Palace reduced to silence
After much anticipation, all his hopes of a return to the life of the court were dashed when the chief of protocol entered the abandoned palace of the court of Sardinia. The rumors of invasion proved true. The royal court of Sardinia and the Duchy of Savoy lost its sovereignty when the French Revolutionary forces under General Buonaparte took control on 23 April 1796 (SL date 9 May 2009).