HSH Prince Pierre of Monaco

HSH Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duc d’Valentinois was born Pierre Marie Xavier Raphael Antoine Melchior Comte de Polignac in Kerscamp on October 24, 1895. His father was the French Maxence Melchior Comte d’Polignac and his mother was the Mexican lady Susana Maria de la Torre y Mier. His family was one of the oldest and most elite aristocratic families in France. One of his ancestors was a sister of Madame de Montespan and another was Yolande de Polastron, Duchesse de Polignac, one of the favorite friends of Queen Marie Antoinette. Described as charming, sensitive, suave and elegant the multi-lingual aristocrat was a common feature at elite parties in France and Monaco where he attracted the attention of Princess Charlotte of Monaco, the only child of Prince Louis II.

HSH Prince Albert I took an interest in the count as a possible husband for Charlotte as it seemed likely she would become Sovereign Princess of Monaco and he was rather concerned about history repeating itself with the story of the only other Sovereign Princess in Monegasque history Louise-Hippolyte. A prenuptial agreement was reached which would limit the role of the count should his wife ever take the throne. The legal haggling done Charlotte and Pierre Comte de Polignac were married in a civil ceremony on March 18 followed by a religious ceremony on March 19, 1920 at Marchais. The count officially became HSH Prince Pierre Grimaldi, Comte de Polignac, of Monaco. After the marriage he was also given the title of Duke of Valentinois.

At first things went well and nine months later Charlotte and Pierre had their first child, Princess Antoinette, on December 18, 1920. However, from the very start Pierre had a bad relationship with his formidable father-in-law Prince Louis II. The crusty military man viewed Prince Pierre as “a society dandy”. When Louis II succeeded to the throne relations only worsened as he insisted on keeping his family close around him and father and son-in-law could not have been more different. On May 31, 1923 Princess Charlotte gave birth to a son, Prince Rainier, and as far as Louis II was concerned, with the arrival of male heir, Prince Pierre was no longer necessary.

Princess Charlotte and Prince Pierre had been having problems almost from the start. Princess Charlotte adored her father but the presence of Prince Pierre came between them. In time, relations between husband and wife deteriorated further. Princess Charlotte began to complain that Prince Pierre was distant and something of an elitist while others found him eminently likeable. Finally, in 1929 the couple separated with the approval of Louis II. Later they were divorced (though the marriage was never annulled) and Louis II banned Prince Pierre from Monaco. Relations between husband and wife went from bad to worse with the children caught in the middle.

In the divorce settlement Prince Pierre had insisted on keeping control of the education of his son Prince Rainier and sent him to a very harsh boarding school in Britain. Rainier was so miserable he tried to run away and Princess Antoinette fought so fiercely with Prince Pierre that she accused him of being abusive (something few would believe). All of this was enough for Prince Louis II to take charge of his grandchildren himself. Pierre tried to take his case to court but there was little he could do against the Sovereign Prince of Monaco and Louis II won the day.

Over time Prince Rainier became quite upset with his mother and grandfather for keeping him away from his father for so long. Rainier and Prince Pierre wrote to each other and became as close as possible through correspondence. Prince Rainier became quite fond of him, finding him a completely different person from the image of Pierre that his mother and grandfather had and missed his presence in his life. He was quite worried when their correspondence stopped during World War II which, he later discovered, was because Prince Pierre was aiding the Free French underground; something which might have surprised his ex-father-in-law.

When Louis II died and Rainier III became Sovereign Prince of Monaco he immediately lifted the ban against his father and Prince Pierre was able to return to the principality to attend the most important events in the life of his son. Princess Antoinette would have no reconciliation with her father but Rainier worked to put the past behind them and rehabilitate the reputation of his father in Monaco. Prince Pierre remained very close to his son and a trusted advisor and confidant when needed until his death on November 10, 1964. He did at least live long enough to see his son marry the lovely Princess Grace and start enjoying the close-knit and happy family life that he had never had.

The Grimaldi's Confederate Cousin

Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac was born on February 16, 1832 at Millemont Seine-et-Oise, France to Prince Jules de Polignac and Princess Marie Charlotte (Parkyns). A member of one of the most prestigious, and staunchly royalist, French families his father was council president under HM King Charles X of France. His father was a passionate royalist and an absolutist which made him a favorite of Charles X. Already a member of the French nobility he was granted the Roman title of Prince by the Pope. Polignac is also a relative of the modern Monegasque Princely Family as the father of HSH Prince Rainier III of Monaco, Prince Pierre, was the son of Maxence Melchior Comte d'Polignac.

His grandmother Gabrielle had been a famous beauty at the royal court in her day and was a best friend to the ill-fated Queen Marie Antoinette. During the 1840’s the Prince de Polignac studied mathematics and music at St Stanislas College. In 1853 he opted for the military, joining the French army to fight in the Crimean War wherein he was awarded a promotion to second lieutenant. However, still part scholar as well as soldier, he resigned his commission in 1859 to travel to Central America to study geography and political economy.

As it happened he was in the United States when war broke out between the north and south. Finding himself in friendly surroundings amongst the chivalrous cavaliers of Dixie he volunteered to fight for the Confederacy in 1861. With his blue-blood background and prestigious connections he was assured a place in the Confederate officer corps and was, appropriately enough, first made a staff officer under the dapper Louisiana Creole General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, another soldier of gallant temperament, French lineage and the Catholic faith. Later, however, he served on the staff of the irascible General Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army of Tennessee. Nonetheless, he distinguished himself and in January of 1863 was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

In March of that year he was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi department and assigned to command a brigade from Texas. At first the hard-hitting Texans were less than impressed with their new foreign-born commander, derisively nicknaming him “Prince Polecat”. However, in time this would become a term of affection as much as it was used as the Prince de Polignac earned the respect of his Texans through his skill and bravery on the battlefield. The Prince led his Texans into battle at Vidalia and Harrisonburg, Louisiana in the spring of 1864. However, his greatest moment of glory was still to come.

From March to May of 1864 the Union armies launched the Red River Campaign, aimed at Shreveport, to cut off Confederate supplies from the far west and open the door for an invasion of Texas. In the first major battle of the campaign at Mansfield the Prince de Polignac showed his worth. Despite being considerably outnumbered the Confederates prevailed, inflicting twice as many losses as their own on the Union army and capturing a large number of supplies and munitions. Prince de Polignac was given a battlefield promotion to major general when his superior, Alfred Mouton, was killed. During the attack Polignac led his troops in person, waving his sword over his head as his troops shouted the famous ‘Rebel Yell’. A Union prisoner described the Prince and his Texas as “charging demons” whose crushing assault was “like a cyclone”.

The French Prince led his Texans throughout the rest of the Red River campaign, which ended in inglorious defeat for the Union army, and then to the new posting of his division to Arkansas in the autumn of 1864. With the overall situation of the Confederacy worsening, Prince de Polignac was thought to perhaps be more valuable off the battlefield as an envoy to France where he could perhaps use his family connections to convince the French Emperor Napoleon III to recognize the Confederate States of America and intervene in the war on their behalf, necessary, they argued, for the ultimate victory of French forces in Mexico at the time. Unfortunately, Prince de Polignac arrived too late and it was doubtful Napoleon could have been moved without the British going along with him in any event. Still he was knighted by the Emperor and sent to Queen Victoria on Napoleon’s behalf.

With the war over in 1865, Polignac went back to his original plan and journeyed to Central America. He wrote and served in the French army again as a brigadier general in the Franco-Prussian War. In 1874 he married Marie Adolphine Longenberger who sadly died giving birth to their daughter. In 1883 the Prince married Elizabeth Margaret Knight by whom he had two daughters and one son. He named his son Mansfield in honor of his finest hour. Prince de Polignac retired to a more quiet life, studying mathematics and music until his death on November 15, 1913 at the age of 81, the last surviving Confederate major general.