by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

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 had one elder brother:

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

In 1641, during the reign of Honoré II, Monaco became 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.

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.

Florestan and his mother Louise were rescued by a family doctor who forged release papers and 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, making 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.

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.

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 died in 1819 when he succeeded him as Honoré V, Prince of Monaco.

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.

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 Monaco’s finances just as she did 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, Florestan’s son Charles was disturbed by his mother’s takeover of Monaco. He realized 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.

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.

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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].