[4] Ferdinand II considered a marriage between Leopold and his cousin Princess Marie of Orléans, but the negotiations with her father, Louis-Philippe of France, foundered over the French uprisings in 1834 and Louis-Philippe's refusal to grant Marie her part of the "donation-partage" of his lands (a condition Ferdinand had put in place for the marriage to occur).

[5] Leopold married Princess Maria of Savoy, second-eldest daughter of Prince Joseph Maria of Savoy, Count of Villafranca (son of Eugenio), and his wife Pauline Benedictine de Quélen de Vauguyon, on 16 June 1837[1] in Naples.

[7] He was an hedonistic man described as "large, powerful, with a handsome countenance"[7] Simple in his manners, he was widely popular.

[7] He surrounded himself with a court of artists, writers and musicians, who followed him from his palace on the Chiaia to his villa at Sorrento.

[7] After the death of Ferdinand II in May 1859, the Count of Syracuse advocated a close alliance with Piedmont.

[9][10] In April 1860, Leopold urged his nephew Francis II to make liberal concessions.