She was the last living consort of a Sovereign Prince of Monaco and she was born Ghislaine Marie Francoise Dommanget in Rheims, France on October 13, 1900 to French cavalry Colonel Robert Dommanget and his wife Marie Louise Meunier. She grew up with a love for the stage and eventually became a fairly well known and accomplished comedy actress. She married a fellow actor, Andre Brule, but the marriage did not last and the two eventually divorced. On July 24, 1946 she married HSH Prince Louis II of Monaco and had the distinction of being the first woman to marry into the Grimaldi family without presenting a dowry. The two were married in Monaco, Louis II being 76 at the time and his bride was almost 46. By 1946 Louis II, a hardened veteran of the Foreign Legion and decorated hero of World War I, was worn out by his long and trouble-filled reign and the added stress of occupation during World War II by Italian and later German forces. He spent most of his time away from Monaco in Paris. Princess Ghislaine was to be his primary comfort and companion in this last period of his life.
Following the divorce of his only daughter, Princess Charlotte, Louis II looked to his grandson Rainier to be the heir to the throne and his mother abdicated her succession rights to her son. Less than three years after their marriage Prince Louis II passed away on May 9, 1949. The 48 year old Princess Ghislaine continued to live in Paris for the most part and unfortunately did not get along well with her step-grandson, now Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Rainier III. She was officially titled Princess Dowager of Monaco and though she had her problems with Rainier III (who eventually cut off her pension from the Monegasque government) she did have a fairly good relationship with his wife Princess Grace whom Rainier had married in 1956. It surely helped that both had been actresses before becoming Princesses of Monaco.
When Princess Grace died tragically in 1982 Princess Ghislaine went to Monaco for her requiem mass and impressed everyone with her style, bearing and solemnity. With no consort for Monaco it was technically Princess Dowager Ghislaine who was again the highest-ranking woman of the Princely Family but, as most know, it was young Princess Caroline who effectively took over the job of trying to fill her mother's shoes. Remaining mostly in Paris as usual Princess Dowager Ghislaine lived to the age of 90 before her death on April 30, 1991 at Neuilly-sur-Seine.
It was on this day in 1900 that HSH Princess Chislaine of Monaco was born in Rheims, France. A divorced actress, it caused quite a stir when she married the aging Prince Louis II of Monaco in 1946, the first time any Prince of Monaco had married a woman without a dowry. Perhaps because of this, because of her background, and the considerable age difference between her and Louis II (35 years), the rest of the Grimaldi clan, unfortunately, were not very welcoming to Princess Ghislaine. Louis II adored her but he seemed to be the only one with the rest of the family suspecting her sincerity and basically viewing her as a 'golddigger'. Princess Antoinette was so furious she refused to attend their wedding. No doubt they felt justified when Louis II passed away and left half of his fortune to his beloved wife with the other half divided amongst his daughter Princess Charlotte and grandchildren Princess Antoinette and Prince Rainier III. But, at that time, the will of the Sovereign Prince was law and once Louis II breathed his last that honor belonged to Rainier III and he voided his grandfather's will. Princess Ghislaine was allowed to keep her jewelry, gifts her husband and others had given her, but no more. She was provided with a modest pension and the use of apartments in the palace which she did use even though Rainier III refused to speak to her. She did attend his wedding to Princess Grace and the 25th anniversary of Prince Rainier III coming to the throne. She also returned to Monaco for the funeral of Princess Grace before her death at the ripe old age of 90 in 1991.
It was on this day in 1991 that HSH Princess Ghislaine of Monaco passed away at Neuilly-sur-Seine. She was the wife and consort, in the twilight of his life, of HSH Prince Louis II of Monaco. She was 35 years younger than the Sovereign Prince when the 69-year-old Louis II fell in love with the former actress. He married her and brought her to the palace where, sadly, most of the family turned a cold shoulder to her. Prince Louis II adored her totally but the rest of the family tended to be suspicious of her, as is often the case when an older man at the end of his life weds a much younger woman. In fact, when the two married Louis' granddaughter, Princess Antoinette, refused to attend (and when she made her first marriage Louis II responded in kind). When Prince Louis II died he made generous provision for his wife in his will but Prince Rainier III blocked this and though he never spoke to Princess Ghislaine she still kept her apartments in the Princely Palace and made use of them from time to time. One of the last major events Princess Ghislaine attended in Monaco was the celebration in May of 1974 of the 25th anniversary of Prince Rainier III coming to the throne. This included a Te Deum at the national cathedral in honor of Prince Louis II and Princess Ghislaine, along with almost the whole Grimaldi family for a change, attended. Although she was rather put aside in Monaco for the most part she remained Dowager Princess of Monaco for the rest of her life, a life that ended on this day, April 30, 19 years ago.
