by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

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

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. Honoré and his brother Florestan spent much of their time in France.

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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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].