Today in Monegasque History

It was on this day in 1701 that Prince Antoine I (aka "Goliath") became Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

Grimaldi Greats

As I have been considering doing a series of posts elsewhere on the subject of my ‘favorites’ I thought I might try it out here first. Naturally, as a monarchist, I support all of the Monegasque monarchs regardless of their personal successes or failures or their personalities. To keep this from running on I will be looking only at my personal favorites from the time that the Lords of Monaco became the Princes of Monaco, keeping in mind that these are not in any order other than chronological, picking favorites is hard enough for me so ranking my least-to-most favorite is just not going to happen. So, let’s get started: I - The first is the first, that is Prince Honore II, who, as we know, was the first Grimaldi to be formally titled “Prince of Monaco”. This guy was something. Even as a baby his life was in danger as the assassins of Lord Hercules I ransacked the palace trying to find him to kill him as well. He became a very astute statesman, never had any marital problems from all I have read and his surprise attack which took Monaco out of the Spanish camp and into the French one shows that he was a clever diplomat as well as a masterful tactician. He obtained a much better position for his country, beautified the place and in every way left it better than he had found it. His people adored him for his wisdom, kindness and courageous leadership. The Spanish were not too happy with him but most every other account of his life and reign speaks of him only in the most complimentary terms. Monaco was his life, he devoted himself to it and to making it better. In that, he fully succeeded. II - Prince Antoine I, unfortunately had some setbacks in his reign. He was obliged to recognize the Duke of Savoy as overlord of part of his realm, his marriage to Marie de Lorraine was a disaster and so on. However, he inherited a nearly bankrupt state and yet managed, through immense personal sacrifice, to find enough money to improve the defenses of Monaco when the country was under threat. He was also a great patron of art and music and was the first to make Monaco a center of such creative talent, which might have surprised some since the Prince was also a very heroic veteran soldier. The people of Monaco adored him because of the concern he showed for their safety and the sacrifices he was willing to make to protect them and their property. He could be stern and strict but such a firm hand was called for and he not only secured and improved Monaco but pulled the country back from the brink of economic ruin and left it better than he found it. III - Prince Charles III, in many ways, was the monarch who put Monaco on the map. After losing the vast majority of the territory of the principality to France (the ceding of Menton and Roquebrune) it was Prince Charles III who presided over the economic renovation of Monaco into the holiday hot spot of Europe. The country had fallen on hard times since the whole trauma of the French Revolution but under Charles III the situation finally stabilized. The Italians were dealt with once and for all, the relationship with France was put firmly in order and a new era of economic independence came with the establishment of Monte Carlo casino and the rise of the resort industry. Much of this was also due to the wife of Charles III, Princess Antoinette, and his mother Princess Maria Caroline but it was Charles who was ultimately the one responsible as Sovereign Prince. Monaco adopted an official national flag, national anthem, the Order of St Charles was established and diplomatic relations were established with a number of countries all during the reign of Prince Charles III. IV - Prince Louis II might not be included on every list of great Princes of Monaco but he is one of my favorites. He embarked on a military career in the French army and took his service very seriously. Many said he would have been happier as a soldier than as a prince and he was a very good soldier. During World War I he displayed great skill and valor, winning numerous decorations and promotions. He was proud of his service and was often seen in uniform. During World War II when Monaco was occupied by the Axis forces, Prince Louis II used his police connections to ensure that Jews were able to escape before they could be arrested by the Nazis. He took a major risk in doing this and had to walk a thin line during those years. As Prince of Monaco he took the first steps toward a greater diversity in the tourism industry, making Monaco a center of football and racing as well as gambling. It was the steady leadership of Louis II that saw Monaco through its darkest period since the Revolution. V - Prince Rainier III, I firmly believe, will go down in history as one of the greatest Monegasque monarchs of all time. His extensive list of accomplishments are nothing short of exemplary. A strong monarch but also a forward-thinking man he brought Monaco out of the devastation of World War II and made it, once again, the most famous spot on the Riviera. His marriage to Princess Grace made Monaco a household word around the globe and he was a devoted husband and father. He diversified the economy to get away from the over-reliance on gaming and made Monaco a tourist destination that everyone could enjoy, not just the super-rich. He dealt firmly with any threats to the public good, reworked the constitution and strengthened the police to keep organized crime out of his country. Monaco became a center for business under his rule, the country expanded as land was reclaimed from the sea and a supreme court was established. His economic diversity programs brought a wave of unprecedented wealth and prosperity to the country. Although not often recognized, he was also a very humorous man and a very religious man and was awarded the Order of the Golden Spur by the Pope. At the time of his death in 2005 he was the second-longest reigning monarch in the world. Honorable Mention: It would be premature to pass judgement on the reign of Prince Albert II, however, some mention should be made of the admirable job he has done so far. He has made Monaco a center of environmental study (particularly concerning the oceans of the world), uprooted criminal elements trying to take root in the country and opened a new era of transparency that has taken Monaco off the list of 'tax havens' and "Morality, honesty and ethics" has been his motto. The economy has done well, even going through the current world financial storm relatively unscathed and relations with France have been greatly improved as well as managing to increase the effective political independence of the country. So far, so good.

Today in Grimaldi History

On this day in 1688 HSH Prince Antoine I of Monaco married Marie de Lorraine, starting what would be a very tumultuous and controversial but ultimately enduring marriage. You can find out more about the match of a fun-loving society girl and a military monarch known as "Goliath" on their respective pages. MM

H.S.H. Princess Marie de Lorraine

Marie de Lorraine was Princess of Monaco from 1701 to 1724. She was born in Paris on August 12, 1674 to Louis d’Armagnac de Lorraine-Harcourt, Grand Squire of France, and Catherine de Neufville de Villeroi. She was favored by her parents and described as rather spoiled and allegedly took after her mother who held her nose rather high as they say. On June 13, 1688 at Versailles she was married to the Duke of Valentinois (later Prince Antoine I of Monaco) in a match that was arranged in part by King Louis XIV. She did not bring a large dowry to the Grimaldi clan but was a pretty and vivacious young girl being barely 16 at the time of the wedding. One is left wondering what was the reasoning behind the match.

Marie was a vivacious, fun-loving girl known for her infatuations with balls, parties and flashy fashions with shockingly low necklines. As taken as Antoine might have been with dark eyes and lavish chestnut hair of his young bride the two had very different personalities. Prince Antoine was known for his love of opera and opera singers in particular and considered himself an expert on female quality but while Marie might have had ideal physical attributes she did not display the necessary qualities for a wife, consort and mother. Some think the driving force behind the match might have been the famous Madame de Maintenon, longtime mistress of Louis XIV, who pushed for the marriage to remove Marie de Lorraine as rival once the King had started to notice her.

However, her marriage to Prince Antoine did not remove her from notice by other high placed young men and one observer noted that Marie de Lorraine was, “More of an elegant flirt than all the ladies of the kingdom put together”. Marie’s father-in-law, HSH Prince Louis I, tried to hush the gossip about affairs between Marie and the young men who frequently visited her parents’ home as well as those about Prince Antoine and the Parisian opera singers when he was not away at the front fighting in the French army. Prince Louis advised his son to be tolerant and forgiving of his new bride on the grounds of her youth and try to master her by winning over her mother.

At the behest of Prince Louis, King Louis XIV bid Marie to go to Monaco with Louis I while her husband was away with his regiment, where he was shortly wounded at the battle of Namur. Marie at first seemed to enjoy the independence of living in Monaco, establishing herself in a residence called “le désert”, situated at the extreme north-east of the Rock. She was not always on the best of terms with her husband, a man whose commanding size and rugged features earned him the nickname “Goliath” while in the army. When Antoine announced his return to his regiment she begged to be allowed to go back to Paris and, inexplicably, once there began to spread rumors that Prince Louis I had tried to rape her.

Prince Louis was aghast by her behavior as was most of the French court who knew Louis I as a very kind and genteel man. Prince Antoine was absolutely livid about the whole absurd affair and when he returned to Paris lived separately from Marie for six years during which Marie engaged in numerous affairs. Finally King Louis XIV intervened with her father to effect a reconciliation of the couple.

This was no easy task as the veteran warrior Prince Antoine was known to be short-tempered and according to several accounts had hung in effigy all of the lovers Marie had allegedly taken. When King Louis spoke disapprovingly of this the Hereditary Prince of Monaco retorted that he should be grateful he restricted himself to hanging straw men only. When Marie’s mother fetched her back to Antoine she had to walk through the effigies on her way to the house. Nonetheless, a reconciliation of sorts was effected which produced the only two surviving children of the six Marie and Antoine had, one of which was his heir Princess Louise-Hippolyte.

The lack of a male heir troubled Prince Louis I greatly and there were rumors that he would have preferred the Chevalier de Grimaldi, his natural son, to succeed him instead of Prince Antoine but as the chevalier was illegitimate this was impossible and in 1701 Antoine and Marie became Sovereign Prince and Princess consort of Monaco.

The couple returned to Monaco together to take up their official duties and lived together, if not exceptionally happily, at least without any scandals or disastrous public fights like they had before. However, by this time it was certain that Marie would have no more children and the future of the Principality of Monaco would depend on the marriages her two daughters made. Marie de Lorraine, Princess of Monaco died in Monaco on October 30, 1724 after having married Louise-Hippolyte to Jacques (Mantignon) Grimaldi and her younger, Margaretha Camilla to Marshal Duke d’Isenghien.

H.S.H. Prince Antoine I

Prince Antoine I was the son of Louis I and came to the throne at the age of 40 upon the death of his father in 1701. On June 13, 1688 he had married Marie of Lorraine, daughter of the Comte de Armagnac at Versailles in a marriage that had been arranged by King Louis XIV himself. It would prove to be less than a joyous union and Prince Antoine became so frustrated with her that it was a relief to him when she abandoned him in all but name. She rarely set foot in Monaco but in those days the Reigning Prince himself was often absent as well and Antoine was no different. Like many before him and many who would follow after him on the throne of Monaco. During the War of the Grand Alliance (King William’s War in America) he fought in the German campaign of 1688 with the French army and participated in the great sieges of Mons and Namur. It was only shortly after succeeded to the Monegasque throne that Prince Antoine I was swept up with most of the rest of Europe in the War of the Spanish Succession which his father had hoped but failed to avoid diplomatically.

The Principality of Monaco itself was to become involved eventually when Savoy joined the alliance against France and thus threatened Nice and Monaco in 1705. It was a critical time for Monaco as she was threatened from the sea by the British Royal Navy and from the mountains by Savoyard troops. Prince Antoine wished to rush French troops to La Turbie (the sight of a great victory by Emperor Augustus in Roman times) which was a very strategic position and guarded by a respectable fortress. It was also contested by both Monaco and Savoy. However, the French commander on the Italian front, Marshal de La Feuillade, Duc de Roannais, refused to divert forces to defend La Turbie and instead ordered the fortress destroyed so as to deny it to the enemy. It should be kept in mind that La Feuillade owed his rank solely to family connections, was very young, inexperienced, arrogant and would ultimately prove quite inadequate to the task. Nonetheless, he was in command and his orders were carried out though he even managed to botch the demolition work and only half of the main tower was destroyed in the explosion.

Meanwhile, Prince Antoine worked feverishly to fortify Monaco and it is to his credit that he was able to scrape together the money, men and equipment to strengthen the defenses of his small country. His fortifications can still be seen in Monaco today in the old part of town and visitors can see the plaque marking “Fort Antonius”. Certainly Prince Antoine never would have imagined that the bastions he built would one day be firing canon salutes to American actress coming to marry the Prince of Monaco. Prince Antoine also looked to mother nature to help defend Monaco and some remnants are still around today. In the absence of modern obstructions like barbed wire, Prince Antoine had plants such as aloe, agave and prickly pear cactus planted along the walls to bedevil attacking troops. All of this required no small amount of sacrifice on the part of Prince Antoine since the high living of Louis I had left him with very little money. To build all of these new battlements in Monaco he melted down his own silver and sold the family jewels. However, he was not just concerned with military defense but also the welfare of his people and oversaw the construction of huge underground bunkers for the public in the event of enemy shelling and dug cisterns to hold an ample supply of water in the event of a siege. These improvements continued until 1713 (only a year before the war ended).

By 1713 negotiations for ending the war were already underway and Prince Antoine and all of Monaco was in danger of being sold out by their protecting power; France. During the haggling over the Treaty of Utrecht the Duke of Savoy demanded that the Principality be turned over to him but King Louis XIV protested that he could not simply hand over Monaco as it was an independent country and not his to give or take. However, Monaco did not survive completely unscathed. The continued independence of Monaco and the protectorate with France was maintained but the outlying towns of Menton and Roquebrune were forced to recognize Savoy as their overlord. This would contribute to the longstanding ambiguity over the status of Menton and Roquebrune for some time to come. Prince Antoine was deeply distressed by this but there was very little he could do about it and was at least grateful that Monaco itself remained as it had been. With the crisis of the war over Prince Antoine could turn his attention to problems closer to home, specifically his lack of a male heir.

The marriage with Marie of Lorraine had produced six children but of these only two daughters survived; Princess Louise Hippolyte and Princess Margaretha. With no son attention quickly focused on Princess Louise Hippolyte as the future heir to the throne and even at the age of 15 the matter of her marriage became of the utmost importance to the principality. The only other candidate was Prince Antoine’s brother who was perfectly willing to assume the throne but who could have only been a temporary solution at best as he was a priest. Prince Antoine wished for the name of the Grimaldi family to survive and so for that reason favored his eldest daughter marrying someone who was not so high up the social ladder that he would protest against changing his name and becoming a Grimaldi. There were many schemes and intrigues surrounding the potential marriage of Louise Hippolyte before she was finally engaged to Jacques de Goyon Mantignon, Comte de Thorigny. He was a descendant of the famous Marshal Jacques de Mantignon who had refused to follow his orders to participate in the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre. However, the intrigues surrounding Louise-Hippolyte were to continue even after her marriage.

Prince Antoine also had at least three illegitimate children, one of whom was to become very important for Monaco later which was Antoine Grimaldi, named for his father, but who is better known to history as the Chevalier de Grimaldi who would, in the future, rule Monaco quite capably as Governor-General and regent of Monaco. Prince Antoine had a great deal of problems when it came to his private life as a husband and father but no one could doubt his skill and bravery as a soldier or his abilities as a statesman. In Monaco he was very popular as the people recognized his work to protect them and make their lives better. He was a patron of the arts, supported numerous painters and was passionate about music. Under his rule many great artists, musicians and the like came to Monaco which even then began to have a reputation amongst the states of Europe as a place of refinement and high culture. He died on February 20, 1731 and the tumultuous reign of Princess Louise-Hippolyte began.