Description
A skilled political strategist who devoted his life to restoring the territorial integrity and independence of Savoy. Allied to the Habsburg cause he fought for his uncle by marriage, Charles V in France and then served as the Governor of the Netherlands for his cousin Philip II of Spain. He unsuccessfully made a claim on the Portuguese throne in 1580. Having exploited the internal divisions and rivalries of the great powers throughout his life he died in Turin in 1580, the new capital of the Duchy he helped restore. His tenacity and determination is alluded to in his nickname of ”Ironhead“.