Kingdom of the Two Sicilies: A separate kingdom

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was formed as a union of the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples.
In 1860 it was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Kingdom of Sardinia became the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Suppose the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies is not annexed in 1860 and in 1861 become part of the Kingdom of Italy.
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies remains a separate kingdom.
 
Why wouldn't Sardinia annex that. If it fails on 1860, Italy might still annex that later. But leastly Italy might not be able to get colonies.
 
It would require Victor Emmanuel II to have a very different character than he did IOTL for him to really consider this possibility. The reason that Kings such as James V of Scotland and Ferdinand II of Aragon ruled Kingdoms that remained separate legal entities was due to the fact that the legitimacy of their rule was based upon inheritance. That was why even when they held the thrones of England and Castile, respectively, they wore two crowns and their kingdoms remained separate legal entities in law.

Victor Emmanuel II set out to unify Italy under his dynasty by right of conquest, and to a lesser extent as self proclaimed "Father" of the Italian people. Had Victor Emmanuel II had the same ambition, but had a more legitimatist mindset, he could have potentially undertaken the same actions that he did, but kept the old Italian kingdoms and duchies legally distinct. This would have involved himself declaring himself Emperor of all Italy, and receiving homage from the now reduced Italian rulers such as the Bourbons of Sicily.

Such a path would have made Italy more superficially similar to the Imperial Germany. However, there would be significant practical obstacles to this course of action, not the least of which was the Austrian Emperor, who would have been unwilling to sacrifice the crown by which he held northern Italy, and pledge his fealty to an "emperor" who he considered to be his inferior, and a usurper to boot. The Pope in Rome would also be a difficult ruler to co-opt, unless Victor Emmanuel could convince him to establish a second "Holy Roman Empire," in which Victor Emmanuel would be crowned by the Pope as a secular ruler, while the Pope would retain his spiritual office, as well as retaining temporal power in some kind of convoluted arrangement.

To return to the original premise, it would not be impossible for the Two Sicilies to remain a legally distinct kingdom under the authority of a a Sardinian "Emperor," but for that to happen would require a radically different character for Sardinia's monarch. My own opinion is that a decentralized empire would have been much more suited to governing Italy than the centralized monarchy that actually came about.

What are your thoughts?
 
I think Victor Emmanuel II's hand was forced by Garibaldi's invasion of Sicily. Things progressed far quicker than he or Cavour had been planning. If Garibaldi's expedition failed (naval accident, etc.) then Emmanuel could be looking at a route similar to the plebiscites in Tuscany, Modena, Parma and Romagna.

If Carlo Filangieri can get Francis II to wake up and accept Cavour's earlier offers, this may be more likely as well.
 
Francis II was King of the Two Sicilies from 1859 to 1861.
He would not, in this scenario, be deposed in 1861.
Francis II reigns to 1894.
He is succeeded by Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta as King Alfonso I.
 
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