Leopold II of Tuscany was the last reigning grand duke of Tuscany. He married twice; firstly to Maria Anna of Saxony, and after her death in 1832, to Maria Antonia of the Two-Sicilies. By the latter, he had his eventual successor, Ferdinand. Leopold was contemporarily recognised as a liberal monarch, authorising the Tuscan Constitution of 1848, and allowing a degree of free press. The Grand Duke was briefly deposed by a provisional government in 1849, only to be restored the same year with the assistance of Austrian troops, who occupied the state until 1855. Leopold felt obliged to side with Austria in the Second Italian War of Independence. Tuscany was occupied by Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia for the duration of the conflict. The Grand Ducal family evacuated Tuscany on 27 April 1859 for Boulogne. On 21 July 1859, Leopold abdicated the throne in favour of his son, Ferdinand. His accession was not proclaimed in Tuscany, and his hypothetical reign was ended by the parliament's delcaration of the deposition of the House of Habsburg.