by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2015
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, therefore, the grandmother of Prince Rainier III, and the great-grandmother of Prince Albert II.
She 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. By 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.
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