Prince Thomas was born in
Turin in 1854, as the second child and only son of
Prince Ferdinand of Savoy, 1st Duke of Genoa, the second son of
Charles Albert,
King of Sardinia (1798–1849, abdicated 1848) and his wife
Maria Theresa of Austria-Tuscany (1801–55). Prince Thomas' mother was
Princess Elisabeth of Saxony (1830–1912), daughter of
King John I of Saxony (1801–73) and
Princess Amalie of Bavaria (1801–77). Barely a year after his birth, on 10 February 1855, his father died and Prince Thomas inherited his title, becoming the
2nd Duke of Genoa. He was educated at
Harrow. With the accession of Victor Emmanuel II to the throne of Italy in 1861, Prince Tommaso, in common with all of the family members, became a prince of Italy. During
World War I the king,
Victor Emanuel III, assumed the duties of
Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and named the Duke of Genoa as
Luogotenente, in which position he managed the civil affairs of the kingdom throughout the war. Prince Thomas' elder sister
Princess Margherita of Savoy-Genoa (1851–1926) married
King Umberto I of Italy. Her only child was
King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, who reigned starting from his father's murder in 1900. Prince Thomas died in 1931, leaving six adult children. He was the last surviving grandchild of
Charles Albert of Sardinia. ==Family and children==