Maria Theresa of Austria, reigned as King of Sardinia from April 1831 till  March 1849.

Historic figures born into the Carignano branch of the House of Savoy

 * princesse de Lamballe
 * Keeng Charles Albert of Sardinia
 * King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
 * Princess Giovanna of Savoy