Monarch Profile: Prince Jacques I of Monaco

One of the more controversial men to hold the title of Prince of Monaco was Jacques Francois Leonor Goyon de Matignon. It will be noticed that his name was not Grimaldi and that would be a hurtful point to many. On October 20, 1715 he married Hereditary Princess Louise-Hippolyte of Monaco, daughter and successor of Sovereign Prince Antoine I after a long and contentious search for a suitable husband. Part of the appeal of Jacques was that he was not so well born as to be reluctant to change his name. Unfortunately this would also mean that he would be tainted from the start with the image of a social-climber. Still, his own family was fairly prestigious as well, coming from one of the oldest families of Brittany. One of his ancestors was the famous Marshal Jacques de Matignon who refused to participate in the notorious Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

Many other members of the larger Grimaldi clan were adamantly opposed to the marriage of Louise-Hippolyte and Jacques de Matignon. They argued, not unreasonably, that according to previous accords the Monegasque throne should only pass to a Grimaldi and that by the marriage Jacques would become the effective ruler of the principality and the founder of a new dynasty in all but name. They tried to pursue the matter through legal means but to no avail and thereafter many took to referring to the Monegasque Princely Family as the House of Matignon rather than Grimaldi. Nor was the Princess of Monaco herself happy with her husband whom she viewed, because of all the intrigue surrounding the marriage, with great suspicion, suspecting that he was only using her to advance his own position. Her fears were not unreasonable as Jacques was attracted to the marriage because he would be gaining a principality rather than any real devotion to the Princess and the match was pushed by King Louis XIV of France who wanted to secure French influence over Monaco and he knew that Jacques would be “his man” as it were.

Princely Family of Monaco

In 1731, with the death of Antoine I, Prince Jacques became “Sovereign Consort” of Monaco and thought of himself as the real ruler of the place and this was another example of what Princess Louise-Hippolyte regarded as her husband assuming more power than was his right and attempting to usurp her legitimate place as Sovereign Princess of Monaco. Nonetheless, throughout their marriage the line of Prince Jacques I was secured by the birth of eight children from 1717 to 1728. When the couple came to the throne the people of Monaco welcomed their Princess but scorned their new Prince who they saw as acting arrogantly and really caring nothing for the people but only about what he could gain from the Principality. Even before assuming the throne he avoided Monaco and preferred to stay with the French court at Versailles enjoying a succession of mistresses. The marriage of Grimaldi and Matignon was not a happy one.

Prince Jacques I was the effective ruler of Monaco, especially after Princess Louise-Hippolyte died of smallpox only eleven months into her reign. With no more opposition Jacques I was able to assume total control of Monaco and was recognized as the Sovereign Prince by the King of France. However, his reign would not be a peaceful one even after the passing of his wife. Her fight was taken up by her sister Princess Margaret d’Isenghien who conspired against Jacques on the grounds that the Monegasque had always been ruled by a Grimaldi and would accept nothing else. To deal with this Prince Jacques appointed the Chevalier de Grimaldi (an illegitimate son of Antoine I) to be Governor of Monaco. Fortunately the Chevalier proved to be a wise administrator and ruled Monaco with great ability for the next 50 years. It was certainly an improvement over Prince Jacques who never showed much interest in Monegasque affairs and was generally unpopular. He preferred the high life of the French court to the business of governing his little Principality. Finally, with public opposition to his rule showing no signs of letting up he left Monaco in May of 1732 and the following year abdicated in favor of his son Prince Honore III. The new Sovereign Prince was barely 14 but with the Chevalier running things the country seemed to be in capable hands with good prospects for the future. Prince Jacques returned to his favored lifestyle in Versailles and Paris where he spent the rest of his life before his death on April 23, 1751. His former residence in Paris, named the Hotel Matignon is today the official residence of the French prime minister.

Monarch Profile: HSH Prince Louis II of Monaco

The predecessor of Prince Rainier III, his grandfather Louis II, occupied the Monegasque throne during one of the most crucial periods in her history. He is generally remembered for the poor state of the principality which he left to his grandson, however, Louis II was a very complex man who faced a number of hardships and had many excellent qualities. He was born Louis Honore Charles Antoine Grimaldi in Baden-Baden, Germany on July 12, 1870 to Prince Albert I of Monaco and Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton. His family life was not to be a very stable one though. His mother was the daughter of the Duke of Hamilton and a Princess of Baden and she met Prince Albert I at a ball hosted by the Emperor and Empress of France and not long after a marriage was arranged with Napoleon III suggesting Mary as a good candidate.

Unfortunately, it was not a good match. The new Princess of Monaco was only 19-years-old but very petulant and condescending. Nothing was ever good enough for her, she hated Monaco, was not impressed with her husband and finally abandoned her adopted homeland. By 1880 the marriage was annulled though an arrangement was made with the Vatican to maintain the legitimacy of young Louis in the eyes of the Church at least. However, Louis had been taken away by his mother and so spent his formative years in Germany with his mother and stepfather. He was eleven years old before he ever saw Prince Albert again when his presence was required in Monaco to begin learning the princely trade. Life in the Princely Palace was not exactly ideal for Prince Louis though.

Prince Albert I had made Monaco something of a European hot-spot and was well known in elite circles for his cultural patronage and interest in such subjects as oceanography, paleontology and archaeology. At home, however, he was rather aloof and distant; not much comfort or companion to his young son and a bit of an autocrat. Louis was restless with this state of affairs and as soon as he came of age he left Monaco and enrolled in the Saint Cyr French military academy. He graduated in four years and, showing considerable courage, volunteered to serve with the Foreign Legion in North Africa. This was to have a profound impact on his life, both in terms of his career (he seemed a natural soldier) and his private life.

While on duty in Algeria Prince Louis met and became enamored with a cabaret singer named Marie Juliette Louvet, a mother of two who had formerly been married to the risqué French photographer Achille Delmaet. In no time at all Louis was head over heels in love and wanted to marry the girl but a previously married, single mother who sang in a cabaret was considered far below the station of the Hereditary Prince of Monaco and Prince Albert I absolutely forbid it. This is where the story becomes a bit murky. Louis later claimed that he disregarded the wishes of his father and married Juliette anyway in 1897 but there is no documentation to back that claim up. When a daughter, Charlotte Louise Juliette, was born a year later in Algeria she was considered illegitimate by French and Monegasque law.

Albert I visiting Louis II at the front

However, if his private life was somewhat scandalous his military service was nothing short of exemplary. Prince Louis served with distinction in the French army for 10 years and earned the Legion of Honor before returning home in 1908, interestingly enough, without his wife and daughter. However, when calamity hit Europe with the outbreak of World War I in August of 1914 Prince Louis rushed to the colors and reenlisted. In that time of crisis he again proved his worth as a skillful and courageous fighting man. He was upgraded to a Grand Officer in the Legion of Honor and was promoted to brigadier general during the conflict winning a great deal of recognition for his leadership and personal bravery. Many other members of his family had seen military service over the centuries but it was widely accepted that none ever proved so great a military figure as Prince Louis. In terms of his chosen profession none could fault him but his personal life was about to come back to haunt him.

Prior to the outbreak of the Great War there was already a great deal of worry over the Monegasque succession to the lack of legitimate issue on the part of Hereditary Prince Louis. As things stood, should anything happen to Louis; which was quite possible given his military service, the throne would pass to his first cousin Duke Wilhelm von Urach, the son of his aunt Princess Florestine of Monaco. Obviously, especially at that crucial time, having a German on the throne of Monaco was the last thing France wanted nor were they willing to tolerate such an eventuality. Therefore, in 1911 a law was passed to recognize the legitimacy of Princess Charlotte, officially making her a recognized member of the Grimaldi family and heir to her father. It was thought this would solve the problem and end the controversy but it was not to be as the law was declared invalid by the 1882 statutes. To get around this another law had to be passed, in 1918, which would allow a Prince of Monaco to adopt an heir to inherit the succession rights. In 1919 Louis adopted his daughter and she officially became Princess Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois.

Oddly enough, in that last year of World War I the Duke of Urach was chosen to be King of Lithuania which the Germans had liberated from Russian rule and for a short time he was nominally King Mindaugas II of Lithuania. That potential throne did not survive the Allied victory and in 1924 Wilhelm formally renounced his rights to the Monegasque throne and passed them to his French cousins, also of the Grimaldi clan, the counts of Chabrillan. Nor was Monaco all alone in this predicament as the French also forced the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg to abdicate for the high crime of being too close to Germany. France also insisted on a treaty with Monaco in 1918 which required the French government to approve of all potential princes of Monaco. It was well that all this was settled as Louis did not have much time to enjoy the peace. On June 27, 1922 Prince Albert I died and his son, the French general, became Reigning Prince Louis II of Monaco.

Although Louis II is often accused of neglecting his principality this is, on the whole, quite unfair. He formed the first Monaco Football Club in 1924 and five years later held the first of the now famous Grand Prix of Monaco. His personality also showed itself in the establishment of the Napoleon Museum attached to the Princely Palace in Monte Carlo where he displayed his impressive collection of artifacts from the French Emperor Napoleon I. He also did his best to see to it that business in Monaco operated smoothly and got rid of Camille Blanc who had long administered the Monte Carlo Casino but who had acquired a very questionable reputation. Prince Louis II also fostered the performing arts, ballet and opera and in 1939 built the Prince Louis II Stadium to hold the World University Games. Things might have gone quite differently for Monaco were it not for the disastrous outbreak of World War II soon after.

This conflict put Louis II in a difficult position. His grandson Rainier (son of his daughter Charlotte and her Franco-Mexican husband Pierre de Polignac) favored the Allies and was quick to join the French army and distinguish himself at the front. However, once France was defeated, Louis II was inclined to support the existing government in Vichy led by his old World War I comrade Marshal Philippe Petain. However, to add another degree of difficulty to things, at this time most of the Monegasque people still considered themselves more Italian than French and many sympathized with Italy and the dynamic leader of that country Benito Mussolini who of course had declared war on France. With France defeated there was little tiny Monaco could do but wait and see, however the divisions of opinion were deep and heartfelt.

Pcss Ghislaine, Pc Louis II & Pc Rainier

In 1943 the Royal Italian Army marched in and occupied Monaco with many of the locals welcoming them. A new government was formed by the Italians along the fascist model but it did not last long as soon Mussolini was dismissed and as the Italian troops pulled out German troops came in to take their place. This really brought the war home to Monaco as never before. The Germans quickly began enforcing their anti-Semitic laws and deported Jews to the concentration camps including the famous Rene Blum who Louis II had previously charged with setting up the Monaco opera. Sadly, he was among the millions of Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust. But, Prince Louis II was not the sort of man to take this cruelty and meddling laying down. At great risk to himself and his family, whenever he could obtain the necessary information he would secretly dispatch the Monegasque police to warn those about to be arrested by the Gestapo. Nonetheless, Prince Rainier was disgusted with not being able to do more to support the Allies or the Free French forces.

When Monaco was liberated in 1944 she was briefly under Allied administration which included communist representatives who would have liked nothing better than to see the near absolute monarchy of Monaco abolished. However, the old soldier in Louis II rose up and he made it clear that any effort in that direction would be met with all the fight he could muster and all such talk was dropped. At 75 he was still a force to be reckoned with. However, Louis II did seem to lose something with the Second World War and all of the problems that came with it. After 1946 he spent ever more time in Paris and it was on July 24, 1946 in Monaco that Louis II married the former film star Ghislaine Dommanget. They spent their remaining years together mostly at the family estate of Le Marchais near Paris. On May 9, 1949 Sovereign Prince Louis II died in the Princely Palace at Monaco and was buried in the family vault at St Nicholas Cathedral in Monte Carlo. He was succeeded by his grandson Prince Rainier III and his wife became H.S.H. Ghislaine, Dowager Princess of Monaco until her own death on April 30, 1991 in Paris.

Favorite Royal Images: A Picture of Grace

HSH Princess Grace of Monaco

Favorite Royal Images: An American Classic

HSH Princess Grace of Monaco

Favorite Royal Images: No, It is Her Mom

HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover

Glamorous Monaco

Recently there was another wedding in Monaco. Andrea Casiraghi married his longtime girlfriend, and mother of his son, Tatiana Santo Domingo. It was a relatively small affair, about four hundred guests, strictly private, no photographs allowed and followed by a reception in the gardens behind the palace walls. Of course, no one would expect this to be anything near to as grand a ceremony as the wedding of the Sovereign Prince in 2011. However, there was but a single picture released of the couple and there was no waving from the balcony or anything of the sort. True, it was only a civil wedding and neither of these two young people hold any hereditary titles. As far as the law is concerned, both are simply very well connected commoners. That, however, is part of what I find odd about all this, especially as the magnificent 2011 wedding shows that, when they so desire, the Principality of Monaco still knows how to do things up right. It just seems that Monaco does not care to make such an effort very much these days and in some cases it strikes me as just a bit odd. A case in point being the lack of any hereditary titles for, so far, any of the offspring of the current Princesses of Monaco (save for little Princess Alexandra whose title is derived from her German father rather than her Monegasque mother).

I am not trying to make too much of this because I realize that the entire picture could change in an instant if the Princely Palace were to announce one of these days that HSH Princess Charlene is with child. However, so far that has not been the case and I think people should consider a few facts. Until that day comes, Andrea Casiraghi is second-in-line to the Monegasque throne, behind only his mother HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover. He is second-in-line for the throne and yet has no title. Also, as soon as Andrea and Tatiana were legally married, their baby boy Sasha became legitimized and thus earned a place in the Grimaldi line of succession as well. Now consider that the Princely Palace has never even issued a formal announcement of the birth of this little boy who is just as far from a throne as the much celebrated bouncing baby boy in Britain; HRH Prince George of Cambridge. Both are three steps away from being a reigning monarch and yet little Sasha Casiraghi has no title and was given not so much as a birth announcement. Again, this may because their line of succession will be moved back if and when Prince Albert II does his duty by Princess Charlene. When that happens we may see all of the traditional ceremony; the court announcement, the canon firing at Fort Antoine and all the rest that we saw when Princess Caroline, Prince Albert and Princess Stephanie were born. But, it has not happened yet and we will have to wait and see.

More than that though, I cannot help but have the feeling that little Monaco was just a bit more grand and bit more monarchist in those happy days when Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace were still with us. I have yet to see, for example, an official portrait of the Sovereign Prince in his uniform, standing alongside Princess Charlene in her medals and ribbons (which she was given in 2012) as was the case before. I have also yet to see Princess Charlene appear, even if only for a portrait or formal photograph, in the full splendor of the Grimaldi family jewels. At the Swedish royal wedding in June, for example, Princess Charlene, unlike most of the princesses present, was wearing neither a ribbon nor a tiara nor even a necklace (and if she had on earrings they were too small for me to see). I do not want to come as the ‘fashion police’ here but these things matter, I think, to the overall ‘tone’ that is set in a monarchy. Princess Grace and Prince Rainier certainly did not walk around everyday in all their jewels and medals but they did when the occasion called for it and they had formal portraits taken at fairly regular intervals of themselves in all of their princely finery. I do not think it is totally unrelated that Monaco seemed a bit more glamorous back in those days, at least to me (others will surely disagree).

There was also a considerably higher percentage of the family population with hereditary titles in those days. Today, again excepting Princess Alexandra, none of the children of Princess Caroline or Princess Stephanie have any titles. I am sure some will say that such things do not matter at all but, in a monarchy, they certainly do. Surely it must be considered at least slightly peculiar that someone like princely cousin Baroness Elisabeth-Anne de Massy has a title but the third-in-line for the throne does not (and, yes, I realize that not everyone considers the title of Baroness de Massy to be strictly legal but she is called such on the Princely Palace official website in reference to her being godmother to Princess Stephanie so..). Call it a more business-like style, call it more modern but, for myself, I preferred the old days of the medals and ribbons at opera night, the days of liveried footmen and tiaras that we had when Prince Rainier and Princess Grace were still around. It is not a major complaint and in any other monarchy I would probably not make it at all but this is Monaco, where the Princely Family is as secure and beloved as any could possibly be, and I would just prefer to see the Principality ramp up the pomp and splendor just a little bit. That’s my opinion, feel free to state your own.

Royal News Special Report: Monaco

The big royal news this week came from one of the smallest corners of the monarchial world; the Principality of Monaco. To get the least controversial and best established news out of the way first, the Princely Palace has announced that August 31 is the date that has been set for the wedding of Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo. The couple will have a small, private ceremony. And it is high time for a wedding, considering that the two have already started their own family with the birth of their baby boy, Sacha, on March 21 of this year in London. Andrea is next in line to the throne in Monaco after Princess Caroline until such time as TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene do their part for the succession. Andrea is the eldest child of HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover and the late Stefano Casiraghi. Tatiana is the daughter of Colombian tycoon Julio Mario Santo Domingo Jr. and Brazilian socialite Vera Rechulski Santo Domingo. The two were first introduced by Andrea’s younger sister Charlotte who is also the one who has stolen most of the royal headlines this week.

About a year and a half ago, Charlotte Casiraghi began dating Gad Elmaleh, a French-Moroccan-Jew actor-comedian. This raised a few eyebrows considering that Gad is 42-years old and Charlotte only just turned 27 last Saturday. He has also been around the block a few times (ironically enough his past relationships have been with women older than himself) and he already has a 12-year old son by a past relationship with a French actress. The two began to be seen more and more together, rumors flew and were later confirmed when Charlotte was spotted staying over with Gad and recently things seem to have become even more serious. Royal watchers began to notice what looked to be the beginnings of a “baby bump” on Charlotte and recently she was spotted shopping for baby clothes. True, she may just be filling out some and she may have been shopping for her little nephew, but that has not stopped many news outlets from declaring that Charlotte is pregnant, Gad is the father and that the two are already engaged and will be married by the end of the year. If that is true, the Palace has certainly not said so.

It is, however, not unreasonable to come to such a conclusion as the two have been more and more visible lately such as when Gad recently escorted Charlotte to the annual Red Cross ball in Monte Carlo. Yours truly will confess to having been less than thrilled with the pairing of Gad and Charlotte, though in all honesty none of the boys Charlotte has attached herself to in the past seemed worthy of her in my book. For a time, back when both were on the covers of all the teen magazines, gossipmongers had fun speculating about a romance between Prince William and Charlotte. That would have been quite impossible of course as Charlotte is (officially at least) a Roman Catholic and it may have been for the best anyway as their children would have probably have been too gorgeous for the world to tolerate. The Princely Family, not surprisingly, have been very welcoming of Charlotte’s much older boyfriend. Things are a bit complicated when it comes to an “official” reaction to these things since none of the children of Princess Caroline (save for young Princess Alexandra of Hanover) have any official position in Monaco or any titles; even Andrea who is only two steps away from the throne itself -so far. In legal terms, Charlotte Casiraghi is a commoner though she is invariably included in coverage of royal figures as a daughter of Princess Caroline and as she holds a place in the Monegasque line of succession. Still, family acceptance is important as Monaco is one of the last 2 or 3 monarchies in Europe where the monarch still rules and has final say on everything that happens inside the narrow borders of Monaco.

The papers seem to be thrilled with this match and the prospect of a new baby and another wedding. Gad has so often been described in print as “dashing” and “witty” and “charming” that one might just forget that he is a father in his forties who has yet to have a successful, long-term relationship. Some have even compared him to the late Stefano Casiraghi, waxing nostalgic that Charlotte’s relationship must bring back memories for her mother Princess Caroline. I wish them every happiness, but honestly, given how much older Gad is than Charlotte and how “experienced” he is, it rather more reminded me of Princess Caroline’s first marriage to the much older playboy Philippe Junot which, as predicted by Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace, was a thankfully short-lived disaster. Last year I made it clear that I did not “get” the Charlotte-Gad match and I still do not. However, as I said then, if Charlotte decides he is the right man for her I will sincerely wish them all the happiness in the world. Keep in mind though, despite all the talk this week, nothing has been officially announced or confirmed. It all seems fairly evident but I prefer not to get too excited about these things until the Palace makes an announcement.

Favorite Royal Images: An American Princess

HSH Princess Grace of Monaco

Favorite Royal Images: A Princess to Be

HSH Princess Grace of Monaco

Consort Profile: Princess Antoinette de Merode-Westerloo

Antoinette Ghislaine, Comtesse de Mérode-Westerloo was born on September 28, 1828 in Brussels, Belgium to Count Werner de Mérode and his wife Victoire de Spangen-d’Uyternesse. It was on her eighteenth birthday in 1846 that she married HSH Hereditary Prince Charles of Monaco, son of Prince Florestan I and Princess Caroline of Monaco in Brussels. Some thought it had taken Charles longer than necessary to marry, he was handsome, wealthy and heir to the throne of Monaco after all, but most agreed that his new Belgian bride was worth the wait. Described as blonde, beautiful, kind and also quite wealthy, the two made an attractive couple and Antoinette brought a considerable dowry to the Grimaldi family with her. She came from an illustrious family whose ranks included many Belgian national heroes and her uncle was the famous prelate Monseigneur Frédéric-François-Xavier Ghislain de Mérode who held many important posts under King Leopold I of the Belgians and was later Minister of War to Blessed Pope Pius IX.

After their marriage Prince Charles and Princess Antoinette went to Monaco where, despite the rising problems that would eventually lead to the loss of more than half the national territory, the Monegasque people gave them an enthusiastic welcome, falling instantly in love with the handsome young couple. Later, like most of their predecessors, Charles and Antoinette set up house in Paris and it was there, on November 13, 1848 that their son, Prince Albert, was born, thus securing the Grimaldi succession for another generation. Princess Antoinette was a little out of her element in the glamorous high-society of Imperial France but her mother-in-law Princess Caroline took her in hand, showing her the ropes so to speak, and the beautiful young Belgian Princess of Monaco was such a success that she was soon a favorite in the court of Empress Eugenie; a fact which was prestigious but also brought with it a great deal of expense.

One of the lasting legacies of Princess Antoinette was the purchase, with her dowry, of the Château de Marchais which has remained in the Grimaldi family ever since and was the favorite country retreat of many generations including Prince Rainier III, Princess Grace and their children. The money she brought to Monaco also helped in the establishment and improvement of the Monte Carlo casino which soon proved to be a very beneficial investment, bringing hordes of wealthy tourists to the gaming tables and solving the financial problems of the principality.

In 1855 Versailles was the site of one of the major social events of the time when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Great Britain paid a royal visit to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie and a grand ball was held in their honor which Prince Charles and Princess Antoinette were invited to attend. Princess Antoinette was greatly impressed by the event and made up her mind then that her goal was to see her son Prince Albert married to a member of the British Royal Family (a cause her mother-in-law was to zealously take up in her absence).

Prince Charles III and Princess Antoinette had a very happy marriage and Charles depended greatly on his hard-working wife, whom he called his “Angel”. Charles was already suffering from poor health and failing eyesight when Princess Antoinette was diagnosed with cancer in 1862. Nonetheless, she took attentive care of her husband, ignoring her own terminal illness, in the most selfless fashion. Even when her worsening condition forced her to leave Monaco and retire to Marchais for the benefit of the country air she wrote constantly her husband, inquiring after his health and that of her mother-in-law, warning that the devoted old woman should not put her own health in danger by doing too much to help Charles III.

Princess Antoinette seemed out of her element if she could not be helping others and despite her condition she could stand to be away no longer and returned to Monaco to look after her husband and mother-in-law. With a doctor and two maids she made the journey back to the Princely Palace, a trip which took a toll on the rapidly worsening condition the Princess herself was suffering. Only three months later HSH Princess Antoinette of Monaco passed away on February 10, 1864. Prince Charles III was devastated by her loss and was forced to rely ever more on those around him, mostly his mother at first, as he became more infirm and withdrawn, rarely leaving the Princely Palace in his final years. Princess Antoinette is not as much talked about as some other Princesses of Monaco, but she was an exemplary consort in every way. Few others were ever as devoted, selfless and caring as the Belgian Princess of Monaco.

Favorite Royal Images: Sweet Caroline

HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover

(at the time, HSH Princess Caroline of Monaco)

Favorite Royal Images: Monegasque Princess

HSH Princess Stephanie of Monaco

National Day in Monaco

Today is 'National Day' in the Principality of Monaco and this year there was a special guest of honor; HSH Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein (micro-monarchy solidarity!). Photos can be seen at our sister-weblog Mad for Monaco, with more to come tomorrow.

MM Video: Caroline - Grace and Strength

Favorite Royal Images: Casiraghi Couple

Stefano Casiraghi and HSH Princess Caroline of Monaco

Favorite Royal Images: A Grimaldi Princess

HSH Princess Caroline of Monaco

on the occasion of the Feast of St Devote

Royal Profile: Princess Caroline of Hanover

Caroline Louise Marguerite Grimaldi, Countess of Polignac, Princess of Monaco was born on January 23, 1957, the first child of Reigning Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco. At the time it was not expected she was not expected to rank very high in the succession but following the reforms of 2002 she became Hereditary Princess of Monaco and next in line to the throne in the absence of any legitimate issue by her younger brother Albert. She was a very precocious child and one in whom great hopes were placed. She once recalled walking in on her mother leafing through the Almanach de Gotha looking for a suitable husband for her. In her youth she was educated in France, went on to a prestigious Catholic girls school in Ascot and then the Sorbonne in Paris where she earned a degree in philosophy with minors in psychology and biology. In the cosmopolitan fashion of Monaco she can also speak French, English, Spanish, German and Italian fluently.

Like any teenage girl she went through her own rebellious period and even at 21 was complaining about the high expectations her mother had for her. As she matured she was considered quite the prize by every young man of the jet-set crowd and plenty of tongues wagged when she became a pair with the much older Philippe Junot, a Parisian banker with a reputation as a playboy. Princess Grace did not approve but told her daughter, after some time, that she must marry him or break things off. Princess Caroline and Junot were married in Monaco on June 29, 1978. Princess Grace predicted that it would not last two years and mother must have known best for the couple divorced on October 9, 1980.

In 1982 even more pressure was heaped on Princess Caroline with the death of her mother. Although the two had their typical mother-daughter squabbles Caroline adored her mother and reveres her to this day. However, many people unfairly expected Princess Caroline to somehow take the place of Princess Grace as the leading lady of Monaco. Obviously, the shoes of someone like Princess Grace could never be filled, but to her credit Princess Caroline did some fast growing up and began taking on more and more duties and did her best for Monaco and the Monegasque monarchy like a real trooper. Things looked up for even more when she married Italian businessman Stefano Casiraghi in Monaco on December 29, 1983 though in a civil marriage only as the Catholic Church still considered her married to Philippe Junot.

By most accounts Stefano was, for Caroline, the love of her life and over the succeeding years; 1984, 1986 and 1987 the couple had three children; Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre. For the first time in her life Princess Caroline seemed to be enjoying domestic tranquility with her husband and children. A devoted mother, her father Prince Rainier also fell into the part of grandpa with considerable zeal and gave all the attention he could to his grandchildren. Because of all this it came as the most terrible blow when Stefano was killed in a boating accident on October 3, 1990 at only 30 years old. Princess Caroline was all but crushed by his loss and many believed her spirit would finally be broken by the trauma of it all. She may have come close, but those who made such predictions underestimated the inner strength of Princess Caroline. It took time to work through her pain, but once she did, she pushed back her shoulders and carried on in the best aristocratic style. Her mother would certainly have been proud of her.

Throughout her life Princess Caroline has used her position to support a number of charitable and cultural causes, work she has long done and will continue. Among her many interests and causes are the ballet, the symphony, opera, gardening, charities for children, the disabled and supporting the arts. Family friend Prince Dmitri of Yugoslavia said that Princess Caroline is one of the most brilliant people he knows, someone who can be at ease talking to anyone and on virtually any subject from art and music to politics and metaphysics. So, to be succinct, she has displayed all of the best qualities one would desire in a modern European princess. In her private life, which despite her best efforts never remains entirely private, boyfriends would occasionally come and go and the world wondered if she would ever marry again. Religiously, she became free to do so as in 1992 the Roman Catholic Church formally annulled her previous marriage to Philippe Junot which only made the marriage speculation and rumors increase.

Those rumors were put to rest when she married HRH Prince Ernst August V of Hanover in a civil ceremony in Monaco on January 23, 1999. A religious ceremony followed a few days later in Germany though it was agreed that Princess Caroline would not renounce her Catholic faith and that any children would be raised in the Catholic Church. All of this required the couple to receive the permission of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain before they could wed. The current line of the British Royal Family being the former monarchs of Hanover, the Queen is still the senior member of the family and by marrying a Catholic princess, Prince Ernst August would lose his rights of succession to the British throne. Of course, the Queen had no objection and the marriage went through without incident. The royal titles of Hanover are not recognized by the Federal Republic of Germany but the Principality of Monaco does so and Princess Caroline is therefore Her Royal Highness the Princess of Hanover, technically the only royal member of her family. On July 20, 1999 Princess Caroline gave birth to the only child of the couple, Princess Alexandra of Hanover, in Austria.

In 2002 changes in the succession laws of Monaco made Princess Caroline heir to the throne, and her children after her, in the absence of any legitimate issue by Prince Albert II; giving Caroline the title of Hereditary Princess of Monaco. She continues to enjoy the admiration of the people of Monaco and her many adoring fans around the world, however, she has also in recent years had to share some attention with her children, particularly Andrea and Charlotte whose good looks have ensured their place on mountains of magazine covers. Princess Caroline has tried to protect her privacy, and that of her family, as best she can and in 2004 actually won a lawsuit against Germany for violating her privacy in the European Court of Human Rights.

In spite of the less glamorous consequences of her royal status Princess Caroline has carried on doing her duty and has been recognized for her work on numerous occasions. In 2005 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit for support and encouragement of the arts in Monaco and in 2006 she was given the Children's Champion Award by UNICEF for her years of charitable work on behalf of children around the world. She also continues to be the President of the Princess Grace Foundation, the Prince Pierre Foundation and numerous other organizations. She continues to be active in all of these areas and last year was guest of honor at a special dinner to raise money for the children of the African nation of Niger. Through it all there are few who could not be impressed with the life of Princess Caroline, the hardships she has endured, the obstacles she has overcome and the unmatched devotion she has displayed to her people, her country and countless less fortunate around the world.

MM Video: Children of Monaco

Royal Profile: HSH Princess Stephanie of Monaco



If there is one member of the Grimaldi princely house who has created more than her share of controversy it is Princess Stephanie, the youngest child of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace; the one even at a young age whom Princess Grace referred to as her wild child. Some of her actions may have caused gasps from the faint of heart and raised a few eyebrows, but Princess Stephanie has also displayed an abundance of creativity, a restless energy and a down-to-earth way of connecting with people and helping people. She is living proof that it is often those who are considered outcasts at times who most sympathize with and most help the outcast and most downtrodden of their fellow man. Throughout her life Princess Stephanie has been a model, fashion designer, singer, mother and patron of charitable causes. She has gained a great deal of wisdom over the years from the many ups and downs in her life but she has never lost her rebel spirit and her mischievous but always compassionate heart.

Princess Stephanie was born Stephanie Marie Elisabeth Grimaldi, Countess of Polignac on February 1, 1965, the youngest child of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco. From a very early age she was known as a precocious and energetic child. She was given a proper education from the start but was always more drawn to the creative and the artistic than the cerebral. It would probably be impossible to overstate the significance of the fact that it was young Princess Stephanie who was riding with her mother back to Monaco when the accident occurred that took the life of the beloved Princess Grace on September 13, 1982. Stephanie survived but her mother did not and she was not even able to attend the funeral because she was still hospitalized recovering from her own injuries. This had a tremendous impact on the poor girl and would affect the rest of her life. It is also a large part of the reason why I will not tolerate dismissive criticism of Princess Stephanie.

Few people who have not had the misfortune to experience it can imagine the pain and emotional suffering that goes along with surviving an accident that takes the life of someone else. I am among those fortunate ones, but members of my family I am very close to have and I am painfully aware of the hurt it causes. Not only did Princess Stephanie go through such trauma, but it was made worse by the fact that it was her own mother and at her age losing a parent would be traumatic enough without being in the same accident and having to face the feelings of guilt that arise from the fact the you walked away and your beloved mother did not. Even with this worst of scenarios there was even more hardship heaped on the young princess with the thoughtless and hurtful rumors that she had really been driving the car and that the palace had covered it up. It was all totally untrue of course, Princess Grace had been driving, had suffered a stroke and thus lost control of the vehicle. However, just imagine what an extra amount of torment Princess Stephanie had to endure by being subject to the whispers that she was responsible for the death of her own mother. Add to all this the fact that she spent a long time afterwards going through the physical pain of her injuries and it was not until the following year that she had completely recovered; from the physical wounds at least. It would take some time for her to work through the emotional issues associated with the whole incident.

Following her recovery in 1983 Princess Stephanie began working as an apprentice at Christian Dior under Marc Bohan, a friend of Princess Grace. Some might have thought it was Stephanie who was doing Bohan the favor as here mere presence brought a great deal of publicity to Christian Dior and before the end of 1984 Princess Stephanie was a fashion model and appeared in numerous European and American magazines including Hola!, Vogue and Vanity Fair throughout 1985 and 1986. This line of work ended, however, at the insistence of Prince Rainier III who was not happy about his daughter working as a model. Yet, the creativity of Princess Stephanie could not be contained and toward the end of 1986 she came out with her own swimwear line and when the line was officially unveiled her family supported her and the world was treated to pictures of the lovely princess modeling her own creations. Princess Stephanie was on magazine covers all around the world from Europe to the U.S. and Brazil to Japan. However, Stephanie was too restless to stick with the fashion industry for long and began looking for others ways to express herself and find an outlet for her creativity. It was then that she turned to music.

February 1986 saw Stephanie release her first single, the hit "Ouragan" or "Irresistible" as it was titled in English. It was a great success, quickly rocketing to the International Top 10 and ultimately selling some five million copies. In September she released her first full album with many new songs including the smash hit "Flash" (in English "One Love to Give") which sold over two and a half million copies. In 1987 she released another single with the profits donated to UNICEF. That same year, to continue her music career and move in with her boyfriend-of-the-month Mario Oliver, Princess Stephanie moved to Los Angeles, California. Unfortunately, Princess Stephanie learned how fickle the music industry could be. After five years her next album was finally released and was greeted with lackluster sales and poor critical reviews. The open-minded liberals of LA seemed more obsessed with punishing a Princess than giving her music a fair hearing. They prefer their artists to be starving heroin-addicts from out of the gutter after all. Princess Stephanie ended her musical phase with an anonymous part in a Michael Jackson album.

On the bright side, she had produced some very good work and with the end of that chapter could move on to other creative endeavors. In 1989 Princess Stephanie came out with her own perfume line and in the succeeding years became an unofficial spokesperson for the Replay Store and Café with her own store in Monaco. She also opened one in Barcelona in 1997. By this time Princess Stephanie had become a mother and, although it is a long and complicated story, I might as well go ahead and dive into the personal life of Princess Stephanie. Over the years her boyfriends, companions and husbands have been numerous and frequently changing and often included men of less than admirable reputations. As stated, I tend not to be critical of this often criticized behavior, mostly because of what Stephanie had to endure. It has also been stated that, in French pop-culture, the princess who hangs around with ruffians is somewhat romanticized as an ideal, a sort of fetish over breaking the rules.

Among the many bad boys Princess Stephanie has been associated with was a man convicted of car theft, an alleged rapist and a convicted con man who had served time in prison for fraud and theft. She also had flings with a Spanish singer, a French actor, a record producer, American actor Rob Lowe whose lack of French language skills ended his future with the Princess, a football star, and Belgian bodybuilder and actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. In 1992 Stephanie began a relationship with her bodyguard Daniel Ducruet by whom she had two children; Louis Ducruet born in 1992 and Pauline Ducruet born in 1994. The couple finally married in Monaco on July 1, 1995 which legitimized their children in Monegasque law and put them in the line of succession. This might have been the start of a more calm period of happy family life for Princess Stephanie, but heartache found the rebel princess again when photos came out of Ducruet frolicking with a Belgian stripper. He was promptly expelled from the upper echelon of Monaco society and a divorce was granted on October 4, 1996. Princess Stephanie had been robbed of wedded bliss and her romantic misadventures were set to continue.

Stephanie still seemed to be drawn to those charged with her protection as things got rather serious between her and her chief of security Jean Raymond Gottlieb, a former Paris policeman and ski instructor. Soon Princess Stephanie was obviously in a family way again. On July 15, 1998 Princess Stephanie gave birth to a daughter, Camille Marie Kelly, named after her grandmother, in Monte Carlo and the Princess Grace Hospital Center. Everyone assumed that Gottlieb was the father though Princess Stephanie refused to reveal who was. Ducruet said the child was not his and an exasperated Prince Rainier III ordered his daughter to leave Monaco. That may not have been the best move in the long run as she went to the ski resort at Auron and fell in love with a Corsican bartender and was even spotted waiting tables from time to time. For someone who had never been impressed with the attention and pressures of being a princess Stephanie seemed desperate to be an anonymous, "ordinary" person. Nonetheless, after about 6 months that little fling was over and Princess Stephanie moved on.

In 2000 Princess Stephanie began a relationship with the Swiss circus owner and elephant trainer Franco Knie who she met a festival in Monte Carlo when awarding him a prize for Best Animal Tamer. Unfortunately, Monsieur Knie was married and the affair only became known publicly in 2001 when Knie announced that he was leaving his wife for Princess Stephanie. For several months thereafter Princess Stephanie and her children traveled with the circus, living in less than luxurious conditions, and her daughter Pauline became so infatuated with the elephants that Knie included her in the act. However, by the next year that relationship was over as well.

Throughout 2003 Stephanie was linked with Princely Palace head gardener (another married man), her former brother-in-law Philippe Junot and the Portuguese-Spanish trapeze artist Adans Lopez Peres, ten years younger than her and also a member of the Circus Knie. It was rumored that the two married and in the summer of 2004 a German newspaper reported that the two were divorcing and Stephanie was again seen with former husband Ducruet as well as Franck Brasseur, a married croupier. By November Stephanie and Peres were divorced and Stephanie was later seen dating another bartender and a French actor and musician. So far she has not shown any indication of wishing to marry again. She has also consistently tried to keep her children out of the public limelight and has said she wishes them to have as normal a life as possible, which may prove a futile effort.

Recently Princess Stephanie has taken on some more traditional royal duties. The death of Prince Rainier was a terrible blow to her. Despite their differences over the years she was very attached to him and her father had been her rock of stability throughout her many trials and ups and downs. However, she has said that his memory is with her constantly and she has become very involved in the fight against AIDS and helping AIDS victims around the world. She has become a UNAIDS ambassador and set up her own foundation, called Fight AIDS Monaco, to help the victims of the disease and to fight against the stigma that often goes with it. In this she seems to have found a niche for her particular talents, being a very loving person and also as someone who has been treated as something of an outcast by many she has more sympathy for these, the least of her brethren, than others might.

The years and her many high and low points seem to have brought Princess Stephanie a certain degree of worldly wisdom. She also does not ignore the spiritual side of life. In a recent interview she said, "It is important to believe in something. I am Christian and am baptized. Catholicism is the religion of state here and I respect it deeply". She went on to condemn excess and religious radicalism and expressed the view that, as the Bible says, all must work out their own salvation in fear and trembling. Over the years she has certainly been known as the wild child, the rebel princess and has made many eyes roll, however, she has had to deal with circumstances few other people in the world can understand. She has had to endure pain and emotional hardship the likes of which most onlookers and gossip columnists will never be able to comprehend. However, through it all her character has remain unchanged. She remains someone who is ready to help others, someone who refuses to quit and always displays her creative nature, her restless and rebellious nature and her indomitable spirit.

Favorite Royal Images: Grace and Ranier

A great royal romance, a great royal couple; TSH Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III of Monaco