Category Archives: Monaco Royals

Count Pierre de Polignac, Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Count Pierre de Polignac; Credit – Wikipedia

Count Pierre de Polignac, after his marriage, Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois, was the husband of Princess Charlotte of Monaco, daughter of Louis II, Prince of Monaco. Pierre and Charlotte were the parents of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco and the paternal grandparents of Albert II, the current Prince of Monaco. Count Pierre Marie Xavier Raphaël Antoine Melchior de Polignac was born on October 24, 1895 at the Château de Kerscamp in Hennebont, in the Britanny region of northwest France. He was the seventh of the eight children and the fourth of the five sons of Count Maxence de Polignac (1857 – 1936), from an old French noble family, and his Mexican-born wife Susana de la Torre y Mier (1858 – 1913). Pierre’s great-great-grandparents were Jules de Polignac, 1st Duke of Polignac and his wife Yolande de Polastron, Duchess of Polignac (1749 – 1793), a favorite of Queen Marie Antoinette of France, and the Governess to the Children of France from 1782 – 1789.

Pierre had seven siblings:

Countess Joséphine de Polignac (1882 – 1976), married Amaury de Jacquelot, Count du Boisrouvray, had two children
Countess Marie-Louise de Polignac (1884 – 1944), married Eon Charles Aimé Le Gouvello Du Timat, had seven children
Count Xavier de Polignac (1886 – 1941), married María de la Torre y Formento, had one child
Countess Anne de Polignac (1889 – 1970), became a nun, Sister Marie de St. Louis Bertrand
Count Bertrand de Polignac (1893 – 1910), died in his teens
Count Maxence de Polignac (1894 – 1963), married Laura de la Torre y Formento, had two children
Count Raymonde de Polignac (1900 – ?)

Meanwhile, in Monaco, there was a succession issue. Albert I, Prince of Monaco had only one child, a son, Louis, Hereditary Prince of Monaco (the future Louis II, Prince of Monaco). However, as Louis was unmarried and without an heir, the Monegasque throne was likely to pass to his first cousin once removed Prince Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, 2nd Duke of Urach, a German nobleman who was the son of his father’s aunt Princess Florestine of Monaco. However, Louis did have an illegitimate daughter. Louis served for ten years in the French Foreign Legion. While serving in Algeria, Louis met Marie Juliette Louvet, a cabaret singer. The couple was deeply in love, but Louis’ father would not grant permission to marry. A daughter, Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet, was born in 1898.

To avoid having Prince Wilhelm of Urach become the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Louis’ father, Albert I, Prince of Monaco arranged to have a law passed recognizing Charlotte as Louis’ heir and a member of the Princely Family of Monaco. However, this law was later ruled invalid under earlier statutes. In October 1918, another law was passed allowing for the adoption of an heir with succession rights. On May 16, 1919, Louis legally adopted his illegitimate daughter Charlotte, giving her the Grimaldi surname. Her grandfather Albert I, Prince of Monaco created her Her Serene Highness Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Duchess of Valentinois. Upon the death of her grandfather and the accession of her father to the throne of Monaco, Charlotte would become the Hereditary Princess of Monaco.

Princess Charlotte of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte’s grandfather Albert I, Prince of Monaco made a list of eligible young Frenchmen who could be prospective husbands for his granddaughter. One of the most promising was Count Pierre de Polignac, from one of the oldest French aristocratic families. Pierre was a frequent visitor to Monaco as the houseguest of the many rich and titled people who had homes in the principality. Charlotte had met Pierre and thought him handsome. However, according to the treaty with France and Monaco’s Bill of Accession, a female Grimaldi could inherit the throne only if her husband was also a Grimaldi. A prenuptial agreement was drawn up specifying Pierre’s name change, limiting his power if Charlotte became Sovereign Princess of Monaco, and guaranteeing him a large personal income for life.

Pierre and Charlotte on their wedding day; Credit – Mad for Monaco

On March 18, 1920, Pierre became Pierre Grimaldi, Count of Polignac. The next day Pierre and Charlotte were married at the Cathedral of Monaco and Pierre became His Serene Highness Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois, taking the male version of Charlotte’s title Duchess of Valentinois. Nine months later, on December 28, 1920, in Paris, France, Charlotte gave birth to Princess Antoinette of Monaco. Pierre and Charlotte had fulfilled their duty. Monaco had an heir even if Charlotte and Pierre never had a son. On June 26, 1922, Charlotte’s grandfather Prince Louis II died, her father succeeded to the throne as Louis II, Prince of Monaco, and Charlotte became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco. The next year, on May 31, 1923, Charlotte gave birth to the future Rainier III, Prince of Monaco.

Embed from Getty Images

Prince Pierre, Prince Rainier, Princess Charlotte, Princess Antoinette, and Louis II, Prince of Monaco on January 1, 1924

Pierre and Charlotte’s children:

Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy (1920 – 2011), married (1) Alexandre-Athenase Noghès, had three children who were born before marriage but were later legitimized, divorces (2) Dr. Jean-Charles Rey, no children, divorced (2) John Gilpin who died six weeks after the marriage
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (1923 – 2005), married Grace Kelly, had one son and two daughters

Once Pierre had produced a male heir, he was no longer necessary. His father-in-law Prince Louis II disliked him and Charlotte had become unhappy shortly after the marriage. In the mid-1920s, the couple unofficially separated. Pierre and Charlotte were legally separated by a French court on March 20, 1930. On February 18, 1933, they were divorced by the ordinance of Prince Louis II, and the divorce was confirmed by a French tribunal in December 1933. Pierre received an annual annuity of 500,000 francs. After the divorce, Pierre was styled His Serene Highness Prince Pierre of Monaco, losing the right to use the male counterpart of Charlotte’s title Duchess of Valentinois. The marriage was legally over but there was never an annulment from the Roman Catholic Church. Having been born illegitimate, and now divorced, Charlotte knew that she would never be fully accepted by the very Catholic Monaco, and so she renounced her succession rights to the Monegasque throne in May 1944 in favor of her son Rainier. Five years later, Charlotte’s father died, and Rainier became Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

Embed from Getty Images

Prince Pierre, circa 1960

During the reign of his son Prince Rainier III, Pierre lived in a villa near the Prince’s Palace in Monaco. In 1951, Pierre founded the Le Prix littéraire Prince Pierre de Monaco, an award to honor French-language writers with an exemplary body of work, and served as its president from 1951 until his death in 1964. In 1966, Pierre’s son Prince Rainier III expanded the original organization into The Prince Pierre Foundation in memory of his father who was a great patron of the arts. The foundation awards annual prizes in literature, music, and contemporary art. Pierre’s granddaughter The Princess of Hanover (Princess Caroline of Monaco) serves as the President. In 1957, Prince Pierre became President of the Monaco National Commission of UNESCO and the Monaco Olympic Committee. The Princess Caroline Ludothèque, a library, still in existence, offering children direct access to books, toys, and games, was founded by Prince Pierre in 1960, and named after his granddaughter Princess Caroline.

Chapelle de la Paix (Chapel of Peace) in Monaco. photo: www.structurae.info

On November 10, 1964, Prince Pierre, aged 69, died of cancer at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in the western suburbs of Paris, France. He was buried at the Chapelle de la Paix in Monaco where his former wife Princess Charlotte, his daughter Princess Antoinette and her deceased children have also been buried.

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Works Cited

Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Pierre,_Duke_of_Valentinois> [Accessed 7 May 2022].
Fondationprincepierre.mc. 2022. Prince Pierre | Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco. [online] Available at: <https://www.fondationprincepierre.mc/en/prince-pierre-40> [Accessed 7 May 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Pierre de Polignac — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Polignac> [Accessed 7 May 2022].
Mehl, Scott, 2013. Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/september-30-1898-birth-of-princess-charlotte-of-monaco-duchess-of-valentinois/> [Accessed 7 May 2022].
Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1964. Prince Pierre, 69, of Monaco Is Dead. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1964/11/11/97432520.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0> [Accessed 7 May 2022].

Antoinette de Merode, Princess of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Antoinette de Mérode, Princess of Monaco; Credit – https://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/

Antoinette Ghislaine de Merode, the wife of Charles III, Prince of Monaco, was born on September 28, 1828, in Brussels, then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and after 1831 in the Kingdom of Belgium. She was the sixth of the seven children and the fourth of the five daughters of Werner Jean-Baptiste Merode, Count of Merode (1797 – 1840), a Belgian politician from a Belgian noble family, and Countess Victoire de Spangen Uyternesse (1799-1845).

Antoinette had six siblings:

Louise de Merode (1819 – 1868), married Carlo Emmanuele dal Pozzo, 5th Prince of Cisterna, had two daughters including Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, Queen of Spain, Duchess of Aosta whose husband Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Aosta was briefly King of Spain
Louis Ghislain de Merode (1821 – 1876), married Anne de Rochechouart-Mortemart, had three children
Theresia de Merode (1823 – 1901) married her first cousin Werner de Merode, had four children
Françoise de Merode (1825 – 1885) married Léonel de Moustier, 5th Marquis of Moustier, had one son
Amaury de Merode (1827 – 1884), married Charlotte Georgery, had one son
Marie Ghislaine de Merode (1830 – 1892) married Antoine François d’Arenberg, Prince of Arenberg, had three children

Charles III, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 26, 1846, her 18th birthday, in Brussels, Belgium, Antoinette married the 27-year-old future Charles III, Prince of Monaco, then the Hereditary Prince of Monaco and Marquis of Baux. Charles was the son of Florestan, Prince of Monaco, and Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz. It was a double wedding, as Antoinette’s elder sister Louise married Carlo Emmanuele dal Pozzo, 5th Prince of Cisterna at the same time.

Late 19th-century drawing of the Château de Marchais; Credit – Wikipedia

Although they sometimes were in Monaco, Charles and Antoinette preferred to live in France, where Antoinette had acquired the Château de Marchais in Aisne in northern France. The Château de Marchais still belongs to the Princely Family of Monaco.

Charles and Antoinette had one child:

Albert I, Prince of Monaco (1848 – 1922), married (1) Lady Mary Hamilton, had one son, Louis II, Prince of Monaco, marriage annulled (2) Alice Heine, no children, legally separated

Antoinette’s mother-in-law Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, Princess of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Antoinette’s mother-in-law Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, Princess of Monaco showed her the ropes of French society and soon Antoinette was well known in the Parisian society of the Second Empire, ruled by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Napoléon III, Emperor of the French. In 1855, when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited France, Antoinette and Charles attended the magnificent ball in their honor at the Palace of Versailles. Antoinette was so affected by this that she decided her son Albert, who was only seven years old, would marry into the British royal family. This did not happen but Albert’s first wife was the daughter of the British William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton.

Charles’ father Florestan, Prince of Monaco died on June 20, 1856, and he was succeeded by his 38-year-old son as Charles III, Prince of Monaco. Antoinette was now Princess of Monaco. During his early reign, Charles had begun to lose his eyesight. He depended greatly on his wife Antoinette as his condition continued to worsen.

However, in 1862, Antoinette was diagnosed with cancer, and the advice and assistance of Charles’ mother Maria Carolina became vital. Even though Antoinette was very ill, she was more concerned about her husband and mother-in-law. She insisted to her husband that his 70-year-old mother must not take on too much work. In the last stages of her illness, Antoinette had been moved to the Château de Marchais in Aisne in northern France in the belief that the country air might help her. However, she soon asked to return to Monaco where she would be near her husband, her son, and her mother-in-law. Antoinette traveled from France to Monaco in a coach accompanied by a doctor and two maids. Three months later, on February 10, 1864, 35-year-old Antoinette died.

Antoinette’s grave; Credit – Credit – www.findagrave.com

Antoinette was buried in the crypt of the Church of Saint Nicholas in Monaco. Later in Charles III’s reign, construction began on a new and larger church, the Cathedral of Monaco, which was built on the site of the Church of Saint Nicholas. The original church was demolished in 1874 but the current cathedral was built over the areas of the previous church and the old burial site so that the sovereign princes and consorts originally buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas are now buried in the Cathedral of Monaco.

Charles never remarried. Because of his blindness, he was a recluse for the last decade of his life. He survived his wife Antoinette by twenty-five years, dying at the age of 71 from pneumonia on September 10, 1889, during a visit to the Château de Marchais in Aisne in northern France, with his sister Princess Florestine at his bedside. He was interred in the crypt of the Cathedral of Monaco, still not yet completed.

Works Cited

Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Antoinette de Mérode – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoinette_de_M%C3%A9rode> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
Flantzer, S., 2022. Charles III, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/charles-iii-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 7 May 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Florestan, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/florestan-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, Princess of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-caroline-gibert-de-lametz-princess-of-monaco/> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Antoinette de Merode — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoinette_de_Merode> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Werner de Merode (1797-1840) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_de_Merode_(1797-1840)> [Accessed 7 May 2022].
geni_family_tree. 2022. Antoinette Ghislaine Comtesse de Mérode-Westerloo. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/people/Antoinette-de-M%C3%A9rode-Westerloo/5294493014970050473> [Accessed 7 May 2022].
Nl.wikipedia.org. 2022. Werner de Merode – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_de_Merode> [Accessed 7 May 2022].

Charles III, Prince of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Charles III, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles Honoré Grimaldi was born on December 8, 1818, in Paris, France. During his reign as Charles III, Prince of Monaco, the famous Casino de Monte-Carlo was established and the construction of the Cathedral of Monaco began. He was the only son and the eldest of the two children of Florestan, Prince of Monaco, and Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz. Charles’ paternal grandparents were Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco and Louise d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye in her own right. His maternal grandparents were Marie Francoise Henriette le Gras de Vaubercy (1766 – 1845) and the second of her three husbands Charles-Thomas Gibert (1765 – ?).

Charles’ parents Florestan, Prince of Monaco and Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz; Credit – Wikipedia

Charles had one younger sister:

Princess Florestine of Monaco (1833 – 1897), married Wilhelm of Württemberg, 1st Duke of Urach, had two children

Charles was raised in France. In 1641, during the reign of Honoré II, Prince of Monaco, Monaco had become a French protectorate, and the Princes of Monaco became vassals of the Kings of France while remaining sovereign princes. Many successive Princes of Monaco and their families spent most of their lives in France and intermarried with French and Italian noble families. In January 1793, during the French Revolution, Charles’ great-grandfather Honoré III, Prince of Monaco was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France.

After the defeat of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French in 1814 and the Bourbon Restoration which saw Louis XVIII, a younger brother of the beheaded King Louis XVI, become King of France, Florestan’s uncle Prince Joseph of Monaco petitioned King Louis XVIII to restore the Principality of Monaco to the Grimaldi family. Florestan’s father Honoré IV finally became Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 1814. The independence of Monaco lasted for only one year. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna, an international diplomatic conference that reconstituted the European political order after the downfall of Napoleon I, declared that Monaco would be a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia, now part of Italy.

In 1841, when Charles’ father Florestan became Prince of Monaco upon the death of his unmarried brother Honoré V, neither 56-year-old Florestan nor his son 23-year-old son and heir Charles had ever been to Monaco. Florestan was ill-prepared to assume the role of Sovereign Prince. During his reign, the real power lay in the hands of his intelligent and capable wife Maria Caroline.

By 1842, Charles was disturbed by his mother’s takeover of Monaco. He realized that his father was content with the situation and would not intervene. Charles wrote a stern letter to his mother criticizing her actions and threatening to request the Kingdom of Sardinia (Monaco was still a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia) to force his father Florestan to abdicate in his favor. Maria Carolina replied with a scathing letter. Charles did make a request to Sardinia that was squelched by his mother. Charles and his mother Maria Carolina came to an understanding. For the rest of Florestan’s reign, Maria Caroline ruled Monaco with an iron fist because her indecisive and politically disinclined husband left all affairs of state to her.

Antoinette de Mérode, Princess of Monaco; Credit – https://www.historyofroyalwomen.com/

On September 28, 1846, in Brussels, Belgium, Charles married 18-year-old Countess Antoinette de Mérode, the daughter of Count Werner de Mérode, a Belgian politician, and Countess Victoire de Spangen Uyternesse. Although they sometimes were in Monaco, Charles and Antoinette preferred to live in France, where Antoinette had acquired the Château de Marchais in Aisne in northern France. The Château de Marchais still belongs to the Princely Family of Monaco.

Charles and Antoinette had one child:

Albert I, Prince of Monaco (1848 – 1922), married (1) Lady Mary Hamilton, had one son, Louis II, Prince of Monaco, marriage annulled (2) Alice Heine, no children, legally separated

Charles III, Prince of Monaco by François-Auguste Biard, 1869 ; Credit – Wikipedia

After a reign of nearly fifteen years, Florestan, Prince of Monaco died, aged 70, on June 20, 1856. He was succeeded by his 38-year-old son as Charles III, Prince of Monaco. At the time of Florestan’s death, Monaco was still a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia with little prospect of financial security. Despite the issues Charles had with his mother, Maria Caroline had prepared him to reign as the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Charles had the benefit of his mother’s advice for most of his reign as she was alive for twenty-three years of his thirty-three-year long reign.

The land in orange shows the part of Monaco that was annexed to France, leaving Monaco with a sliver of land less than one square mile on the Mediterranean Sea.; Credit – By Notscott – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4375559

During Charles’ early reign, the towns of Menton and Roquebrune, which made up nearly the entirety of Monaco’s territory, had become tired of heavy taxation. Menton and Roquebrune declared their independence, hoping for annexation by the Kingdom of Sardinia, but France protested. The unrest continued until Charles gave up his claim to Menton and Roquebrune which were formally ceded to France in exchange for 4 million francs. In 1860, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the French Empire under Napoleon III, Emperor of the French concluded the Treaty of Turin. Under the treaty, the Sardinian army pulled out of Monaco and Monaco became a French protectorate once again. This lasted for only one year. The Franco-Monégasque Treaty of 1861 recognized the independence of Monaco.

Casino de Monte-Carlo before 1878; Credit – Wikipedia

Despite receiving 4 million francs for the annexation of Menton and Roquebrune, the loss of revenues from Menton and Roquebrune greatly affected Monaco’s financial situation. It should not be surprising that to solve Monaco’s financial issues, the idea of opening a gambling casino in Monaco and developing Monaco into a seaside resort was Maria Caroline’s idea. She recalled visiting Hesse-Homburg, a small sovereign landgraviate in central Germany that was prosperous because of a gambling casino. The Casino de Monte-Carlo, named after Charles III as Carlo is the Italian for Charles (Monte-Carlo = Mount Charles in English), opened in 1865, nine years after the death of Florestan, and saved Monaco from bankruptcy. Fearing that the citizens of Monaco would squander their money on gambling, Maria Carolina had the idea to ban all citizens of Monaco from gambling at the casino. That rule is still in effect. At the time of the building of the casino, Monaco’s population was approximately 1,000. Within three years, thousands of people from England and other European countries had built homes in Monaco.

During his early reign, Charles had begun to lose his eyesight. He depended greatly on his wife Antoinette as his condition continued to worsen. However, in 1862, Antoinette was diagnosed with cancer, and the advice and assistance of Charles’ mother Maria Carolina became vital. Antoinette, aged 35, died on February 10, 1864. Charles never remarried. In 1869, upon the death of her husband, Charles’ sister Florestine came to Monaco to help care for her brother.

The Cathedral of Monaco; Credit – By User:Berthold Wernerld Werner – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15613011

Besides the Casino de Monte-Carlo, another important contribution Charles made to Monaco was a new cathedral. He decided to build a new and larger church on the original site of the Church of Saint Nicholas. The original church was demolished in 1874 and the first stone of the new church was laid in 1875. The new Cathedral of Monaco, completed after Charles III’s death, was dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception with Saint Nicholas of Myra and Saint Benoît (Saint Benedict of Nursia) as secondary patron saints. Sometimes the cathedral is called St. Nicholas Cathedral after the original church.

Despite dealing with the effects of aging, Maria Caroline remained sharp-minded and capable and was a constant force in the life of her son Charles. Maria Caroline survived her husband Florestan, Prince of Monaco by twenty-three years, dying at the age of 86, on November 25, 1879. She was interred at the new larger church that was still under construction, the Cathedral of Monaco, that her son Charles III was building.

Grave of Charles III, Prince of Monaco; Credit – www.findagrave.com

By the end of his life, Charles was richer than he ever dreamed but he was also ill and lonely. Because of his blindness, he had been a recluse for the last decade of his life. Charles III, Prince of Monaco, aged 71, died from pneumonia on September 10, 1889, during a visit to the Château de Marchais in Aisne in northern France, with his sister Princess Florestine at his bedside. He was interred in the crypt of the Cathedral of Monaco, still not yet completed.

Works Cited

Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Antoinette de Mérode – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoinette_de_M%C3%A9rode> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Charles III, Prince of Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III,_Prince_of_Monaco> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Florestan, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/florestan-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, Princess of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-caroline-gibert-de-lametz-princess-of-monaco/> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Antoinette de Merode — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoinette_de_Merode> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Charles III (prince de Monaco) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III_(prince_de_Monaco)> [Accessed 6 May 2022].

Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, Princess of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Maria Carolina Gibert de Lametz, Princess of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on July 18, 1793, in Coulommiers, France, Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, wife of Florestan, Prince of Monaco, was the only child of Marie Francoise Henriette le Gras de Vaubercy (1766 – 1845) and the second of her three husbands Charles-Thomas Gibert (1765 – ?) who was a lawyer. Marie Francoise’s first husband Augustin Musnier de Mauroy, Baron Musnier de Mauroy had died in 1789. She then married Charles-Thomas Gibert and the couple divorced in 1797.

Maria Caroline had an elder half-brother from her mother’s first marriage to Augustin Musnier de Mauroy, Baron Musnier de Mauroy:

Louis Pierre Musnier de Mauroy, Baron Musnier de Mauroy (1788 – 1851), married Amélie d’Aumont, had two sons

After divorcing Maria Caroline’s father, Marie Francoise married her third husband Antoine Rouyer de Lametz (1762 – 1836), Chevalier d’Empire and Knight of the Legion of Honor. The marriage did not produce any children but Antoine Rouyer de Lametz officially adopted his wife’s daughter Maria Caroline and she added “de Lametz” to her name.

In 1814, Marie Caroline’s half-brother Louis Pierre Musnier de Mauroy married Amélie d’Aumont at the Château de Lametz (link in French), the home of his mother’s third husband Antoine Rouyer de Lametz. Amélie d’Aumont was the illegitimate daughter of Louise d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye in her own right. Louise d’Aumont had also been Hereditary Princess of Monaco as the wife of the future Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco but the couple had divorced in 1798 before Honoré IV became Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

Florestan, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Florestan of Monaco, Louise d’Aumont’s younger son with Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco, attended his half-sister’s wedding celebrations and met Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, the half-sister of the groom. Florestan spent the summer of 1815 at the Château de Lametz and the couple decided to marry. Because Florestan’s family did not approve of the marriage, the wedding, on November 27, 1816, was quiet and modest.

Florestan and Maria Caroline had two children:

Charles III, Prince of Monaco (1818 – 1889), married Antoinette de Mérode, had one son Albert I, Prince of Monaco
Princess Florestine of Monaco (1833 – 1897), married Wilhelm of Württemberg, 1st Duke of Urach, had two children

Florestan and Maria Carolina lived in France. In 1641, during the reign of Honoré II, Monaco had become a French protectorate, and the Princes of Monaco became vassals of the Kings of France while remaining sovereign princes. Many successive Princes of Monaco and their families spent most of their lives in France and intermarried with French and Italian noble families. In January 1793, during the French Revolution, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France.

After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814 and the Bourbon Restoration which saw Louis XVIII, a younger brother of the beheaded King Louis XVI, become King of France, Florestan’s uncle Joseph petitioned King Louis XVIII to restore the Principality of Monaco to the Grimaldi family. Florestan’s father Honoré IV finally became Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 1814. The independence of Monaco lasted for only one year. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna, an international diplomatic conference that reconstituted the European political order after the downfall of Napoleon I, declared that Monaco would be a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Florestan’s mother Louise, d’Aumont was Louise was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, the mistress of King Charles II of England, and one of the two heirs of her uncle Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the First Minister of King Louis XIV of France. Louise was the heir of Hortense Mancini’s titles and the Mazarin family wealth. When Florestan’s mother Louise died in 1826, she left her entire fortune to her younger son Florestan because her elder son Honoré V had an illegitimate child. Maria Caroline was a skillful businesswoman. She handled the finances of the family, and successfully managed the fortune Florestan inherited from his mother.

Florestan’s elder brother Honoré V, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Because Florestan’s brother Honoré V, Prince of Monaco had never married, Florestan was the heir to the throne of Monaco. After a reign of twenty-two years, Honoré V, Prince of Monaco died on October 2, 1841, in Paris, France, aged 63, and was succeeded by his brother Florestan.

Florestan had lived in France his entire life and had never been to Monaco. He was ill-prepared to assume the role of Sovereign Prince. During his reign, the real power lay in the hands of his wife Maria Caroline. She took over the finances of Monaco just as she had done with the family finances. Maria Caroline ruled Monaco with an iron fist because her indecisive and politically disinclined husband left all affairs of state to her.

By 1842, Maria Carolina’s son Charles was disturbed by his mother’s takeover of Monaco. He realized that his father was content with the situation and would not intervene. Charles wrote a stern letter to his mother criticizing her actions and threatening to request the Kingdom of Sardinia (Monaco was still a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia) to force his father Florestan to abdicate in his favor. Maria Caroline replied with a scathing letter. Charles did make a request to Sardinia that was squelched by his mother. Maria Carolina and her son Charles came to an understanding. For the rest of Florestan’s reign, Maria Caroline ruled Monaco with an iron fist because her indecisive and politically disinclined husband left all affairs of state to her.

Charles III, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

After a reign of nearly fifteen years, Florestan, Prince of Monaco died, aged 70, on June 20, 1856, in Paris, France. He was succeeded by his 38-year-old son Charles III, Prince of Monaco. At the time of Florestan’s death, Monaco was a weakened country with little prospect of financial security. However, Charles III had been well prepared by his mother Maria Caroline to reign as the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. He had the benefit of his mother’s advice for most of his reign as she was alive for twenty-three years of his thirty-three-year long reign.

During Charles III’s early reign, the towns of Menton and Roquebrune, which made up 95% of Monaco’s territory, were formally ceded to France, which resulted in France’s formal recognition of Monaco’s independence. However, rebellions in these towns had exhausted Monaco’s military resources for decades.

Casino de Monte-Carlo before 1878; Credit – Wikipedia

It should not be surprising that to solve Monaco’s financial issues, the idea of opening a gambling casino in Monaco and developing Monaco into a seaside resort was Maria Caroline’s idea. She recalled visiting Hesse-Homburg, a small sovereign landgraviate in central Germany that was prosperous because of a gambling casino. The Casino de Monte-Carlo, named after Charles III as Carlo is the Italian for Charles (Monte-Carlo = Mount Charles in English), opened in 1865, nine years after the death of Florestan, and saved Monaco from bankruptcy. Fearing that the citizens of Monaco would squander their money on gambling, Maria Carolina had the idea to ban all citizens of Monaco from gambling at the casino. That rule is still in effect.

At the time of the building of the casino, Monaco’s population was approximately 1,000. Within three years, thousands of people from England and other European countries had built homes in Monaco. Maria Caroline remained an advisor to her son for the rest of her life. Her assistance was especially needed after her son Charles III began to go blind and his wife Antoinette de Mérode died from cancer in 1864 at the age of 35.

Grave of Maria Caroline, Princess of Monaco; Credit – https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7832623/caroline-gilbert_de-lametz#view-photo=2562571

Maria Caroline survived her husband Florestan, Prince of Monaco by twenty-three years, dying at the age of 86, on November 25, 1879, in Monaco. She was interred at the new larger church that was still under construction, the Cathedral of Monaco, that her son Charles III was building to replace the Church of Saint Nicholas.

Works Cited

Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Charles III, Prince of Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III,_Prince_of_Monaco> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Caroline_Gibert_de_Lametz> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Florestan, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/florestan-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Caroline Gibert — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Gibert> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Charles III (prince de Monaco) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III_(prince_de_Monaco)> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Florestan — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florestan> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
Geneanet. 2022. Family tree of Louis Pierre MUSNIER de MAUROY. [online] Available at: <https://gw.geneanet.org/peter781?lang=en&p=louis+pierre&n=musnier+de+mauroy> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
Thepeerage.com. 2022. Person Page – Marie Francoise Le Gras de Vaubercy. [online] Available at: <http://www.thepeerage.com/p74097.htm#i740962> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
Wikitree.com. 2022. Marie-Louise Charlotte Gabrielle (Gibert) de Monaco (1793-1879) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree. [online] Available at: <https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gibert-4> [Accessed 27 April 2022].

Florestan, Prince of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Florestan, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Tancrède Florestan Roger Louis Grimaldi was born in Paris, France on October 10, 1785. He was the younger of the two sons of Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco and Louise d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye in her own right. Honoré V’s paternal grandparents were Honoré III, Prince of Monaco and Maria Caterina Brignole who came from a Republic of Genoa (now in Italy) noble family. His maternal grandparents were Louis Marie Guy d’Aumont, Duke of Aumont (link in French) and Louise Jeanne de Durfort, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye (link in French).

Florestan’s parents Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco and Louise, d’Aumont; Credit – Wikipedia

Florestan’s mother Louise, d’Aumont was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, the mistress of King Charles II of England, and one of the two heirs of her uncle Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the First Minister of King Louis XIV of France. Louise was the heir of Hortense Mancini’s titles and the Mazarin family wealth.

Florestan’s elder brother Honoré V, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Florestan had one elder brother:

Honoré V, Prince of Monaco (1778 – 1841), unmarried

In 1641, during the reign of Honoré II, Monaco had become a French protectorate, and the Princes of Monaco became vassals of the Kings of France while remaining sovereign princes. Many successive Princes of Monaco and their families spent most of their lives in France and intermarried with French and Italian noble families.

Florestan’s grandfather, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

The French Revolution had dire consequences for the princely family of Monaco. In January 1793, Florestan’s grandfather Honoré III, Prince of Monaco was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France. The members of the former ruling Grimaldi dynasty lost all aristocratic privileges in France, were dispossessed of their French property, and became French citizens. During the Reign of Terror, in September 1793, eight-year-old brother Florestan, his parents Honoré IV and Louise, and his grandfather Honoré III were arrested and imprisoned in Paris as enemies of the people.

Heads of aristocrats on pikes during the Reign of Terror; Credit -Wikipedia

Florestan and his mother Louise were rescued by a family doctor who forged release papers and then hid them in his home until the Reign of Terror was over. The wife of Florestan’s paternal uncle Prince Joseph of Monaco was not as lucky. Joseph spent most of his time abroad negotiating foreign loans which made him a suspect of counter-revolutionary activities. When Joseph did become involved in a counter-revolution, his wife Marie Thérèse de Choiseul was arrested in the absence of her husband, condemned to death, and guillotined in 1794, one of the last victims before the end of the Reign of Terror.

In October 1794, Florestan’s grandfather Honoré III and father Honoré IV were released from prison. Honoré III never recovered from his imprisonment and died in Paris on March 21, 1795, at the age of 74. Honoré IV, whose chronic ill health had been worsened by imprisonment, would have become Prince of Monaco but Monaco was no longer a sovereign monarchy. However, Honoré IV’s family properties in France which had been confiscated were returned to him but they were in poor condition and all of the contents were gone.

In 1794, Florestan’s mother Louise had given birth to an illegitimate daughter Amélie Céleste Erodore d’Aumont while her husband Honoré IV was still imprisoned. The father of the child is believed to have been Antoine de Montazet, Archbishop of Lyon. After Honoré IV’s release from prison, Louise and Honoré IV’s marriage became unhappy and the couple separated, eventually divorcing in 1798. Louise made a second marriage to René François Tirnand-d’Arcis on February 6, 1801, and divorced him in 1803.

While growing up, Florestan saw his father infrequently and the seven-year age gap between Florestan and his brother Honoré V meant that Florestan stayed with his mother while his brother had a successful career in Napoleon’s army. To his mother’s shock, at the age of seventeen, Florestan became an actor in the Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique in Paris. Florestan joined the French army after being threatened with disinheritance by his mother. He struggled with army life and never rose above the rank of corporal. Florestan was taken prisoner in 1812 during the unsuccessful French invasion of Russia and was not released until 1814.

By the time Honoré IV became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, his physical condition had worsened and he was now paralyzed on one side of his body. Because of his condition, a regency was established to rule in his name. Honoré IV’s brother Joseph was regent from 1814 -1815 and then Florestan’s brother Honoré V served as regent until his father’s death in 1819 when he succeeded him as Honoré V, Prince of Monaco.

Florestan’s wife Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1814, Amélie d’Aumont, the illegitimate daughter of Florestan’s mother, and therefore, his half-sister, married Louis Pierre Musnier de Mauroy at the Château de Lametz (link in French). During the wedding celebrations, Florestan met Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, the half-sister of the groom. Florestan spent the summer of 1815 at the Château de Lametz and the couple decided to marry. Because Florestan’s family did not approve of the marriage, the wedding, on November 27, 1816, was quiet and modest.

Florestan and Maria Caroline had two children:

Charles III, Prince of Monaco (1818 – 1889), married Antoinette de Mérode, had one son Albert I, Prince of Monaco
Princess Florestine of Monaco (1833 – 1897), married Wilhelm of Württemberg, 1st Duke of Urach, had two children

When Florestan’s mother Louise died in Paris, France on December 13, 1826, aged 67, she left her entire fortune to her younger son Florestan because her elder son Honoré V had an illegitimate child. After this, Honoré V and Florestan never spoke to each other. Florestan’s wife Maria Caroline was a skillful businesswoman. She handled the finances of the family, and successfully managed the fortune Florestan inherited from his mother.

Because Honoré V had never married, Florestan was the heir to the throne of Monaco. Neither Florestan nor his son Charles had ever been to Monaco. Honoré V had lived in Paris, making only two annual trips to Monaco. After a reign of twenty-two years, Honoré V, Prince of Monaco died on October 2, 1841, in Paris, France, aged 63, and was succeeded by his brother Florestan.

By 1842, Florestan’s son Charles was disturbed by his mother’s takeover of Monaco. He realized that his father was content with the situation and would not intervene. Charles wrote a stern letter to his mother criticizing her actions and threatening to request the Kingdom of Sardinia (Monaco was still a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia) to force his father Florestan to abdicate in his favor. Maria Caroline replied with a scathing letter. Charles did make a request to Sardinia that was squelched by his mother. Maria Carolina and her son Charles came to an understanding. For the rest of Florestan’s reign, Maria Caroline ruled Monaco with an iron fist because her indecisive and politically disinclined husband left all affairs of state to her.

Entrance to the common vault where the Grimaldi family members originally buried at the Church of St. Nicholas are buried; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Florestan, Prince of Monaco died, aged 70, on June 20, 1856, in Paris, France. He was buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Monaco. During the reign of Florestan’s son Charles III, Prince of Monaco, a new and larger church, the Cathedral of Monaco, was built on the site of the Church of Saint Nicholas. The original church was demolished in 1874 but the current cathedral was built over the areas of the previous church and the old burial site so that the sovereign princes and consorts originally buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas are now buried in the Cathedral of Monaco.

At the time of Florestan’s death, Monaco was a weakened country with little prospect of financial security. It was not until the reign of Florestan and Maria Caroline’s son Charles III, that the finances of Monaco would finally be in order. It should not be surprising that the idea of opening a gambling casino in Monaco was Maria Caroline’s idea. The Casino de Monte-Carlo opened in 1865, nine years after the death of Florestan, and saved Monaco from bankruptcy. Maria Caroline survived her husband by twenty-three years, dying at the age of 86, on November 25, 1879, in Monaco.

Works Cited

Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Florestan, Prince of Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florestan,_Prince_of_Monaco> [Accessed 22 April 2022].
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Caroline_Gibert_de_Lametz> [Accessed 22 April 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-iv-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré V, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-v-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 22 April 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Louise d’Aumont, Hereditary Princess of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/louise-daumont-hereditary-princess-of-monaco/> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Florestan — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florestan> [Accessed 22 April 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Caroline Gibert — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Gibert> [Accessed 22 April 2022].

Honoré V, Prince of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Honoré V, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Honoré Gabriel Grimaldi was born on May 13, 1778, in Paris, France. He was the elder of the two sons of Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco and Louise d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye in her own right. Honoré V’s paternal grandparents were Honoré III, Prince of Monaco and Maria Caterina Brignole who came from a Republic of Genoa (now in Italy) noble family. His maternal grandparents were Louis Marie Guy d’Aumont, Duke of Aumont (link in French) and Louise Jeanne de Durfort, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye (link in French).

Honoré V’s parents Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco and Louise, d’Aumont; Credit – Wikipedia

Honoré V’s mother Louise, d’Aumont was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, the mistress of King Charles II of England, and one of the two heirs of her uncle Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the First Minister of King Louis XIV of France. Louise was the heir of Hortense Mancini’s titles and the Mazarin family wealth.

Honoré V had one younger brother:

Florestan, Prince of Monaco (1785 – 1856), married Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, had one son and one daughter

Honoré V’s grandfather, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

The French Revolution had dire consequences for the princely family of Monaco. In January 1793, Honoré V’s grandfather Honoré III, Prince of Monaco was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France. The members of the former ruling Grimaldi dynasty lost all aristocratic privileges in France, were dispossessed of their French property, and became French citizens. During the Reign of Terror, in September 1793, Honoré V’s parents Honoré IV and Louise, his eight-year-old brother Florestan, and his grandfather Honoré III were arrested and imprisoned in Paris as enemies of the people. Apparently, fifteen-year-old Honoré V somehow escaped imprisonment.

Heads of aristocrats on pikes during the Reign of Terror; Credit -Wikipedia

Honoré V’s mother Louise and his brother Florestan were rescued by a family doctor who forged release papers and then hid them in his home until the Reign of Terror was over. The wife of Honoré V’s paternal uncle Prince Joseph of Monaco was not as lucky. Joseph spent most of his time abroad negotiating foreign loans which made him a suspect of counter-revolutionary activities. When Joseph did become involved in a counter-revolution, his wife Marie Thérèse de Choiseul was arrested in the absence of her husband, condemned to death, and guillotined in 1794, one of the last victims before the end of the Reign of Terror.

In October 1794, Honoré V’s grandfather Honoré III and father Honoré IV were released from prison. Honoré III never recovered from his imprisonment and died in Paris on March 21, 1795, at the age of 74. Honoré IV, whose chronic ill health had been worsened by imprisonment, would have become Prince of Monaco but Monaco was no longer a sovereign monarchy. However, Honoré IV’s family properties in France which had been confiscated were returned to him but they were in poor condition and all of the contents were gone.

In 1794, Honoré V’s mother Louise had given birth to an illegitimate daughter Amélie Céleste Erodore d’Aumont while her husband Honoré IV was still imprisoned. The father of the child is believed to have been Antoine de Montazet, Archbishop of Lyon. After Honoré IV’s release from prison, Louise and Honoré IV’s marriage became unhappy and the couple separated. In 1798, Louise divorced Honoré IV, giving Louise sole access to her fortune. Louise married René François Tirnand-d’Arcis on February 6, 1801, and divorced him in 1803. When Honoré V’s mother Louise died in Paris, France on December 13, 1826, aged 67, she left her entire fortune to her younger son Florestan because Honoré V had an illegitimate child. (Explained below.)

Embed from Getty Images

Murat leading a cavalry charge during the Battle of Jena. Presumably, Honoré V is one of the officers following him

During the latter part of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte rose to prominence and in 1799, he became the First Consul of France. Later Napoleon was Emperor of the French (1804–1814 and 1815). In 1798, Honoré V joined the French army and served as an officer under General Emmanuel de Grouchy, 2nd Marquis of Grouchy. in the French Revolutionary Wars. Honoré V’s courage in battle was noted many times. He was wounded during the Battle of Hohenlinden. Honoré V fought in the Battle of Jena in the ranks of the cavalry corps led by the brother-in-law of Napoleon, Joachim Murat, with whom he forced an entire enemy battalion to surrender. Because of his heroic deeds, Honoré V received the Legion of Honor and the title Baron of Monaco of the Napoleonic Empire.

After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814 and the Bourbon Restoration which saw Louis XVIII, a younger brother of the beheaded King Louis XVI, become King of France, Honoré V’s uncle Joseph petitioned King Louis XVIII to restore the Principality of Monaco to the Grimaldi family. Honoré V’s father Honoré IV finally became Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 1814. However, Honoré IV’s physical condition had worsened and he was now paralyzed on one side of his body. Because of Honoré IV’s condition, a regency was established to rule in his name. Honoré IV’s brother Joseph was regent from 1814 -1815 and then Honoré V served as regent until his father’s death in 1819 when he succeeded him as Honoré V, Prince of Monaco.

The powers in Europe were determined to eliminate the French interest in Monaco because of the role Monaco had played in the rise of Napoleon. Monaco was designated a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia (which included the island of Sardinia, Piedmont, Savoy, Aosta, and Nice) by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Monaco remained a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia until 1860, during the reign of Honoré V’s nephew Charles III, Prince of Monaco, when, by the Treaty of Turin, the Sardinian forces pulled out of Monaco and it became a French protectorate once again.

However, the immediate result of becoming a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1815 was an economic one. The Sardinian government closed the tobacco plantations that Honoré III had planted in Piedmont and blocked an important source of income for Monaco. Honoré V made a trip to Turin, Savoy to try to persuade Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy to reopen the tobacco plantations but was unsuccessful. Honoré V was forced to increase the taxes in Monaco which increased his unpopularity. The economic situation in Monaco caused the population to rebel, necessitating army troops from Savoy to quell the rebellion.

Honoré V never married. With his mistress Félicité de Gamaches (1781 – 1819), Honoré V had one son Louis Gabriel Oscar Grimaldi, called Oscar, who was born on June 9, 1814, in Paris, France. At the time of his birth, it was noted that Oscar was “born to an unknown father and mother”. A few months after his birth, on November 28, 1814, Honoré V came before Paris notary Alexandre Toussaint Delacour and declared that Oscar was his son. However, officially, his mother remained undetermined for the rest of his life. Oscar was legitimized and given the title Marquis of Baux which was not recognized in France. Oscar had a career as a lawyer and a French government official. When his father Honoré V died in 1841, Oscar received his personal property. He never married and died in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France on July 15, 1894, aged 80.

Entrance to the common vault where the Grimaldi family members originally buried at the Church of St. Nicholas are buried; Credit – www.findagrave.com

After a reign of twenty-two years, Honoré V, Prince of Monaco died on October 2, 1841, in Paris, France, aged 63, and was succeeded by his brother Florestan. He was buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Monaco. During the late 19th century, a new and larger church, the Cathedral of Monaco, was built on the site of the Church of Saint Nicholas. The original church was demolished in 1874 but the current cathedral was built over the areas of the previous church and the old burial site so that the sovereign princes and consorts originally buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas are now buried in the Cathedral of Monaco.

Works Cited

Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Honoré V, Prince of Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_V,_Prince_of_Monaco> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-iv-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Louise d’Aumont, Hereditary Princess of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/louise-daumont-hereditary-princess-of-monaco/> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Honoré V (prince de Monaco) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_V_(prince_de_Monaco)> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Oscar Grimaldi — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Grimaldi> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
It.wikipedia.org. 2022. Onorato V di Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onorato_V_di_Monaco> [Accessed 3 April 2022].

Louise d’Aumont, Hereditary Princess of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Louise d’Aumont; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise d’Aumont was the wife of Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. However, Louise divorced Honoré before he became Prince of Monaco, and so the title she held during their marriage was Hereditary Princess of Monaco. Louise Félicité Victoire d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye was born on October 22, 1759, at the Hôtel d’Aumont in Paris, France. She was the only child of Louis Marie Guy d’Aumont, Duke of Aumont (link in French) (1732 – 1799), and Louise Jeanne de Durfort, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye (link in French) (1735 – 1781). Her paternal grandparents were Louis Marie Augustin d’Aumont de Rochebaron, Duke of Aumont (1709 – 1782) and Victoire Felicite de Durfort. Her maternal grandparents were Emmanuel Félicité de Durfort, Duke of Duras (1715 – 1789) and his first wife Charlotte Antoinette de La Porte (1719 – 1735).

Louise’s mother Louise Jeanne de Durfort, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye; Credit – Wikipedia

Through her mother, Louise was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, the mistress of King Charles II of England, and one of the two heirs of her uncle Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the First Minister of King Louis XIV of France. Louise was the heir of Hortense Mancini’s titles and the Mazarin family wealth.

Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Noting the family wealth and the large dowry that would come with marriage, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco arranged a marriage for his son and heir Honoré (IV) to Louise. The couple married on July 15, 1777.

Louise and Honoré (IV) had two sons, both Sovereign Princes of Monaco:

Honoré V, Prince of Monaco (1778 – 1841), unmarried
Florestan, Prince of Monaco (1785 – 1856), married Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, had one son and one daughter

The French Revolution had dire consequences for the princely family of Monaco. In January 1793, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France. The members of the former ruling Grimaldi dynasty lost all aristocratic privileges in France, were dispossessed of their French property, and became French citizens. During the Reign of Terror, in September 1793, Honoré (IV), Louise, their son Florestan, and Honoré (IV)’s father Honoré III were arrested and imprisoned in Paris as enemies of the people. Louise and her son Florestan were rescued by a family doctor who forged release papers and then hid them in his home until the Reign of Terror was over. The wife of Honoré IV’s brother Joseph was not as lucky. Joseph spent most of his time abroad negotiating foreign loans which made him a suspect of counter-revolutionary activities. When Joseph did become involved in a counter-revolution, his wife Marie Thérèse de Choiseul was arrested in the absence of her husband, condemned to death, and guillotined in 1794, one of the last victims before the end of the Reign of Terror.

In October 1794, Honoré III and Honoré (IV) were released from prison. Honoré III never recovered from his imprisonment and died in Paris on March 21, 1795, at the age of 74, but his burial place is unknown. Honoré IV, whose chronic ill health had been worsened by imprisonment, would have become Prince of Monaco but Monaco was no longer a sovereign monarchy. However, Honoré IV’s family properties in France were returned to him but they were in poor condition and all of the contents were gone.

Louise on a Monaco postage stamp; Credit – The Peerage

In 1794, while Honoré IV was still in prison, Louise had given birth to an illegitimate daughter Amélie Céleste Erodore d’Aumont. The father of the child is believed to have been Antoine de Montazet, Archbishop of Lyon. After Honoré IV’s release from prison, Louise and Honoré IV’s marriage became unhappy and the couple separated. In 1798, Louise divorced Honoré IV, giving Louise sole access to her fortune. Louise married René François Tirnand-d’Arcis on February 6, 1801, and divorced him in 1803.

After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814 and the Bourbon Restoration which saw Louis XVIII, a younger brother of the beheaded King Louis XVI, become King of France, Honoré IV’s brother Joseph petitioned King Louis XVIII to restore the Principality of Monaco to the Grimaldi family. Louise’s former husband Honoré IV finally became Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 1814. However, his physical condition had worsened and he was now paralyzed on one side of his body. Because of Honoré IV’s condition, a regency was established to rule in his name. Honoré IV’s brother Joseph was regent from 1814 -1815 and then Louise and Honoré IV’s elder son Honoré served as regent until his father’s death in 1819 when he succeeded him as Honoré V, Prince of Monaco. In a somewhat hypocritical move, Louise removed her elder son Honoré V, Prince of Monaco from her will because he had an illegitimate child, and left her entire fortune to her younger son Florestan who became Sovereign Prince of Monaco upon his unmarried elder brother’s death in 1841.

Louise’s first burial site at Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris; Credit – CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22545708

Louise died in Paris, France on December 13, 1826, aged 67. She was initially interred in a mausoleum at Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris but in 1885, her grandson Charles III, Prince of Monaco ordered her remains transferred to the new Cathedral of Monaco.

Louise’s grave at the Cathedral of Monaco; Credit – https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7832648/louise-d_aumont_mazarin#view-photo=2562563

Works Cited

Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Louise d’Aumont – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_d%27Aumont> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-iv-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 23 March 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Louise d’Aumont — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_d%27Aumont> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
geni_family_tree. 2022. Louise d’Aumont, duchesse d’Aumont. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/people/Louise-d-Aumont-duchesse-d-Aumont/5294681026870107703> [Accessed 23 March 2022].

Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Honoré Charles Anne Grimaldi was born in Paris, France on May 17, 1758. He was the elder of the two sons of Honoré III, Prince of Monaco and Maria Caterina Brignole who came from a Republic of Genoa (now in Italy) noble family. Honoré’s paternal grandparents were Louise-Hippolyte, Sovereign Princess of Monaco for ten months before her death from smallpox, and Jacques I, briefly the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, born Jacques François Leonor Goyon de Matignon. His maternal grandparents were Giuseppe Brignole, Marquis di Groppoli, the Ambassador to France from the Republic of Genoa, now in Italy, and Maria Anna Balbi.

Honoré IV had one younger brother:

Prince Joseph of Monaco, Regent of Monaco (1763 – 1816), married (1) Marie Thérèse de Choiseul, had three children, Marie Thérèse was guillotined during the French Revolution (2) Frances Margaret Powell, no children

Honoré IV’s parents had issues with their marriage. Honoré III and Maria Caterina initially lived in Monaco but by 1760, Honoré III was dissatisfied with his life there, and returned to France without his wife, spending time with his mistresses at his French homes. Eventually, Maria Caterina was allowed to come to France. However, Honoré III continued his affairs and Maria Caterina began an affair, that would become long-term, with Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé. In 1770, Louis Joseph used his influence to obtain a legal separation for Maria Caterina from Honoré III and the right to manage her own finances. Honoré III finally realized his relationship with Maria Caterina was over and eventually accepted Maria Caterina’s relationship with Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé. Three years after Honoré III’s death in 1798, Maria Caterina and Louis Joseph were married but their marriage was kept secret for ten years.

The Hôtel de Matignon, the Grimaldis’ Paris residence, now the official residence of the Prime Minister of France; Credit – By ScareCriterion12 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62918157

Honoré IV and his brother Joseph grew up mostly in France, living in homes inherited from their paternal grandfather Jacques III Goyon de Matignon, Count of Thorigny: a Paris mansion, the Hôtel de Matignon, now the official residence of the Prime Minister of France, and the Château des Matignon (link in French) in Torigni-sur-Vire in Normandy, France. In 1641, during the reign of Honoré II, Monaco had become a French protectorate, and the Princes of Monaco became vassals of the Kings of France while remaining sovereign princes. Many successive Princes of Monaco and their families spent most of their lives in France and intermarried with French and Italian noble families.

Louise d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin; Credit – Wikipedia

Honoré III arranged a marriage for his son Honoré (IV) to Louise d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, the only child of Louis Marie Guy d’Aumont de Rochebaron, Duke of Aumont (1732 – 1799) and Louise-Jeanne de Durfort, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye (1735 – 1781). Through her mother, Louise was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, the mistress of King Charles II of England, and one of the two heirs of her uncle Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the First Minister of King Louis XIV of France. Louise was the heir of Hortense Mancini’s titles and the Mazarin family wealth. Therefore, a marriage to Louise came with a large dowry and the prospect of a fortune. Honoré (IV) and Louise married on July 15, 1777.

Honoré V, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

The marriage did produce two sons, both Sovereign Princes of Monaco:

Honoré V, Prince of Monaco (1778 – 1841), unmarried
Florestan, Prince of Monaco (1785 – 1856), married Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, had one son and one daughter

Heads of aristocrats on pikes during the French Revolution; Credit – Wikipedia

The French Revolution had dire consequences for the Grimaldi family. In January 1793, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France. The members of the former ruling Grimaldi dynasty lost all aristocratic privileges in France, were dispossessed of their French property, and became French citizens. During the Reign of Terror, in September 1793, Honoré (IV), his wife Louise, their son Florestan, and Honoré (IV)’s father Honoré III were arrested and imprisoned in Paris as enemies of the people. Louise and her son Florestan were rescued by a family doctor who forged release papers and then hid them in his home until the Reign of Terror was over. The wife of Honoré IV’s brother Joseph was not as lucky. Joseph spent most of his time abroad negotiating foreign loans which made him a suspect of counter-revolutionary activities. When Joseph did become involved in a counter-revolution, his wife Marie Thérèse was arrested in the absence of her husband, condemned to death, and guillotined in 1794, one of the last victims before the end of the Reign of Terror.

The French Army during the Russian Campaign, 1812; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French. Honoré IV could not adapt to the new French society and for the most part, remained an outsider. Because of a lack of funds, he needed to sell his family’s Paris and Normandy homes. Surprisingly, Honoré IV’s health improved and he joined the French Army. He was wounded during Napoleon’s Russian Campaign, lost the use of one arm, and was sent back to Paris.

Entrance to the common vault where the Grimaldi family members originally buried at the Church of St. Nicholas are buried; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco died in Paris, France on February 16, 1819, aged 60. He was buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Monaco. During the late 19th century, a new and larger church, the Cathedral of Monaco, was built on the site of the Church of Saint Nicholas. The original church was demolished in 1874 but the current cathedral was built over the areas of the previous church and the old burial site so that the sovereign princes and consorts originally buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas are now buried in the Cathedral of Monaco.

Works Cited

Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_IV,_Prince_of_Monaco> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Louise d’Aumont – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_d%27Aumont> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré III, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-iii-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Maria Caterina Brignole, Princess of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maria-caterina-brignole-princess-of-monaco/> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Honoré IV (prince de Monaco) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_IV_(prince_de_Monaco)> [Accessed 22 March 2022].
Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Louise d’Aumont — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_d%27Aumont> [Accessed 22 March 2022].

Maria Caterina Brignole, Princess of Monaco

Maria Caterina Brignole, Princess of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

The wife of Honoré III, Prince of Monaco, Maria Caterina Brignole, was born on October 7, 1737, at the Palazzo Rosso in the Republic of Genoa, now in Italy. She was the only child of Giuseppe Brignole Sale, 7th Marquis di Groppoli, an Ambassador of the Republic of Genoa to France, and Maria Anna Balbi. After the death of his brother Gian Giacomo Brignole Sale (1696 – 1734), Giuseppe married his brother’s wife Maria Anna Balbi. Maria Caterina’s parents came from two of the most powerful and wealthy families in the Republic of Genoa. Her paternal grandparents were cousins Anton Giulio II Brignole Sale, 5th Marquis of Groppoli (1673 – 1710 ), an Ambassador of the Republic of Genoa to France, and Isabella Brignole. Two of Maria Caterina’s paternal uncles had been the Doge (ruler) of the Republic of Genoa. Maria Caterina’s maternal grandparents were Francesco Maria Balbi (1671 – 1747), a Doge of the Republic of Genoa and Maria Clarice Durazzo, who also had Doges of the Republic of Genoa in her family.

Because her father was the ambassador to the French court, Maria Caterina and her mother Maria Anna took part in French high society, frequenting the salons in Paris and the Palace of Versailles. Maria Anna had several affairs including one with Honoré III, Prince of Monaco, her daughter’s future husband, and another with Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu.

Honoré III, Prince of Monaco, first husband of Maria Caterina; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1755, a marriage was proposed between 18-year-old Maria Caterina and 35-year-old Honoré III, Prince of Monaco who was eager to marry to provide Monaco with an heir and to obtain Maria Caterina’s large dowry. However, Maria Caterina’s father opposed the marriage because of Honoré’s bad reputation and because of his fear that Honoré might inherit his fortune. In 1756, only after the intervention of King Louis XV of France and his mistress Madame de Pompadour did Maria Caternina’s father consent to the marriage.

The wedding of Honoré III and Maria Caterina was to occur on July 5, 1757, in Monaco, and it got off on a bad foot. Maria Caterina and her mother traveled to Monaco by boat accompanied by a contingent of Genovese nobility. When they arrived, Honoré did not come aboard the ship to welcome his bride. He said his status as a monarch demanded that Maria Caterina come to him. The Genovese contingent refused, saying that Maria Caterina was a member of a ruling family of the Republic of Genoa. The ship was stranded offshore for several days while a bridge was built between the port and Maria Caterina’s ship. Honoré and Maria Caterina walked towards each other at the same distance and met each other over the sea.

Honoré III and Maria Caterina had two sons:

Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco (1758 – 1819), married Louise d’Aumont, had two sons Honoré V, Prince of Monaco and Florestan, Prince of Monaco, divorced 1798
Prince Joseph of Monaco, Regent of Monaco (1763 – 1816), married (1) Marie Thérèse de Choiseul, had three children, Marie Thérèse was guillotined during the French Revolution (2) Frances Margaret Powell, no children

The Hôtel de Matignon, Honoré III’s Paris home; Credit – By ScareCriterion12 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62918157

Honoré III and Maria Caterina initially lived in Monaco but by 1760, Honoré was dissatisfied with his life there, and returned to France without his wife, spending time with his mistresses at his French homes. Eventually, Maria Caterina was allowed to come to France. She lived at the Hôtel Matignon, Honoré’s home in Paris. However, she rarely participated in social events and spent time with Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, a great-grandson of Louis XIV, King of France and his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan. Louis Joseph’s wife Charlotte de Rohan had died in 1760. During the reigns of King Louis XV and his grandson King Louis XVI, Louis Joseph held the position of Grand Maître de France, the head of the King’s household.

Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé circa 1755-1766; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1765, rumors reached Honoré III that Maria Caterina was being courted by Louis Joseph. Being somewhat hypocritical, he left his mistress at his home in Normandy and went to Paris to scold Maria Caterina. Up to that point, Maria Caterina had regarded Louis Joseph just as a friend, but she returned Louis Joseph’s feelings and the two became involved in a love affair. After that Honoré III and Maria Caterina lived separate lives with their lovers. Eventually, Maria Caterina set up a home in the Hôtel de Lassay, an annex of the Palais-Bourbon, Louis Joseph’s residence in Paris, now the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament.

However, in 1770, Honoré III made one last attempt to keep a hold on Maria Caterina. He planned to send Maria Caterina to Monaco and close the borders to prevent her from escaping. Before this could happen Maria Caterina left Paris to seek asylum at the Convent of the Visitation in Le Mans, France. Louis Joseph used his influence to obtain a legal separation for Maria Caterina from Honoré and the right to manage her own finances. Honoré finally realized his relationship with Maria Caterina was over and eventually accepted Maria Caterina’s relationship with Louis Joseph. There was never a divorce or annulment. Honoré continued with his mistresses and he allowed Maria Caterina to see her two sons.

Maria Caterina; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1774, Marie Antoinette, the wife of the new King of France, Louis XVI, offended Louis Joseph, who was Grand Maître de France, the head of the King’s household, by refusing to receive Maria Caterina at court due to her status as a Louis Joseph’s mistress and as a separated woman. Maria Catarina and Louis Joseph lived in France until the French Revolution. After the Storming of the Bastille in 1789, Louis Joseph fled France, before the Reign of Terror, with Maria Caterina, and his son and grandson from his first marriage.

The French Revolution had dire consequences for Honoré III and the two sons he shared with Maria Caterina. They lost all aristocratic privileges in France and were dispossessed of their French property. In January 1793, Honoré III was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France. During the Reign of Terror, in September 1793, Honoré III was arrested and imprisoned in Paris. Maria Catarina and Honoré III’s son Honoré (IV) was also arrested as were Honoré (IV)’s wife Louise d’Aumont and his son Florestan. Honoré (IV) was released after fifteen months in prison and his wife and son were saved by their family doctor.

However, Maria Catarina’s daughter-in-law, the wife of her son Joseph, was not as lucky. Joseph spent most of his time abroad negotiating foreign loans which made him a suspect of counter-revolutionary activities. Joseph did become involved in a counter-revolution in Vendée. His wife Marie Thérèse was arrested in the absence of her husband, condemned to death, and guillotined in 1794, one of the last victims before the end of the Reign of Terror.

Honoré III was eventually released from prison. He died soon afterward in Paris on March 21, 1795, at the age of 74, but his burial place is unknown. Following the defeat of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French in 1814, Maria Catarina’s son Honoré IV, aged 56 and in ill health since his imprisonment during the Reign of Terror, returned to Monaco where he reigned as Sovereign Prince until his death in 1819.

The Army of Condé; Credit – Wikipedia

As for, Maria Caterina and Louis Joseph, after they fled France, they settled in Koblenz in the Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Koblenz became the home of many royalist émigrés who had fled France. Louis Joseph helped to organize and lead a counter-revolutionary army of émigrés called the Army of Condé. Maria Caterina used her fortune to help finance the exiled French community’s armed resistance. In 1792, the émigrée court at Koblenz was dissolved and Maria Caterina and Louis Joseph left for Great Britain.

Saint Aloysius Catholic Church in London, England where Maria Caterina is buried; Credit – https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol24/pt4/plate-86

Three years after the death of Honoré III, Maria Caterina and Louis Joseph were married on October 24, 1798, in London, England. However, their marriage was kept secret for ten years and was not revealed until December 26, 1808. Maria Caterina, aged 76, died in Wimbledon, England on March 18, 1813, and was buried at Saint Aloysius Catholic Church in London, England, founded by Guy-Toussaint-Julien Carron, a French priest who had settled in England having fled the French Revolution.

Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé; Credit – Wikipedia

After the defeat of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French in 1814, the Bourbon Restoration saw a younger brother of the beheaded King Louis XVI become King Louis XVIII of France. Louis Joseph returned to France and at the age of 78, resumed his duties as Grand Maître de France, in the household of King Louis XVIII. Louis Joseph survived Maria Caterina by five years, dying on May 13, 1818, at the Palais-Bourbon in Paris, France, aged 81. He was buried at the Basilica of St. Denis in St. Denis, France, near Paris.

Works Cited

Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Joseph,_Prince_of_Cond%C3%A9> [Accessed 13 March 2022].
En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Maria Caterina Brignole – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Caterina_Brignole> [Accessed 8 March 2022].
Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré III, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-iii-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 13 March 2022].
geni_family_tree. 2022. Marie-Catherine Brignole, Princesse de Monaco. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/people/Marie-Catherine-Brignole-Princesse-de-Monaco/5294696734550123378> [Accessed 13 March 2022].

Honoré III, Prince of Monaco

Honoré III, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Honoré III, Prince of Monaco is the longest-reigning sovereign of Monaco but the French Revolution had dire consequences for his family and caused the Principality of Monaco to be annexed to France from 1793 until the defeat of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French in 1814. Honoré Camille Léonor Grimaldi was born on November 10, 1720, in Paris, France. He was the third of the nine children and the second but the eldest surviving of the six sons of Louise-Hippolyte, Sovereign Princess of Monaco for ten months before her death from smallpox, and Jacques I, briefly the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, born Jacques François Leonor Goyon de Matignon. Honoré’s maternal grandparents were Antonio I, Prince of Monaco and Marie of Lorraine. His paternal grandparents were the French nobles Jacques III Goyon de Matignon, Count of Thorigny, a Lieutenant General in the French army, (1644 – 1725) and Charlotte de Goyon de Matignon, Countess of Thorigny (1657 – 1721).

Honoré, on the left, with his siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Honoré III had eight siblings but only three survived to adulthood:

Antoine-Charles, Marquis des Baux and Count de Matignon, (1717 – 1718), died in infancy
Charlotte Thérèse Nathalie (1719 – 1790), a nun at the Convent of the Visitation in Paris, France
Charles, Count de Carladés and Count de Matignon (1722 – 1749), unmarried, died from smallpox at the age of 27
Jacques (born and died 1723), died in infancy
Louise Françoise, Mademoiselle des Baux (1724 – 1729), died in childhood
François-Charles, Count of Thorigny (1726 – 1743), died in his teens
Charles-Maurice, Count de Valentinois (1727 – 1798), married Marie Christine Chrétienne de Rouvrois, no children
Marie Françoise Thérése, Mademoiselle d’Estouteville (1728 – 1743), died in her teens

Honoré III’s parents Louise-Hippolyte and Jacques; Credit – Wikipedia

Because of the poor relationship of his maternal grandparents, Honoré III’s parents Louise-Hippolyte and Jacques decided to live in France. They spent their time between Jacques’ mansion in Paris, the Hôtel de Matignon, now the official residence of the Prime Minister of France, and Torigni-sur-Vire in Normandy, France where the de Goyon de Matignon family chateau, Château des Matignon, was located. Honoré was mostly raised at the French court under the supervision of Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, Duchess of Maine, the wife of Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine, King Louis XIV’s legitimized son by his official mistress Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise of Montespan.

On February 20, 1731, Honoré III’s maternal grandfather Antonio I, Prince of Monaco died and his mother Louise-Hippolyte was now the Sovereign Princess of Monaco. Louise-Hippolyte had a very short reign of ten months. Several weeks before Christmas of 1731, a smallpox epidemic spread through the Mediterranean coastal areas. Louise-Hippolyte died from smallpox at the age of 34, on December 29, 1731.

Upon Louise-Hippolyte’s death, her husband Jacques was now the legal guardian of their ten-year-old eldest son Honoré and had a plan. Jacques should rule as Prince of Monaco until Honoré reached his twenty-fifth birthday. At that time, Honoré would abdicate in favor of his father following the example of sons who gave up to their fathers land they had inherited through their mothers. Although the plan was initially accepted, it met with increasing opposition.

The Hôtel de Matignon where Honoré lived in Paris; Credit – By ScareCriterion12 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62918157

Finally, in May 1732, Jacques handed over the rule of Monaco to his brother-in-law Antonio Grimaldi, Chevalier de Grimaldi, an illegitimate son of Antonio I, Prince of Monaco. Jacques’ official abdication date was November 7, 1733, but he had long since returned to Paris with his eldest son who was now technically Honoré III, Prince of Monaco. Antonio Grimaldi, Chevalier de Grimaldi became Governor-General of Monaco, was the de facto ruler of Monaco from 1732 until he died in 1784, and ably served as regent for more than fifty years for his nephew Honoré III. Honoré resided at his father’s Paris home the Hôtel de Matignon and spent much time at the French court at the Palace of Versailles. His father Jacques lived the remainder of his life in France, dying aged 61, on April 23, 1751, at his Paris home, the Hôtel de Matignon.

As Colonel of the Regiment of Monaco, part of the French army, Honoré III took part in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740 – 1748) and was wounded at the 1746 Battle of Rocoux and then at the 1747 Battle of Lawfeld. Honoré had close ties to the French kings Louis XV and Louis XVI. In 1756, Honoré decreed that Monaco would be ceded to the King of France if the Grimaldi dynasty was to die out.

Maria Caterina Brignole, Honoré’s wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Over the years, Honoré III had declined many marriage proposals. In 1755, a marriage was proposed between 35-year-old Honoré and 18-year-old Maria Caterina Brignole, daughter of Giuseppe Brignole, Marquis di Groppoli, the Ambassador to France from the Republic of Genoa, now in Italy, and Maria Anna Balbi. Maria Caterina’s parents came from two of the most powerful families in the Republic of Genoa. Her paternal grandfather Anton Giulio Brignole Sale, 5th Marquis of Groppoli had been Ambassador of the Republic of Genoa to France. Two of her paternal uncles were Doges of the Republic of Genoa. Maria Caterina’s maternal grandfather Francesco Maria Balbi also had been a Doge of the Republic of Genoa.

Honoré III had previously been the lover of Maria Caterina’s mother but wished to marry to provide an heir to the throne of Monaco. However, Maria Caterina’s father opposed the marriage because of Honoré’s bad reputation and because of his fear that Honoré might inherit his fortune. In 1756, only after the intervention of King Louis XV of France and his mistress Madame de Pompadour did Maria Caternina’s father consent to the marriage.

The wedding of Honoré III and Maria Caterina was to occur on July 5, 1757, in Monaco, and it got off on a bad foot. Maria Caterina traveled to Monaco by boat accompanied by a contingent of Genovese nobility. When they arrived, Honoré did not come aboard the ship to welcome his bride. He said his status as a monarch demanded that Maria Caterina come to him. The Genovese contingent refused, saying that Maria Caterina was a member of a ruling family of the Republic of Genoa. The ship was stranded offshore for several days while a bridge was built between the port and Maria Caterina’s ship. Honoré and Maria Caterina walked towards each other at the same distance and met each other over the sea.

Honoré III and Maria Caterina had two sons:

Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco (1758 – 1819), married Louise d’Aumont, had two sons Honoré V, Prince of Monaco and Florestan, Prince of Monaco, divorced 1798
Prince Joseph of Monaco, Regent of Monaco (1763 – 1816), married (1) Marie Thérèse de Choiseul, had three children, guillotined during the French Revolution (2) Frances Margaret Powell, no children

Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, the lover of Maria Caterina; Credit – Wikipedia

Honoré III and Maria Caterina initially lived in Monaco but by 1760, Honoré was dissatisfied with his life there, and returned to France without his wife, spending time with his mistresses at his French homes. Eventually, Maria Caterina was allowed to come to France. However, Honoré continued his affairs and Maria Caterina began an affair, that would become long-term, with Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé. In 1770, Louis Joseph used his influence to obtain a legal separation for Maria Caterina from Honoré and the right to manage her own finances. Honoré finally realized his relationship with Maria Caterina was over and eventually accepted Maria Caterina’s relationship with Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé. Three years after Honoré’s death, Maria Caterina and Louis Joseph were married but their marriage was kept secret for ten years.

The French Revolution had dire consequences for Honoré III and his family. The Grimaldi family lost all aristocratic privileges in France and was dispossessed of their French property. In January 1793, Honoré III was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France. During the Reign of Terror, in September 1793, Honoré III was arrested and imprisoned in Paris. Honoré III’s son Honoré (IV) was also arrested as were Honoré (IV)’s wife Louise d’Aumont and his son Florestan. Honoré (IV) was released after fifteen months in prison and his wife and son were saved by their family doctor.

Embed from Getty Images

The last victims of the Reign of Terror on their way to the guillotine – Among them was Honoré III’s daughter-in-law Marie Thérèse de Choiseul

The wife of Honoré III’s other son Joseph was not as lucky. Joseph spent most of his time abroad negotiating foreign loans which made him a suspect of counter-revolutionary activities. Joseph did become involved in a counter-revolution in Vendée. His wife Marie Thérèse was arrested in the absence of her husband, condemned to death, and guillotined in 1794, one of the last victims before the end of the Reign of Terror.

Honoré III was eventually released from prison. He died soon afterward in Paris on March 21, 1795, at the age of 74, but his burial place is unknown. At 59 years, the reign of Honoré III remains the longest in the history of Monaco. Following the defeat of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French in 1814, Honoré III’s son Honoré IV, aged 56 and in ill health since his imprisonment during the Reign of Terror, returned to Monaco where he reigned as Sovereign Prince until his death in 1819.

Works Cited

De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Honoré III. (Monaco) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_III._(Monaco)> [Accessed 8 March 2022].
Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
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