by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Marie Juliette Louvet; Credit – https://alchetron.com/Marie-Juliette-Louvet

Marie Juliette Louvet was the mistress of the future Prince Louis II of Monaco, and the mother of his only child, Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois. She is the grandmother of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and the great-grandmother of Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Marie Juliett was born on May 9, 1867, in Pierreval, France, to Jacques Louvet and Joséphine Piedefer. At the age of 17, she married a Parisian photographer, Achille Delmaet, with whom she already had a son, Georges. The couple later had a daughter, Marguerite, before divorcing in 1893.

It is believed that Marie Juliette and Prince Louis met while she was working as a hostess in a cabaret in Paris, France. The following year, she was working as a seamstress in a military barracks in Constantine, Algeria, where Prince Louis was also based. Later that year, on September 30, 1898, Marie Juliette gave birth to the couple’s daughter Charlotte. While Louis’ father, Prince Albert I, would not permit the couple to marry, their daughter Charlotte was later recognized as a member of the Monegasque Princely Family, and in 1919, was formally adopted by Prince Louis, becoming Princess Charlotte of Monaco, and Duchess of Valentinois. She would also later become heir to the Monegasque throne following her father’s accession in 1922, later relinquishing her succession rights in favor of her son, the future Prince Rainier III.

Marie Juliette Louvet lived the rest of her life in Paris, where she died on September 24, 1930.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Princess Ghislaine of Monaco was the wife of Prince Louis II of Monaco and the step-grandmother of Prince Rainier III of Monaco. She was born Ghislaine Marie Françoise Dommanget in Reims, France, on October 13, 1900, to Robert Joseph Dommanget and Marie Louise Meunier.

From an early age, Ghislaine was drawn to the stage and became an actress, working at the famed Comédie-Française in Paris. Before meeting Prince Louis II, she was married twice – to Paul Diey and André Brulé – and had one son, Jean Gabriel Brulé, born in 1934.

In 1942, she met Prince Louis II while on a tour of Monaco, and he later wrote that he knew instantly upon meeting that she would one day be his wife. The couple was married on July 24, 1946, in a civil ceremony, with a religious service held three days later, and she became The Princess of Monaco. Ghislaine was nearly 46 years old, while her husband was more than 30 years older. While Prince Louis II was very much in love with Ghislaine, the rest of the Monegasque princely family questioned her motives and viewed her as an opportunist and golddigger. Sadly, Prince Louis died less than three years later, in May 1949, and was succeeded by his grandson, Prince Rainier III. In his will, Louis had left half of his estate to Ghislaine, but Rainier and his sister Antoinette contested this, and the will was overturned. Ghislaine only received her jewelry and other gifts and retained a suite of rooms at The Prince’s Palace. She also received a small pension from the Monegasque government, later stopped by Prince Rainier.

The Dowager Princess returned to Paris, only occasionally returning to Monaco. In 1956, she attended the wedding of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly. Despite a strained relationship with her step-grandson, Ghislaine developed and maintained a close friendship with Grace, who made efforts to include Ghislaine as part of the family. Later, Ghislaine returned to the stage, even appearing in Monaco, with the condition that she would not use her title of Princess of Monaco. Billed simply as “Ghislaine”, she appeared in three plays in Monaco – Ms. April in 1958, L’Aiglon in 1959, and Pea Flower in 1960.

Ghislaine then retired to Paris, where she wrote her memoirs, “Sois princesse” … dit-il (“Be Princess”… he said), which she dedicated to Princess Grace. In her later years, she only made two formal appearances in Monaco. In 1974, she attended the celebrations for Prince Rainier’s Silver Jubilee, and her last appearance was at Princess Grace’s funeral in 1982. Ghislaine, Dowager Princess of Monaco died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on April 30, 1991. She is buried in the Passy Cemetery in Paris.

Grave of Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco. source: Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Principality of Monaco Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Principality of Monaco Index
• Line of Succession to the Throne of Monaco
• Monegasque FAQs
• Monegasque Orders and Honours
• Monegasque Royal Burial Sites
• Monegasque Royal Christenings
• Monegasque Royal Dates
• Monegasque Royal Residences
• Monegasque Royal Weddings
• Profiles of the Princely Family of Monaco
• Rulers of Monaco

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Prince Louis II of Monaco – source: Wikipedia

Prince Louis II of Monaco (Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi) was born July 12, 1870, in Baden-Baden, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He was the only child of Prince Albert I of Monaco and Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie of Baden. Shortly after his birth, his mother left her husband and took Louis to the Grand Duchy of Baden, where he was raised until the age of 11. Louis then returned to Monaco to prepare for his future royal role.

Louis attended the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in France and then joined the French Foreign Legion. He served for 10 years and was awarded the Cross of the Legion of Honor. During this time, while serving in Algeria, Louis met Marie Juliette Louvet, a cabaret singer. The couple was deeply in love, but his father would not permit them to marry. A daughter was born in 1898:

• Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois (1898 – 1977), married Count Pierre de Polignac, had a daughter and a son who succeeded his grandfather as Prince Rainer III

Because Louis was unmarried and without an heir, the Monegasque throne was likely to pass to his first cousin once removed, Wilhelm, Duke of Urach, a German nobleman who was the son of his father’s aunt, Princess Florestine of Monaco.  To avoid this, Louis’ father, Prince Albert I, had a law passed recognizing Charlotte as Louis’ heir and part of the sovereign family. However, this law was later ruled invalid under earlier statutes. So, in October 1918, another law was passed allowing for the adoption of an heir with succession rights. On May 16, 1919, Louis legally adopted Charlotte, giving her the Grimaldi surname. Her grandfather created her HSH Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Duchess of Valentinois. Upon Louis’s accession in 1922, Charlotte became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco.

During World War I, Louis again served with the French Army and eventually reached the rank of Brigadier General. Recognized for his outstanding efforts, he was elevated to Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor. His military career ended when he ascended to the Monegasque throne upon his father’s death on June 27, 1922. Some of his contributions during his reign were the establishment of the Monaco Football Club and the Grand Prix of Monaco, which was first held in the principality in 1929. In 1931, he oversaw the establishment of the Ballet de l’Opéra à Monte-Carlo and the construction of the Stade Prince Louis II, a large football stadium in the center of the city. He was also a keen collector of items related to Napoleon, which later formed the basis for the Napoleon Museum, housed at the Prince’s Palace for many years.

Following World War II, during which the principality had been occupied by the Italians and Germans before liberation by the Allies, Prince Louis began spending most of his time in Paris and greatly ignored the principality. In 1944, his daughter Charlotte ceded her rights to the throne in favor of her son Rainier, who would eventually succeed his grandfather. In June 1946, Prince Louis married the French film star Ghislaine Dommanget. The couple lived primarily at the Château de Marchais, their estate outside of Paris.

On May 9, 1949, Prince Louis II died at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco. He is buried at the Cathedral of Monaco.

Grave of Louis II, Prince of Monaco; www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Principality of Monaco Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Principality of Monaco Index
• Line of Succession to the Throne of Monaco
• Monegasque FAQs
• Monegasque Orders and Honours
• Monegasque Royal Burial Sites
• Monegasque Royal Christenings
• Monegasque Royal Dates
• Monegasque Royal Residences
• Monegasque Royal Weddings
• Profiles of the Princely Family of Monaco
• Rulers of Monaco

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2015

Alice Heine, Princess of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Alice Heine, Princess of Monaco, was the second wife of Prince Albert I of Monaco, and the first American woman ever to marry a reigning European sovereign.

She was born Mary Alice Heine on February 10, 1858, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Michel Heine and Amélie Marie Céleste Miltenberger, and had two younger brothers. Her father, a French banker and businessman, came from a prominent German Jewish banking family and was a cousin of German poet Heinrich Heine. Michel and his brother had established themselves as bankers in the United States.

In 1874, the family returned to France following the American Civil War and quickly established themselves amongst Parisian society. The following year, Alice married Marie Odet Richard Armand de La Chapelle de Saint-Jean de Jumilhac, 7th Duke of Richelieu. Jewish by birth, Alice had converted to Roman Catholicism before the marriage. The couple went on to have two children:

• Marie Odet Jean Armand de La Chapelle de Saint-Jean de Jumilhac, 8th Duke of Richelieu (1875-1952)
• Odile Chapelle de Jumilhac, later Princess of La Rochefoucauld by marriage (1879-1974)

In June 1880, the Duke of Richelieu died while on a trip to Athens, Greece. Widowed at just 22 years old, Alice became a very wealthy woman and soon established herself as one of the leading hostesses in European society. Several years later, while on the island of Madeira in Portugal, Alice met the future Prince Albert I of Monaco. From all accounts, the couple was immediately drawn to each other. Both had been married before and had children, and their personalities complemented each other. However, Albert’s father, Prince Charles III, did not approve of the match, and would not permit them to marry.

After four years, Prince Charles III died and Albert ascended to the Monegasque throne. Just seven weeks later, Alice and Albert married on October 30, 1889. Alice brought an extensive collection of jewels and a massive dowry of six million dollars.

Albert II, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Hugely welcomed by the people of Monaco, Alice quickly became instrumental in the principality’s development. Her advanced business sense and large dowry helped restore the nation’s financial stability. Alice then set out to turn Monaco into more than just a small principality dominated by its casino. An avid supporter of the arts, Alice brought the theater, opera, and ballet to Monaco, and is often credited with turning Monaco into one of the cultural hotspots in Europe.

While her husband supported her efforts in the arts, Alice never fully supported or understood Albert’s love of the sea and oceanography. Their mutual lack of support drove the couple apart, and Alice had an affair with the composer Isidore de Lara. Despite his own affairs, Prince Albert was devastated by his wife’s infidelity, but the couple continued to put on the facade of a happy marriage. However, it came crashing down in 1901. On the opening night of the opera, Prince Albert publicly accused Alice of her affair with the composer, in front of the entire opera hall, going as far as slapping her across the face. Humiliated, Alice left the opera immediately and left Monaco the next morning. Her husband quickly banned her from ever returning to Monaco, and made every effort to strip her from Monaco’s history. The couple was granted a legal separation in 1902 but never divorced.

Alice in her later years

Alice settled at Claridge’s in London, England where she established herself in the upper echelons of British society, entertaining extensively and continuing to patronize the arts. While in London, she became a close friend of Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.

Several years after her estranged husband’s death, Alice, now the Dowager Princess of Monaco, died in Paris, France on December 22, 1925, at the age of 67. She is buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France.

Grave of Alice Heine, Princess of Monaco; Credit – www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.