Louis Joseph, Prince de Condé

Louis Joseph, Prince de Condé, had more than a few connections with the Grimaldi Princely Family during the tumultuous period of the French Revolution which saw the Kingdom of France destroyed and the Principality of Monaco annexed to the French Republic. He was born Louis Joseph de Bourbon on August 9, 1736 to Louis Henri Duc d’Bourbon and Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Rotenburg. As a prince of the blood he was a member of the very highest echelon of French society. His grandmother, in fact, was the daughter of King Louis XIV by his famous mistress Madame de Montespan. His father died in 1740 and his mother the following year and Louis Joseph was raised by his uncle the Comte d’Clermont. By his mother he was related to the House of Savoy and to a whole horde of French royals and aristocrats on the side of his father. On May 3, 1753 he married Charlotte Elisabeth Godefride de Rohan, granddaughter of the Duc d’Bouillon at Versailles.

Soon the father of three (though one daughter did not long survive) the Prince de Condé busied himself with building projects, attending court and overseeing the upbringing and beneficial marriages of his children. His was a very familiar face at the courts of King Louis XV and King Louis XVI as well where he held the rank of Grand Maître de France in the King’s household. The military was also a long established duty and the Prince de Condé saw action in the Seven Years’ War (known in America as the French and Indian War) and rose to the rank of general, also serving for a time as Governor of Burgundy. However, life in France was soon to take a very dark turn with the growing discontent that eventually led to the outbreak of the French Revolution. Up to this point there was not much of a connection between the Prince de Condé and the House of Grimaldi. They would have met at court where the Prince of Monaco was well known and since the Princes of Monaco were also members of the French aristocracy. The Revolution, however, would bring the Grimaldi and the Condé together.

Sensing the trouble to come, when the Paris mob stormed the Bastille in 1789 the Prince de Condé went into exile, saving himself from what would surely have been certain death in the Reign of Terror that followed. To be a Bourbon in France at the height of the terror was almost as good as a death sentence. The King, the Queen and even the Duc d’Orleans were executed in 1793. That same year Prince Honore III of Monaco was deposed and later arrested, his country annexed to the French Republic and renamed Fort Hercules. His son and heir, Honore IV, was arrested in Paris with his father, but his second son, Prince Joseph of Monaco had fled with his wife into exile. While in exile Prince Joseph of Monaco made common cause with Prince Louis Joseph de Condé who was organizing a royalist army at Coblenz in 1791, made up mostly of French exiles, with the aim of returning to France to liberate their country from the forces of the revolution and the rule of Madame Guillotine.

The Army of Condé, as it came to be called, included a long list of famous names from the French aristocracy and Royal Family. Aside from the Prince de Condé and Prince Joseph of Monaco there was the Duc d’Enghien (grandson of the Prince de Condé), the Comte d’Artois (brother of the late King Louis XVI), the Duc d’Richelieu, the Duc d’Blacas and Chateaubriand and so on. Originally they fought alongside the imperial forces of Austria until squabbling between the two forces compelled the Prince de Condé to transfer his men to the British jurisdiction in 1795. However, that year was to see the last of Prince Joseph in the ranks, though his presence had already cost him dearly. Word that he had joined the counter-revolutionary forces of the Prince de Condé reached Paris and when his wife returned to France to see about their children she was discovered, arrested and sent to the guillotine in 1794. She was the last victim of the terror and the more moderate forces that took charge after allowed Prince Joseph to return to France to take charge of family affairs after the death of his father.

The Prince de Condé, however, continued onward with his mission, fighting in Swabia in 1796 before being forced to transfer to Poland and join with the Imperial Russian Army when Austria made peace with the republic in 1797. When Russia left the allied camp in 1800 the Prince returned his forces to the British camp, undoubtedly not an easy thing to do for a man who was a veteran of the Seven Years’ War. The Prince and his army fought in Bavaria but was disbanded in 1801 without ever seeing their dream of the liberation of France and the restoration of the monarchy come to fruition. The Prince de Condé went into exile in England where he lived with his second wife, none other than Marie Catherine de Brignole-Sale, the ex-wife of Prince Honore III of Monaco, whom he had married in 1798. In fact, it was the Prince de Condé, already the smitten kitten, who had helped obtain the final break between the then Princess of Monaco and her husband while she had taken refuge in a convent following after Honore III had been driven to fury by the affair his wife had been having with the Prince de Condé in Paris.

In any event, the former Princess of Monaco spent herself into poverty supporting French royalists and their cause, which was also the cause of her husband, until her death in 1813, so much so in fact that the British Royal Family had to step in to help with the funeral expenses. When Napoleon Bonaparte was finally defeated the Prince de Condé was able to return to Paris and take up his place again in the French court after the restoration of King Louis XVIII. He died in 1818 leaving two children; his son who succeeded to his title and his daughter who had taken vows and risen to become abbess of Remiremont Abbey. He was buried in St Denis Basilica.

MM Video: The Casiraghi Trio

Rainier II and the Western Schism

The Western Schism was one of the most traumatic events suffered by Christendom during the Middle Ages and was at least one of the reasons for the eventual outbreak of Protestantism in the years to come. For some years the Popes had left behind the crime and pestilence of Rome to settle in the Papal city of Avignon in France. A succession of French popes were elected and this period, which so angered the Italians and the Romans in particular, was referred to as the “Babylonian Captivity”. Pope Gregory XI was finally persuaded by St Catherine of Sienna to return to Rome but only a little more than a year later died in 1378. It was hardly a good omen for the assembled cardinals, mostly French, who were very nervous about being back in Rome to begin with and anxious to return to Avignon. Tensions increased when the Sacred College gathered at the Vatican were surrounded by an angry Roman mob demanding that one of their countrymen be elected. The choice was finally made, though it was a Neapolitan rather than a Roman, and Pope Urban VI was elected.

Once back in Avignon, however, the cardinals said they had acted under duress and that the election was invalid and promptly elected another cardinal (French this time -Robert of Geneva) who took the name and title of Pope Clement VII. Soon all of Europe was divided into two camps; pope and anti-pope, both disagreeing on which was which. England, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and the north Italian states sided with Pope Urban VI. France, Spain, Naples and Scotland sided with Clement VII with Portugal and the German Holy Roman Empire shifting between the two. Today, historians can look back and judge dispassionately who the pope and who the anti-pope were, however, at the time it was no simple matter. Both had arguments in their favor. Surely a decision made under threat could not be valid, yet just as surely there would be perpetual chaos in Christianity if cardinals could ‘take back’ their decision once a pope had been elected and accepted the throne.

One of those who first welcomed the election of the Neapolitan Pope Urban VI was of course Queen Joan I of Naples. However, Urban (the legitimate pope but a rather unsavory character) turned against the Queen and declared her deposed and absolved her subjects of their allegiance to her, joining in common cause with her primary enemy Charles Durazzo, later King Charles III. At this time, during a period of Genoese triumph over Monaco, Lord Rainier II has Queen Joan I as his own overlord in the feudal hierarchy of the time. As was to be expected, Rainier II was then also originally on the side of Pope Urban VI, in fact when the French cardinals fled Rome to return to Avignon and elevate another pope, Rainier II had actually taken some of the rebel cardinals prisoner in Menton (the seat of Grimaldi power since the Genoese had exiled them from Monaco in 1357). However, things began to change when Queen Joan angrily removed her rival Charles of Durazzo from the succession and proclaimed Louis of Anjou as her heir. In retaliation Pope Urban VI had Charles crowned King of Naples and preached a crusade against Joan I.

This put Joan I and the Kingdom of Naples firmly in the French camp of Anti-Pope Clement VII (Louis of Anjou being the younger son of the King of France) and Lord Rainier II along with them. However, Charles III quickly moved to invade Naples with Pope Urban VI elevating it to the status of a crusade and declaring Joan a heretic. The forces led by her husband were few and no match for Charles III who was soon victorious and had Joan (his cousin) imprisoned and finally murdered in 1382. Rainier II had not forgotten Queen Joan and a fleet of galleys from Provence (from whence came the ties between the Anjou house of Naples and the Grimaldis) were dispatched to her aid but they did not arrive in time. In time the Pope and Charles were enemies as well and, several years after the death of Joan, Pope Urban VI died, legitimate but distrusted and unpopular, in 1389. Clement VII lived on until 1394 but Lord Rainier II survived them all, going to his eternal reward in 1407.

Princely New Year's Address

(an imperfect translation)

"Dear compatriots, dear friends,
I am pleased to express warm wishes I form for each and everyone of you, at the dawn of the new year.

In this period plagued by signs of economic recovery and where environmental concerns are now better understood, I would hope that we all recognize the need to adopt a lifestyle looking to the future. Together, demonstrating our confidence in the future and witness a real solidarity, both with our loved ones in our country and beyond our borders, with the disadvantaged.
The crisis has undoubtedly had the merit to show the collective dimension of ethical issues and to remind us that we must all work together. The uncertain financial environment and, in general, the tests require us to put our collective intelligence to build a more harmonious and just.

"Our upcoming projects or efface the past, nor extend the présent.Ils"
In a few days, we commemorate the centennial of the 1911 Constitution. I wanted to surround the celebration of a certain solemnity, but also a certain proximity, so that we remember that the Principality has always built on the union of the prince of Monaco and even in troubled times or difficult. In our country, every generation has always added a stone to those posed by its predecessors, our institutions are in cement. It is in this line that the Principality part, aware of its limitations, but animated by the desire to overcome them. Our future projects or efface the past nor the present. They extend.

1 and 2 July, the population of Monaco and Charlene accompany myself to celebrate our marriage, expressing publicly the union between our dynasty and the people of Monaco, which contemplates the continuity of the Principality.

And will open in the shared joy, a new page in our common history.

Youth in the Principality, whose desire for the future unfolds in a world of investing, I wish them fully done and find, through effort, training and work, the place they aspire to occupy at the heart of society.

To our seniors, to whom we owe much, I express my gratitude, especially for transmission paths they trace for generations to come. I also express to them the hope of health and serenity.
To all those and all those who, in Monaco, by their company, their action or work, realized a project which contributes to the economic and social life of our country, I hope that their forces thrive in this achievement.

To each and everyone of you who live in our country or made an impact abroad, I repeat: "Very Happy New Year 2011". "

(original)

"Chers compatriotes, chers amis,
Je suis heureux de vous exprimer les souhaits chaleureux que je forme à l’intention de chacune et chacun d’entre vous, à l’aube de la nouvelle année.

En cette période où se multiplient les signes de reprise économique et où les préoccupations environnementales sont désormais mieux comprises, je formule le vœu que nous prenions tous conscience de la nécessité d’adopter un mode de vie résolument tourné vers l’avenir. Ensemble, manifestons notre confiance dans le futur et témoignons d’une réelle solidarité, tant avec nos proches, dans notre pays, qu’au-delà de nos frontières, avec les populations moins favorisées.
La crise aura sans doute eu le mérite de faire apparaître la dimension collective des questions éthiques et de nous rappeler que nous devons tous travailler ensemble. Le contexte financier incertain et, de manière générale, les épreuves nous imposent de placer notre intelligence collective au service de l’édification d’une société plus harmonieuse et plus juste.

« Nos projets à venir n’effaceront ni le passé, ni le présent.Ils les prolongeront »

Dans quelques jours, nous commémorerons le centenaire de la Constitution de 1911. J’ai tenu à entourer cette célébration d’une certaine solennité, mais aussi d’une certaine proximité, afin que nous nous souvenions que la Principauté s’est toujours bâtie sur l’union du prince et des Monégasques, même dans les périodes troublées ou difficiles. Dans notre pays, chaque génération a toujours ajouté une pierre sur celles posées par ses prédécesseurs, nos institutions en étant le ciment. C’est dans cette lignée que la Principauté s’inscrit, consciente de ses limites, mais animée du désir de les surmonter. Nos projets à venir n’effaceront ni le passé, ni le présent. Ils les prolongeront.

Les 1er et 2 juillet, la population de Monaco accompagnera Charlène et moi-même pour la célébration de notre mariage, manifestant publiquement l’union entre notre dynastie et le peuple monégasque, laquelle fonde la pérennité de la Principauté.

Ainsi s’ouvrira, dans la joie partagée, une nouvelle page de notre histoire commune.
Aux jeunes de la Principauté, dont le désir d’avenir se déploie dans un monde à investir, je leur souhaite de s’accomplir pleinement et de trouver, par l’effort, la formation et le travail, la place qu’ils aspirent à occuper au cœur de la société.

À nos aînés, auxquels nous devons beaucoup, j’exprime ma reconnaissance, notamment pour les chemins de transmission qu’ils tracent aux générations qui arrivent. Je forme aussi, pour eux, le vœu de la santé et de la sérénité.

À toutes celles et tous ceux qui, à Monaco, par leur entreprise, leur action ou leur travail, concrétisent un projet qui contribue à la vie économique et sociale de notre pays, je souhaite que leurs forces vives s’épanouissent dans cette réalisation.
À chacune et à chacun d’entre vous, qui vivez dans notre pays ou le faites rayonner à l’étranger, je redis : “Très heureuse année 2011” ».

Happy New Year!

2010 Year in Review

So, what was 2010 like for the Princely Family of Monaco? Well, here it is in a nutshell: In January, Prince Albert talked about the environment. Prince Ernst August V of Hanover was photographed frolicking in the surf of Thailand with his paramour but Princess Caroline still testified on his behalf in Germany. Prince Albert talked about the environment, sent emergency aid to Haiti after the disastrous earthquake there and flew solo on St Devote Day. The UN declared 2010 International Biodiversity Year and Prince Albert talked about the environment. In February, Princess Stephanie turned 45 (hard to believe I know), the Monegasque fire brigade got a new commander and Prince Albert talked about the environment. The Prince and Charlene Wittstock attended the Winter Olympics in British Columbia where the Prince handed out medals to the winners of the Alpine Skiing Men’s Super-G event. Charlotte Casiraghi and boyfriend Alex Dellal attended the Love Ball London to benefit the Naked Heart Foundation and rumors of an engagement between the two again proved unfounded.

On March 4, Albert’s daughter Jazmin Grace Grimaldi turned 18. The Prince honored His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I for his efforts at improving relations between the Roman Catholic and East Orthodox Churches and Princess Caroline oversaw a charity fair in Monaco. Her husband, the Prince of Hanover was fined $270,000 for slapping a hotel owner in Kenya and Prince Albert paid a formal visit to the Republic of San Marino before participating in the 5th World Stars Ski Event in Turin. Princess Caroline stole the show at the annual Rose Ball which had a Moroccan theme as part of increasingly close relations between the two countries on opposite shores of the Mediterranean. In April the Sovereign Prince appointed his first Minister of State after new agreements took effect putting that power in his hands rather than those of the French government as had effectively been the case previously. Prince Albert visited Portugal, talked about the environment and congratulated the winners of the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters Tournament, presided over by cousin Elizabeth-Anne de Massy. The Credit Foncier Monaco Bank was robbed of 100,000 euros and Prince Albert welcomed the King and Queen of Sweden to Monaco for the 59th World Bade-Powell Fellowship event.

Pauline Ducruet celebrated her “Sweet 16” on May 4 and Prince Albert, Charlene and the Casiraghi trio were on hand for the Formula One Grand Prix. The Casiraghis hit the best parties at the Cannes Film Festival and the Prince visited his former ship, the French aircraft carrier “Joan of Arc” on which he served during his military service as the vessel was retired from service. Princess Caroline visited the new mommies at the Princess Grace Hospital for Mother’s Day. June saw Prince Albert talking about the environment, opening a whole week dedicated to environmental awareness in Monaco. The Prince and Charlene attended the 50th anniversary of the Monte Carlo TV Festival and traveled to South Africa to attend the World Cup. Jazmin Grace Grimaldi graduated with honors from high school and after attending the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden to Daniel Westling in Stickholm, Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock announced their own, long awaited engagement.

In July Princess Stephanie opened La Maison de Vie to care for victims of HIV/AIDS. Prince Albert talked about the environment and signed new fiscal transparency agreements with a number of countries. Pauline Ducruet competed in diving competitions in Finland and Princess Stephanie welcomed Prince Albert and Charlene to the gala dinner for her charity Fight AIDS Monaco. Prince Albert, Charlene and Princess Stephanie also made a ‘splash’ at the 62nd Red Cross Ball which had a luxury cruise theme. In August the Prince and Charlene visited the United States, checking in with a friend in Missouri and touring the “King’s castle” at Graceland. Monaco signed on to a joint Catholic and Orthodox effort to defend the Christian heritage of Europe and Pauline Ducruet competed in diving competitions in Singapore with her father, mother, siblings and uncle Albert cheering her on. The Prince talked about the environment and sent a financial aid package to Pakistan after devastating floods hit that country.

September saw Charlotte Casiraghi back in uniform as “Godmother” of Public Safety for the 50th anniversary off the Maritime Police Force of Monaco, Prince Albert and Princess Caroline opened the new National Museum of Monaco and the Prince was honored in New York City for his environmentalism and commitment to sport. He attended the Monaco Yacht Show, honoring a particularly “green” yacht and, yes, talked about the environment. Prince Albert went to India in October for the opening of the British Commonwealth Games, joined Princess Stephanie in Shanghai for the World Expo and later Charlene joined the Prince for the first time on an official visit when the couple traveled to Japan, meeting the Imperial Family and where Albert talked about the environment. In November, Charlotte Casiraghi and Beatrice Borromoeo strutted their stuff on the red carpet at the Rome Film Festival, Princess Caroline handed out the Princess Grace Awards in New York and Prince Albert celebrated five years on the throne of Monaco. Charlene made her first appearance on the balcony with the family on National Day, Louis Ducruet turned 18 and word came that Pope Benedict XVI plans to visit Monaco in early 2012. Finally, in December, Princess Stephanie continued her efforts, in person, on radio and television to raise awareness of and ease the suffering of AIDS victims. Princess Caroline attended the International Night of Childhood charity event at Versailles and Charlene joined the Grimaldi siblings in the official Christmas festivities for the first time this year. Finally, Princess Antoinette passed a milestone in Grimaldi family history when she turned 90 years old.

And that, my friends, was the Princely Family in 2010 in a nutshell. I hope you had a good year, I appreciate you keeping up with the blog and my sympathies to Mr. Mann, whoever you are. So long 2010!

Victor Amadeus II of Savoy

Having recently noted the anniversary of the tragically premature passing of HSH Princess Louise-Hippolyte of Monaco it should be noted that her death was a sad occasion for many people far beyond the boundaries of Monaco. One of those who certainly took notice was Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy. Born in Turin in 1666 he was quite advanced in age for the time when he became infatuated with the lovely and lively Princess Louise Hippolyte, Duchess of Valentinois. During his life he would be, at various times, King of Sicily and King of Sardinia as well as Duke of Savoy. In 1684 he married Princess Anne-Marie of Orleans, daughter of Prince Philippe of France (brother of King Louis XIV) and Princess Henrietta of England. The early years of his reign saw a crackdown on the Protestants in his domain but this was eventually eased up when political considerations forced him into an alliance with the Protestant Dutch and English. Whereas Savoy had previously been very friendly with France, Victor Amadeus II broke with this tradition and fought with Empire against France in the Nine Years War and War of Spanish Succession. Though Monaco itself was neutral this effectively put him at odds with the towering Prince Antoine of Monaco (father of Louise-Hippolyte) who was very pro-French and fought in the service of the King of France.

His first wife died in 1728 and in 1730 he married a local woman, beneath his station but with the permission of Pope Clement XII. However, even though his first wife was very devoted Victor Amadeus II was not a faithful husband. He would certainly have jumped at the chance of an affair with Princess Louise-Hippolyte as well, but she was not too wild on the idea. She found the old gentleman rather boring and in any event was herself quite devoted to her own husband. Victor Amadeus liked to drop in on the princess at Monaco for “surprise” visits but Louise-Hippolyte caught on and proved too clever for him. With her extensive social network she was instantly informed as soon as he set foot in Nice, which surely meant he would then be on his way to Monaco. As secretive as he thought he was being, he was watched the entire time and the Princess knew every step of his progress. He never quite figured out how it happened that as soon as he crossed the Monegasque border for one of this “unexpected” visit’s the local artillery would fire off an earth-shattering salute.

In any event, Victor Amadeus, influential figure though he was, did not have a very happy end to his life. In 1731 Princess Louise-Hippolyte of Monaco died, which certainly distressed him, and he was not to live very much longer himself. The year before he had abdicated in favor of his son Charles Emanuel III. However, he later tried to go back on his decision and his son had him arrested. He suffered a stroke and blamed his wife for his misfortunes. He died in 1732, only a year after the early loss of the Princess of Monaco he so wished to have.

Two Events in Grimaldi History

It was on this day in 1731 that HSH Princess Louise-Hippolyte passed away, leaving the throne of Monaco to her husband HSH Prince Jacques I, begining the Mantignon line of the Grimaldi family. However, Monaco was never a good fit for the prince and he soon abdicated in favor of his young son HSH Prince Honore III. He then retired to his more familiar haunts of Paris and Versailles. His former home is now the residence of the French prime minister.

It was also on this day in 1983 that HSH Princess Caroline of Monaco married Italian businessman Stefano Casiraghi. Although their marriage would be cut short by tragedy their years together were thankfully happy ones and Princess Caroline has stated more than once that Stefano was her true 'one and only'. Stefano died in 1990 while boat racing but he gave the Princess three wonderful children; Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte.

Happy 90th Birthday!

Today marks the 90th anniversary of H.S.H. Princess Antoinette of Monaco, elder sister of the late Prince Rainier III. Mad for Monaco wishes Her Serene Highness a very happy birthday on this very special, even historic, occasion. As it happens it was Albert I who was Sovereign Prince when Princess Antoinette was born.

MM Video: Christmas in Monaco 2010

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Video: Jungle Fight December 2010