Victor Amadeus grew up under the protection of a regency that was headed by his mother, Marie de Savoie-Nemours (d. March 15, 1724), who pursued a pro-French policy; and he married Anna d'Orléans, a niece of Louis XIV. When the War of the Grand Alliance (Grand Alliance, War of the) broke out, Victor Amadeus in 1690 joined the Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs against Louis. But when the Spanish refused to agree to his acquisition of Milan, he made a separate peace with France that was distinctly favourable to his interests. In the next war, that of the Spanish Succession, he began on the French side, but in 1703 he changed to the Habsburg side. The French defeat at Turin (1706) secured his position in Italy; and the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) gave him the royal title as king of Sicily. The Quadruple Alliance of 1718 obliged Victor Amadeus to accept the offer of Sardinia as a kingdom instead of Sicily, and he effectively became king of Sardinia in 1720.

In 1730 Victor Amadeus abdicated in favour of his son, Charles Emmanuel III, but, when he changed his mind and attempted to reassume his throne, Charles Emmanuel had him arrested (1731) and confined for the remainder of his years.