The French Royal Martyrs and Monaco

Since starting this weblog, and preferring to talk about the history of the Grimaldis and Monaco more than current goings-on (though that isn’t always possible) I have often been asked about the relationship between the ill-fated French royals King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette and the Principality of Monaco. I have been hesitant in addressing this subject for a number of reasons but wanted to for others. In the first place, there is not much to tell. The short answer is that Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had practically nothing to do with Monaco or the Grimaldis aside from the occasional social meeting. I also do not like making comparisons between royals that highlight the shortcomings of one side or another and yet I also did want to at least address this subject because I am a great admirer of the martyred French king and queen and would like to point out how unfair the popular portrayal of the couple remains. Unfortunately, that cannot really be done without reliving some of the unfortunate shortcomings of my dear Grimaldis. Be that as it may, let’s dive in.

Politically of course, the King of France and the Prince of Monaco were very close. The political situation was pretty much the same then as it is today. Monaco was, and still is, an independent protectorate of France. The Prince of Monaco, at the time Honore III, was a sovereign monarch but King Louis XVI of France was responsible for the protection of Monaco. However, the Grimaldis were much more important in France in the time of Louis XVI than they are now since the Princes of Monaco held lands and titles in the French aristocracy and so had a high place in the French court so, naturally, there were meetings between the two at Versailles and so on. However, Honore III was about 34 years older than Louis XVI so it would not be expected that they would be buddies or anything or even nearly as close as say Honore II and Louis XIII or Louis I and Louis XIV had been. However, even with the Hereditary Prince Honore IV, he and his wife, Princess Louise, Duchess de Mazarin, did not have much in common with Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette.

The French King and Queen never visited Monaco, they rarely traveled at all and even the Princes of Monaco at that time were seldom in Monaco themselves. Prince Honore IV is something of a mysterious figure, only slightly younger than Louis XVI, since before the Revolution he was so overshadowed by his over-the-top wife and afterwards by his brother Prince Joseph who managed family affairs because Prince Honore IV was frequently ill. The marriage of Honore IV and Louise de Aumont Mazarin had been arranged and the two were completely incompatible with Princess Louise grabbing the most attention. As far as wives go, no two women were more opposite than Princess Louise and Queen Marie Antoinette. Not many people realize this because of the inaccurate portrayal of the French Queen but, as a matter of fact, the Hereditary Princess of Monaco was much closer to the way Marie Antoinette is so often accused of being.

No matter if one dismisses the most lurid tales as nothing more than court gossip there is no denying the fact that Princess Louise was a woman of rather loose morals who loved nothing more than wild and lavish parties with the most inventive costumes and diversions. Marie Antoinette is often portrayed this way but the truth is the total opposite. The King and Queen were both very religious people whereas the Grimaldis, although staunch Catholics of course, were not the most devout people in the world and Princess Louise certainly was not. Queen Marie Antoinette purposely did not associate with her because she so disapproved of her lifestyle, attitude and even her appearance. Whereas Marie Antoinette had a more delicate, childlike sort of beauty, Princess Louise was very voluptuous and bold and that type. So, Queen Marie Antoinette avoided Princess Louise specifically for behaving in ways that the Queen herself is so often accused of. It serves to illustrate how terribly unfair the popular portrayal of Marie Antoinette has been.

Prince Honore IV was nothing like his wife, which is one reason why they did not remain married for long, effectively parting before the revolution and divorcing during the period of the directory but even that was something the pious French King and Queen would not have approved of and could not have related to. In short, the two couples simply moved in different circles despite their proximity at the royal court in Versailles. And, even though Princess Louise in many ways embodied the sort of lifestyle Marie Antoinette was accused of being guilty of, the former Princess of Monaco would survive the revolution while the tragic Queen of course did not. Princess Louise, Duchess de Mazarin, with her husband Prince Honore IV and others of their family, were arrested by the revolutionaries but she managed to escape with her son, Prince Florestan, thanks to the kindly intervention of a doctor who was a family friend of the Grimaldis.

So, the House of Grimaldi ended up better off than their French counterparts, at least in as much as most of the Grimaldis survived the revolutionary bloodbath. They were eventually restored to their throne, as were the Bourbons, but the Grimaldis managed to stay whereas the French monarchy sadly did not. The families were close in political terms, friendly and correct and they both suffered due to the revolution. However, personally, they simply were not that close because they did not have a great deal in common and generally moved in different circles. Past kings had been much closer to the princes of Monaco but Louis XVI was quite different from his predecessors and neither he nor Honore IV were very “social” types. Their wives, contrary to popular belief, were as opposite as night and day. The Queen disapproved of the Princess of Monaco and the princess probably would have viewed the Queen as rather boring and prudish. For those who view Marie Antoinette as a consort unconcerned with her adopted country, unattached to her husband and given to extravagant spending and lavish parties they are actually giving an unfortunately accurate description of Princess Louise whom the Queen of France made it a point to avoid for those very qualities.

H.S.H. Princess Louise d'Aumont

HSH Princess Louise Felicite Victoire d'Aumont, Duchess d'Mazarin had a very colorful life of extreme ups and downs as seems to be common with every member by birth of marriage of the Princely Family of Monaco. She was born in Paris on October 2, 1759 (I've also seen 22nd) and was well known at all the best parties. She was a well-built, vivacious and outspoken woman and as such was not well liked by Queen Marie Antoinette who (despite the popular myths) was a very proper and genteel sort of lady. As the only child of the Duc d'Aumont she was sole heiress to the family fortune and this got the attention of HSH Prince Honore III of Monaco who was eager to arrange a lucrative marriage for his son and heir the 19-year-old future Prince Honore IV. Exactly when the two married I have no idea as I have seen 1771, 1773 and 1777 listed in various sources. Louise was also, through her mother, heiress of the fortune of the famous Cardinal Mazarin and was even a descendant of Hortense Mancini who had been mistress to both King Charles II of England and Prince Louis I of Monaco.

Honore III was so intent on the marriage that he passed his son the lucrative title of Duc d'Valentinois to help sweeten the deal. This meant Honore IV would get the income of the estate and also effectively shut out Honore III from the French court. Nonetheless, he thought it would all be worth it as part of the marriage contract was that when Louise came of age she would inherit her family property and this would be turned over to the Princely Family of Monaco. The two were married but Honore III would prove sadly disappointed in the long-run. Not only did the marriage break down fairly quickly but the estate Louise inherited was so hampered by mortgages and legal disputes as to end up costing more than they were worth. There was also the over-the-top lifestyle of his new daughter-in-law.

Princess Louise was known for her wild parties. One of the more famous was when she served a pie filled with live birds that caused such a stir when the pie was cut and they were released that she had to have her guests abandon the party as the birds refused to escape out the window and flew around the room in confusion. Another party that included a great number of live animals, an enclosed array of mirrors and a great deal of candlelight ended in a stampede when the flickering lights and bewildering reflections caused the sheep and dog (Louise had appeared as a shepherdess) to panic and bolt. Louise also spent vast sums of money gambling and on jewelry and the latest fashions. The marriage that Honore III had hoped would put Monaco on firm financial ground not only failed to help but put him in danger of losing his own estates just to pay the bills.

Princess Louise and Honore IV did do their duty for the Monegasque monarchy and had two sons; Honore V and Florestan, both of whom would eventually rule over Monaco. Nonetheless, the two were not well matched and coldness grew between them which would eventually become hatred. By the time of the French Revolution they were separated and Honore IV was dealing with sickness as he often was and living with his father. There was a family reunion of sorts in September of 1793 when Honore III, Honore IV, Princess Louise and their 8-year-old son Prince Florestan were all arrested by the revolutionaries and locked up in the barracks on the rue de Sevres as class enemies. However, Princess Louise and little Florestan were rescued by Doctor Desormeaux, a family friend of the Grimaldis, who hid the two in his home until the Reign of Terror was over.

Sometime during that period Honore IV and Louise officially divorced, which was very hard on their children as is usually the case. Honore V later complained that his mother called for him only when she needed some attention and was constantly threatening to cut him out of her will and gave him lectures of disaproval on his behavior (particularly when he fathered an illegitimate son in 1814). By that time Louise d'Aumont had already gone through another failed marriage having been wed to Rene Francois Tirnand-d'Arcis in 1801 before getting divorced in 1803. However, her family connections were still a force to be reckoned with and her cousin the Duc d'Aumont, who was close to the French king Louis XVIII, was helpful to Honore V in getting his uncle Prince Joseph removed from being regent of Monaco for the ailing Honore IV and taking his place.

Prince Florestan also had problems in his relationship with his mother. He was born just as the marriage of Honore IV and Louise was breaking up and was kept away from his father, living with Princess Louise and her family in Normandy while Honore IV was serving in Napoleon's army. Princess Louise was outraged when her 17-year-old son announced he wanted to be an actor. He went to Paris to pursue the career but his hero Alexandre Dumas crushes his hopes and many have suspected Princess Louise of putting him up to it as Dumas had often visited Princess Louise and her family at their estate. When Louise threatened to cut Florestan out of her will unless he get a respectable job he joined the army -a thoroughly miserable experience for him; never getting higher in rank than corporal and eventually being taken prisoner in the invasion of Russia.

By the time all was said and done the family was a mess. Honore IV and Louise hated each other and the two brothers Honore V and Florestan finally stopped speaking to each other. It probably did not help their relationship that when Princess Louise died she left her family fortune, or what was left of it, to her younger son Florestan who had bent to her will and who had always been closer to her than Honore V. She died on December 13, 1826 in Paris.