Casanova and the Prince of Monaco

HSH Prince Honore III of Monaco had quite a colorful life being an accomplished soldier, a foresighted leader and even something of a political reformer. However, things at the royal court in France never seemed to be dull and the Prince of Monaco had quite a time when his paths crossed with the famous Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova. One thing the court was never short on was gossip of a romantic nature and it is not surprising that Casanova generated his share. Apparently there came to be problems when both the Venetian author and the Prince of Monaco became fascinated by the same woman; an actress. Even today the very name of Casanova brings to mind someone who is ultimately charming and a master of romance and seduction and, while not as pronounced, he had a bit of that reputation in his own time as well. However, he had encountered a more clever romantic rival with Prince Honore III. Casanova was observed by the Prince to be something of a 'social climber', rather on the snobby side we might say today and always looking to advance himself by conquests amongst high society. The Prince of Monaco determined to use this to his advantage and so, to distract the charming Italian from the actress he had his own eye on, he promised to introduce Casanova to an eligible duchess.

Casanova jumped at the opportunity and, to be fair, the Prince of Monaco was as good as his word. He did indeed introduce Casanova to a duchess who was looking for love and who was instantly smitten with the dashing Venetian, however, he rather neglected to mention that she was considerably older than the Italian heartthrob and not terribly attractive at all. Casanova had been beaten and far from being able to compete with Honore III for the affections of the actress, it was all he could do to stay one step ahead of the man-hungry duchess who pursued him relentlessly. The story goes that Casanova eventually had to lie and tell the duchess he suffered from some terrible venereal disease before she was put off of him, which, true or not, probably did his reputation no good. Supposedly, he never forgave Prince Honore III for having lured him in to such a position but, as the English say, 'all is fair in love and war'.

Long May He Reign

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the accession of HM Queen Elizabeth II to her British and Commonwealth thrones. A very special and historic occasion for all those people over whom the Queen reigns to be sure. In all of British royal history only Queen Victoria has reigned longer than the current Queen and Her Majesty may break even that record before all is said and done. This date made me curious though as to how this record compares to the Princely House of Grimaldi who have reigned over Monaco far longer than the current British Royal Family has reigned over their array of countries yet whose position has often been far more precarious than that of the British Royal Family. After looking into it, I have found, not surprisingly, that no Prince of Monaco has reigned so long as the current Queen of the United Kingdom etc. However, the longest reigning so far did come pretty close. That honor goes to His Serene Highness Prince Honore III of Monaco, the longest reigning Sovereign Prince in Monegasque history. He acceeded to the Princely throne on November 7, 1733 and reigned until January 19, 1793 when he was sadly brought down by the spreading forces of the French Revolution for a reign totalling 59 years and 73 days. When looking into this subject I had expected the record would go to the great Prince Rainier III who was, for a time, the longest reigning monarch in Europe and the second longest in the world after the King of Thailand. However, Prince Rainier III was several years short of the record set by Honore III though he was one of the longest reigning princes in Monegasque history at 55 years and 332 days. And, of course, who knows, HSH Prince Albert II may yet beat them all. So long live the Prince and may he beat the record of Honore III!

Birthday of Honore III

Today in 1720, HSH Prince Honore III of Monaco was born. An accomplished soldier and very cultured man, he was to lose his throne in the horror of the French Revolution. See past articles on Prince Honore III.

The Death of a King

It was on this day in 1793 that His Most Christian Majesty, King Louis XVI of France and Navarre was executed guillotine after being declared a "traitor" by the French Convention. As had been the case since the reign of King Louis XIII, the King of France was the official protector of the Principality of Monaco and feudal overlord of her princes. Now the Bourbon monarchy had been abolished and Louis XVI was sent to his death for his royal blood. In time his wife would follow him, also sent to the guillotine, and his little son and heir, the Dauphin, would be starved to death in a revolutionary prison. This news undoubtedly sent shock waves throughout the House of Grimaldi. If the French revolutionaries would kill their own king, whose person was once held sacred, what mercy could a deposed monarch of a foreign princely family expect? At the time, HSH Prince Honore III was himself in a revolutionary prison, his country had been torn from him and in due time would be absorbed completely by the French Republic. What horror Prince Honore III and his son Hereditary Prince Honore IV must have felt when this news reached their ears. No doubt they wondered when their own turn to face Madame Guiolltine would come. Thankfully, that day did not come save for the tragic Princess Francoise-Therese de Choiseul-Satinville, wife of Prince Joseph of Monaco.

Although they may not have felt it as severely as the Princes of Monaco sitting in prison in Paris, the whole world was shocked the regicide of Louis XVI and none moreso than the remaining crowned heads of Europe. However, the United States was also not without outrage on the occasion. It had, oddly enough, been Thomas Paine of Pennsylvania, the famous propagandist of the American Revolution who had really sold the American public on dropping their loyalty to the King of England, who was the single member of the Convention to vote against the execution of the King. Paine warned his fellow revolutionaries that America had not forgotten that it had been the intervention of King Louis XVI which had ensured their victory in the war for independence. As Paine said, 'The man you have condemned to death is regarded by the people of the United States as their best friend, the founder of their freedom'. He warned them that by killing King Louis they would instantly turn the United States from a friend to a foe of the Revolution. Although some supporters remained, by and large he was correct.

A Sad Day in History

It was on this day in 1793 that HSH Prince Honore III was deposed as Sovereign Prince as the French Revolution overflowed into Monaco. The Prince had rushed to Paris in 1790 when the trouble there began to try (unsuccessfully) to safeguard his lands and titles in the French aristocracy (as the Duke of Valentinois). In 1792 French revolutionaries and those whipped into a frenzy by them had already declared Monaco, Menton and Roquebrune "Free Towns" before, on January 13th, deposing Honore III and declaring, "the perpetual downfall of the sovereignty of the House of Grimaldi". The Prince of Monaco had already been thwarted in his efforts in Paris following the imprisonment of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette in the Tuileries. The Assembly had recognized that he had a case but nothing was done about it and as the Assembly had turned on their own monarch and were treating their own Royal Family as political prisoners, the foreign Prince of Monaco seemed totally out of luck. His only remaining hope was that the more moderate faction of Mirabeau could make France a constitutional monarchy and some level of normalcy could be restored. However, in the meantime, the so-called "People's Councils" of Monaco, Menton and Roquebrune had formed a Conventional Assembly and deposed Prince Honore III. So it was that while he was trying to restore his properties in France, the Prince had lost his very throne in his own country.

We can at least be thankful that this outbreak of revolution in Monaco was not accompanied by the sort of horrific bloodlust that was seen in France. Nonetheless, it was a terrible blow to the Princely Family and the start of what would be a long, dark period in the history of Monaco. No longer having a place in their own country, the Grimaldis were at the mercy of the increasingly radical "government" in France which soon saw them arrested (even the elderly Honore III) and in real fear of their lives as a succession of French aristocrats were sent to the guilotine. Helpless in a foreign land, Honore III tried to gain the good graces of those in power but it was to no avail. The French revolutionary madness was not to be turned back and little Monaco had been swamped by the flood that had burst through in Paris. It would be twenty years before the Prince of Monaco (by that time Honore IV) would be restored to his country and Monaco again restored to the status of a sovereign country.

Birthday of Honore III

Today marks the 290th anniversary of the birth of H.S.H. Prince Honore III of Monaco, one of the most significant of Monegasque monarchs. He was the son of the controversial Prince Jacques I and would become one of the longest reigning monarchs in European history, serving as Sovereign Prince of Monaco for almost 60 years. He grew up in less than ideal circumstances, had plenty of domestic drama of his own following his marriage and he served with distinction in the French army. However, surely the most significant event of his long reign was the outbreak of the French Revolution which would ultimately spread to Monaco and cost Honore III his throne. He was arrested during the Reign of Terror and was very fortunate not to have ended his life on the guillotine. All seemed lost at the end of his life, but of course his end was not the end of the Grimaldis or Monaco. However, the very eventful life of one of the most colorful monarchs in Europe began 290 years ago today

This Day in History

On this day in 1795 HSH Prince Honore III (left) passed away at the age of 74 in Paris and was succeeded by his son HSH Prince Honore IV. It was a dark time for the Grimaldi family; their French estates had been taken by the Revolution, many members of the family had been put in prison and Monaco itself was taken over by the French republicans with even the Princely Palace being seized and looted. Prince Honore III had been in prison the year before his death, which ruined his already weakening health. Prince Honore IV thus succeeded to his rights as Sovereign Prince of Monaco but could not actually take up that position and was a man without a country. He had been in prison when the Reign of Terror broke out and Honore IV was thrown in prison. His confinement was cruel and was to ruin his health to a large extent, even long after his release he was frail and sickly for the rest of his life. It must have seemed like the most hopeless position for Honore IV when he inherited the title of Sovereign Prince of Monaco; his family in prison or in exile, his country occupied, the family fortune gone and revolutionary radicals in control and preaching war and conquest. However, Prince Honore IV would eventually see his country restored but it all started with his succession on March 21, 1795.

Monaco and the Regicide of Louis XVI

It was today in 1793 that His Most Christian Majesty King Louis XVI of France was beheaded by revolutionaries in Paris. This tragic event had a huge impact, not only on France, but on the neighboring Principality of Monaco as well. The French Revolution had already spread to Monaco, a Jacobin club was established on "The Rock" itself and HSH Prince Honore III had gone to Paris in an effort to save his rights and lands as a member of the French aristocracy. In the end, although the revolutionary government recognized the right of Honore's claim, he was given none of the compensation promised to him and a month after the regicide of the King the French republic took over Monaco and Honore III was deposed. The Princely flag was torn down and the French tricolor took its place.

This is something that Monegasque monarchists should keep in mind as it can be tempting to view Monaco as an isolated enclave of paradise, safe from the trials and tribulations of the outside world. Ever since Prince Honore II led his coup against the Spanish and brought Monaco under the protection of Louis XIII of France the two countries have had a special relationship which endures to this day. However, it is worth remembering, lest anyone think it does not matter to Monaco whether France is a monarchy or a republic, that the only time France ever violated Monegasque sovereignty it was the French republic that did so. No King of France ever invaded or in any way harmed the nation of Monaco -but the republic did. In fact, the Kings of France and the Princes of Monaco enjoyed a very friendly relationship, helping each other in many instances.

The French Revolution was a disaster for Monaco and the death of Louis XVI should be remembered with sadness in Monaco as much as in France for a benevolent protector was taken from them unjustly. As the tumult reached its zenith Monaco would be taken over by the French republic, the Princely Palace looted and occupied and the Grimaldi family deposed, thrown into prison and in the case of one tragic princess, sent to the guillotine. Fortunately for Monaco, the Grimaldi monarchy was restored and reigned without interruption ever since. While revolution and republicanism brought a succession of governments to France in all the years since, Monaco has remained peaceful and stable under their Princely Family. This simple fact is one French republicans should perhaps give some consideration.

Rest in peace King Louis.

The Death of the Duke of York

HRH Prince Edward Duke of York, younger brother of Britain's King George III and a rear admiral in the Royal Navy was 28 when he went on a tour of the continent, going from Paris he headed toward Genoa where he planned to meet a beloved girlfriend. While at a party in Toulon he seemed to take sick and was advised to take rest but refused and inisted on going on his way. He left on August 29, 1767 against the advice of his retinue. Instead of going to Genoa by sea he proceeded overland and stopped in at the small Principality of Monaco. HSH Prince Honore III, who was in Normandy, rushed home to meet so high-ranking a guest which was a rather unusal honor for the isolated country. The Sovereign Prince pulled out all the stops to honor the Duke who stood tall and handsome in full uniform despite the extreme heat as the Monegasque honor guard saluted in his honor. However, the trip and all worsened his condition and he became feverish and Honore III had the Duke put up in his state bedchamber.

The Prince of Monaco provided the best care for the Duke he could, calling in local physicians and doctors from Nice but, lacking the medical facilities of Paris or London, little could be done. His condition rapidly declined and Honore wished to inform King George III but the Duke would not allow it. He himself finally dictated an apologetic letter to his brother, with whom he had grown apart since their youth, and he thanked Honore III for all of the care he had provided as well as the doctors who had attended him. On September 17 the Duke of York passed away and Honore III ordered full honors be given with a cannon shot every half hour and the Duke laid in state in his own bed with the room decorated according to the English customs of mourning with a black canopy over the bed which was placed on a raised dias in the middle of the room that was draped in black for the occasion.

The frigate HMS Montreal was dispatched to bring the King's brother home and Honore III ordered artillery salutes and waited himself by the landing as the coffin bearing the Duke's body and all of his attendants were taken aboard. The Royal Standard was dropped to half-mast and the Sovereign Prince ordered a salute of two more cannon shots from the ramparts of the fortress and two volleys from the Monegasque regiment drawn up in salute as the remains of the Duke of York departed Monaco. The room in which Prince Edward died in the Prince's Palace has been known ever since as the York Room and in thanks for the care given his brother King George III sent Prince Honore two of the Duke's best race horses and invited him to London as his guest to show his appreciation. Honore III was honored to go, hoping it might lead to a closer relationship between Great Britain and Monaco which was not to be, the King being very polite and correct but no more.

It was a sad occasion for Britain where the fun loving Duke of York was quite popular though quite a different character from his more reserved brother. It was sad as well for Monaco but also an occasion that drew a great deal of attention on the small principality and Honore III was very conscious of this, insisting that all proper protocol be followed exactly and showing both the hospitality of Monaco as well as all the pomp and ceremony the Monegasque could muster for the passing of the brother of the King of the largest colonial empire in the world.

H.S.H. Princess Marie-Catherine de Brignole-Sale

Marie-Catherine de Brignole-Sale was the first wife and consort of HSH Prince Honore III of Monaco, however, their story actually begins with Marie-Catherine’s mother; Marquise Anne de Brignole-Sale. Although some ten years his senior Honore was very much taken with the strong-willed, passionate beauty and was soon carrying on a quite public affair in total disregard of her husband, the skeletal thin but immensely rich Marquis de Brignole-Sale. Anne herself was of the prominent Balhhis of Genoa and Honore carried on an affair with her for several years, even spending a few months living openly with her in Genoa at the Palazzo Rosso. However, her daughter, Marie-Catherine also began to turn heads. She was 15-years-old with dark hair, captivating features and a perfect figure. Soon Honore had cooled toward the mother and began to court the daughter.

The Marquise did not appreciate this very much and ordered Honore to leave. With he did, but only after pledging to marry Marie-Catherine one day. For her part, Marie-Catherine sent a note saying that she would marry no one other than the Prince of Monaco. The problem with the marriage plans was that they required the consent of the Marquis de Brignole-Sale and it should go without saying that he no kind feelings for the man who had cuckolded him for so long. He refused his permission and to the surprise of Marie-Catherine, Prince Honore seemed to give up and go looking elsewhere. In truth, Honore still loved Marie-Catherine but he was determined to marry and start a family with someone, even if not his first choice. Honore set his cap for the daughter of the Duc de La Valliere, whom he had never bet, but who would make a very beneficial match.

Because of his past actions the French court protested loudly at the match in a show of very hypocrisy given how many of them had or were carrying on similar affairs. The King withdrew his support and Honore III threatened to withhold Monegasque support for France such as the military service his family had long provided. Louis XV was unmoved by the threat. The Marquise was also denouncing her former lover but Honore’s strong reply seemed to win her over to the idea. She then began to work on her husband to agree to Honore marrying their daughter and finally the Marquis agreed and Honore sent Marie-Catherine an engagement present; the same jewels that had once belonged to her mother.

On June 15, 1757 the couple were married by proxy in Genoa. An impressive flotilla of ships then set out from the city to deliver Marie-Catherine to Monaco where Honore III was waiting to receive her with plenty of flags and soldiers all dressed in their best. The Genoese ships arrived, dropped anchor and then did nothing for about 15 minutes. Finally a messenger came to politely inform Honore III that he should board the ship to claim his bride. Honore III was outraged at the suggestion. He was the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, a monarch in his own right, and monarchs did not go to meet others; others came to meet him and he said as much. This was too much for the proud Genoese republicans. The bride was descended from French nobility and several Doges of Genoa and they demanded Honore bow to their wishes. A stand-off ensued and finally the Genoese ships pulled up anchor and sailed away along the coast leaving everyone tired, disgruntled and frustrated.

For nearly a week negotiators haggled back and forth as most of the shipboard wedding party became miserable with seasickness. Finally, an agreement was made and the ships returned to Monaco, canon salutes were fired, the troops filed out to their positions and Honore III reappeared. A bridge was extended from the Monaco side to link up with the gangplank of the ship and Honore III advanced halfway, meeting the bridal party in the middle. At least that is one version of the story, the other being that the impatient Honore finally gave up waiting, commandeered a boat and rowed out to the Genoese ship to find his bride, cheered wildly by the galley slaves and to the accompanying thunder of canon salutes. In any event, after a very inauspicious start the two were finally together as husband and wife.

The two honeymooned at the Palais Carnoles, built by Honore II. At first both seemed exceedingly happy. Princess Marie-Catherine had a very emotional, romantic, adventurous nature and she seemed totally caught up in this new turn her life had taken as consort of a small Riviera principality, mistress of the palace known as the Mediterranean Versailles. After eleven months of marriage she gave birth to an heir to the Monegasque throne; the future Prince Honore IV. However, while the Chevalier Grimaldi handled the government and Princess Marie-Catherine focused on raising and spoiling her new son Honore III found he had little to divert himself. Finally, in 1760 he left Monaco for the French court promising to send for Marie-Catherine as soon as he arranged things.

Things were not all peaches and cream at the French court either and soon Honore III was writing sad letters to Marie-Catherine about how much he missed his beloved. In December she left Honore IV with her parents in Monaco and went to France to join her husband. They were troubled from the very outset by a claim for the throne of Monaco by the senior line of the Grimaldi family who protested the heirs of the Mantignon family of Prince Jacques I ruling the principality. The French ignored the claim but Honore III was very unnerved by the threat. After two years Princess Marie-Catherine was pregnant again and very much missing her absent son and so parted with her husband again to return to Monaco. To her great sadness she miscarried and Honore III came back to Monaco to bring his wife back to Paris.

Princess Marie-Catherine began to feel very neglected as she was recuperating while her husband was living the high life at Fontainebleau. Already pregnant again, Honore did not join her but transferred to Normandy while she wrote letter after letter entreating him to come back to Paris where she was staying with her brother-in-law Prince Charles-Maurice Comte de Valentinois. He was nice enough to her but Marie-Catherine and his wife Marie-Christine continuously clashed. Marie-Christine viewed the Princess consort of Monaco as an unsophisticated country girl and Marie-Catherine certainly seemed out of place in the glamorous, glorified pony show that was the French court. She would not wear makeup, she would not wear a train, she followed none of the passing fashion trends and sat out most of the dances. Her only real friend was the widowed Prince de Conde and soon gossip mongers were writing to Honore III that the Prince was trying to woo his wife away from him.

The jealous fury of Honore III might have been at least somewhat more understandable had he not left a mistress of his own in Normandy to race back to Paris to accuse his wife and the Prince de Conde of behaving inappropriately. Princess Marie-Catherine was indignant that she should be accused of such a thing (perhaps thinking her husband had the least right of all to cast stones in that direction) and both parted on bad terms. Honore III left Paris and the Prince de Conde went on cozying up to the Princess of Monaco who seemed much more friendly with him after that.

Honore III did not take Marie-Catherine with him on his grand visit to England and when he returned to Paris his sister-in-law filled him with malicious gossip about his wife and the Prince de Conde. The two separated in all but name and Honore III paraded a succession of mistresses in public before Princess Marie-Catherine finally withdrew from court life and went to a convent at Le Mans where the local bishop was a Grimaldi. The Marquise Anne tried to save the situation and did finally bring about a reconciliation but things were never the same. When the Marquis de Brignole-Sale died he left his vast fortune to his daughter but stipulated that her husband was to have none of it. Honore III was outraged and protested to the Genoese senate but to no avail. The Princess returned to the convent but the still smitten Prince de Conde intervened on her behalf, obtained a legal separation for her from her husband and moved her into his Chateaux de Chantilly. She later bought a chateaux of her own nearby where her children visited her.

When the French Revolution hit, Princess Marie-Catherine went into exile in England, accompanied by the Prince de Conde, whom she married after Honore III died in 1795. Marie-Catherine spent her vast inheritance supporting the French royalists in their struggle against the revolutionaries until she was all but penniless. She died at the age of 74 on March 8, 1813 and was buried in England with the British Royal Family stepping in to cover the cost.

H.S.H. Prince Honore III

Prince Honore III was born on November 10, 1720 and after coming to the Monegasque throne in 1733 he reigned for nearly 60 years; one of the longest reigns in European history. He came to the throne just after turning 14 when his father, Prince Jacques I, abdicated and so he was acted for be the Chevalier de Grimaldi who ruled quite capably in the minority of the young prince and during his extensive absences. Prince Honore III spent much of his time away on campaign with the Royal French Army fighting the English in the War of the Austrian Succession. He and his brother Prince Charles Maurice, a Knight of Malta, so distinguished themselves at the battle of Fontenoy, a great French victory, that even Voltaire was singing their praises. Honore III was wounded fighting in the French victory at Rocoux. Later, at the battle of Lauffeld he had a horse shot out from under him but earned the Cross of St Louis for his conduct and after the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 he was given the rank of Marshal of France.

What is interesting is that despite the heroic service of Honore III in the wars, the Principality of Monaco was neutral in the conflict and, administered by the Chevalier de Grimaldi, was assisted both French and English ships in need of help. The Austrians and Sardinians did blockade the Monegasque coast for a time and much of the countryside was pillaged by Croat soldiers of the Austrian army but French forces later cleared the region of all invaders in 1748. In 1757 Honore III married Maria-Caterina di Brignole-Sale who was descended from the Doges of Genoa. This meant a very proud family and the arrival of the bride-to-be in Monaco turned into a disaster as many of the bridal attendants were seasick and the future mother-in-law insisted that Honore III come onboard to greet his fiancé and escort her ashore. However, as a monarch in his own right, Honore III refused as it was considered a breach of protocol for a prince to go to meet someone rather than they being brought to meet him. A stand-off ensued and eventually the Genoese fleet sailed away and stopped farther up the coast before a compromise was negotiated by which the couple would meet in the middle of a bridge extended between ship and shore. Nonetheless, the two were married and in 1768 the future Prince Honore IV was born followed by Prince Joseph some years later.

In 1767 the British Duke of York was sailing from Marseilles to Genoa when he was suddenly taken ill and had to put in at Monaco. Prince Honore III quickly offered all the help he could and put his palace at the disposal of the Prince who died after 11 days in what has forever after been known as the York Room of the Princely Palace. The Duke of Gloucester and King George III were extremely grateful for the care Honore III had given their brother and sent him gifts of horses that had belonged to the Duke of York and invited Honore III to London where he went in 1768 and was received by King George with great honor and ceremony. In 1770 Honore III and Princess Maria-Caterina divorced, not surprising given the character of the pair, and she later married the Prince de Conde in 1798.

In the meantime Honore III did what he could to guide his little principality along, improving trade and the economy which was heavily dependent on growing citrus fruits such as lemons in those days. His reign also saw the establishment of the first printing press in Monaco and the first newspaper the Courrier de Monaco. However, in 1784 the Prince and people of Monaco suffered a terrible loss with the death of the Chevalier de Grimaldi though the reign of Honore III saw the births of a number of famous Monegasque who would go on to great renown in the arts such as Langld, Bosio, Alphonse de Beauchamp and so on. Monaco went through something of an age of flowering and prosperity in the years leading up to great turmoil.

Prince Honore III did take the initiative in pushing for some reforms, the most major of which was the repeal of the law that the Sovereign Prince would receive the inheritance of anyone who died on his property. On August 18, 1770 Honore saw the practice, which he viewed as barbaric, abolished. As France slipped increasingly rapidly toward revolution things in Monaco remained calm and peaceful until the fateful day of July 14, 1789; the date of the storming of the Bastille. The shock spread to Monaco where crowds embraced the Declaration of the Rights of Man, influenced by the rise of republicanism in France as well as some newly introduced nostalgia for the Genoese Republic. At the outset the mob seemed to hold now vehement ill-will against their Prince and were content to allow him to retain his palace and even role as Chief Executive, but he could only consider laws that were passed to him by a democratically elected assembly of the people.

Honore III saw no choice but to allow the major towns of Monaco to form their own assemblies. Since his actual position was not yet being threatened he was more concerned with the loss of his noble titles in France at the hands of the French National Constituent Assembly which was intent on abolishing all aristocratic privileges. However, things were quickly spiraling out of control as the revolutionary elements in Monaco grew increasingly radical and Honore III began issuing restraining edicts against them. Moods began to shift and the public that had viewed the monarchy as rather benign now began to rail against it as despotic and call for the abolition of the Principality. Yet, as things were boiling over in Monaco, Honore III rushed to Paris to try to defend his titles there before the Constituent Assembly.

It may have been a mistake but to the surprise of many Honore III was extremely convincing when dealing with the French revolutionaries. He played on the strain of nationalism then at play by reminding them that his family had been given these titles for their great deeds on the battlefield, fighting in the service of France. His estates were, therefore, not the gift of the King of France alone but payment for services rendered in the cause of French national glory. He struck just the right cord and the Assembly voted a generous pension for the Prince of Monaco in reparation for his confiscated properties. Unfortunately, before the order could be carried out canon were firing in the streets, Danton came to power and the republic was declared. In all the turmoil France lost interest in Monaco and ultimately all Honore was able to gain was a recognition from the republican government of Monegasque neutrality. Unfortunately, that was a promise that would never be respected.

The French Republic declared their expansionist policy at the end of 1792, announcing that wherever their forces marched they would destroy monarchy and impose the French revolutionary model of government. Monaco quickly fell victim to this policy and on January 13, 1793 Prince Honore III was officially declared deposed by the Monegasque National Convention and, like the good little client-state puppets that they were, immediately petitioned France for annexation. Some in France did protest on the grounds that Honore III had always been a loyal friend and ally of the French, but republican hatred of monarchy prevailed and Monaco was absorbed into the French Republic and renamed Fort Hercules.

Seeing which way the wind was blowing Honore III tried to gain the favor of the new masters of France and Monaco by monetary donations and even gifting some of his famous horses for the republican army; but it was to no avail. At the height of the Reign of Terror Honore III was arrested as was his son, Honore IV, who had been in Paris at the time and who would remain imprisoned for 15 months. His ex-wife, former daughter-in-law of Honore III, the Duchess Mazarin was also arrested but she and her son Prince Florestan were saved by their family doctor who managed to arrange their escape and hide them away. Honore III’s other son Prince Joseph and his wife Princess Francoise-Therese had left France fairly early on, leaving their children in the safe custody of some close friends. However, Princess Francoise-Therese found in unbearable to be away from her two daughters and returned to France to see them. She was quickly arrested as a ‘class enemy’ and condemned to death by the revolutionary officials. Her execution was postponed when she announced she was with child. She cut off her hair with a piece of broken glass to give to her children and wrote that she was, “a foreign princess dying through the injustice of French judges”. She was only 26 years old when she was beheaded.

Fortunately for the rest of the family most of the so-called suspects who were arrested were eventually released. Honore III had suffered greatly from his own imprisonment and after his release had to stay in his house on the rue de Varennes as the Princely Palace in Monaco had been confiscated by the revolution though, thankfully, there was no ‘Reign of Terror’ or mass arrests and bloodshed in Monaco. Overcome with sadness, suffering, a number of ailments and the ravages of old age Prince Honore III of Monaco died on March 21, 1795.