I am Victor Emmanuel II, I was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March 1861, when I assumed the title of King of Italy and became the first king of an independent, united Italy since the 6th century, a title I held until my death in 1878. Borrowing from the old Latin title Pater Patriae of the Roman emperors, the Italians gave me the epithet of "Father of the Fatherland" (Italian: Padre della Patria).