in 1796, upon the accession of her husband to the throne, clotilde became the queen of sardinia. charles emmanuel was described as apathetic, insecure and incapable of acting, and the stress of the grave situation of the kingdom made his nervous condition worse and made it difficult for him to rule. he preferred to have clothilde receive the reports from ministers and diplomats, read them, summarize them for him, and advise him how to act. clothilde followed these instructions, consulted the ministers before she made recommendations to her husband, and also made sure to await the right moment to involve him in state affairs so as not to cause him more stress or make the public aware of his nervous condition. this method of conducting the affairs of state caused disruption and delays and made the governing inefficient and slow in a very critical situation for savoy, and although clothilde was careful not to appear to involve herself in politics, her great influence was too apparent not to cause criticism. the king and queen were also accused of devoting too much time to their religious devotions, causing all the more delays for the government work.