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House of Grimaldi

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House of Grimaldi
CountryGenoa,Monaco,France
Place of originGenoa,Italy
Founded1160;864 years ago(1160)
FounderGrimaldo Canella
Current headAlbert II, Prince of Monaco
Titles
Style(s)Most Serene Highness
Estate(s)Prince's Palace of Monaco
Cadet branchesGrimaldi de Puget

TheHouse of Grimaldiis the currentreigning houseof thePrincipality of Monaco.The house was founded in 1160 byGrimaldo CanellainGenoaand became the ruling house of Monaco whenFrancesco Grimaldicaptured Monaco in 1297.

Since then, everyPrince of Monacohas been a member of the House of Grimaldi. However, since the 18th century the princes have beenagnaticdescendants of other families that have inherited through the female line and adopted the Grimaldi name. In 1715,Jacques Goyon de Matignonmarried thelast Grimaldi agnatic heir.He and his male line descendants, adopting the Grimaldi name, ruled as princes of Monaco from 1731 to 1949. Since then, the princes have been male line descendants of thePolignac family.Rainier III,son ofPierre de Polignac,inherited the title throughhis motherin 1949 and adopted the Grimaldi name. During much of theAncien Régime,the family resided in the French court, where from 1642 to 1715 they used the title ofDuke of Valentinois.

The current head of the house isAlbert II of Monaco,Sovereign Prince of Monaco, who is the son and successor of Prince Rainier III and the Princess consortGrace of Monaco,formerly known as Grace Kelly.

Prince's Palace of Monaco

Beginnings in Genoa[edit]

The Grimaldis descend fromGrimaldo,aGenoeseconsul who lived during the time of the earlyCrusades.He may have been a son ofOtto Canella,an earlierconsulof theRepublic of Genoa.His numerous descendants ledmaritimeexpeditions throughout theMediterranean,theBlack Sea,and theNorth Sea.They quickly became one of the most powerful families of Genoa.

The Grimaldis feared that the head of a rival Genoese family could break the fragile balance of power in acoupand become lord of Genoa, as had happened in other Italian cities. They entered into aGuelphicalliance with theFieschifamily. In 1271, the Guelphs were banned from Genoa, and the Grimaldi took refuge in their castles inLiguriaandProvence.They signed a treaty withCharles of Anjou,King of SicilyandCount of Provenceto retake control of Genoa. In 1276, they accepted a peace under theauspicesof the Pope, but the civil war continued. Not all the Grimaldis chose to return to Genoa and instead settled in theirfiefdoms,where they could raise armies.

In 1299, the Grimaldis and their allies launched a fewgalleysto attack the port of Genoa before taking refuge on the WesternRiviera.During the following years, the Grimaldis entered into different alliances that would allow them to return to power in Genoa. This time, it was the turn of their rivals, theSpinola family,to be exiled from the city. During this period, both theGuelphs and Ghibellinestook and abandoned the castle of Monaco, which was ideally located to launch political and military operations against Genoa. Therefore, the tale ofFrancis Grimaldiand his faction – who took the castle of Monaco disguised asfriarsin 1297 – is largelyanecdotal.

In the early 14th century, theAragoneseraided the shores of Provence and Liguria, challenging Genoa andKing Robertof Provence. In 1353, the combined fleet of eightyVenetianand Aragonese galleys gathered inSardiniato meet the fleet of sixty galleys under the command of Anthony Grimaldi. Only nineteen Genoese vessels survived the battle. Fearing an invasion, Genoa requested the protection of theLord of Milan.

Several of the oldest feudal branches of the House of Grimaldi appeared during these conflicts, such as the branches ofAntibes,Beuil,Nice,Puget,andSicily.In 1395, the Grimaldis took advantage of the discords in Genoa to take possession of Monaco, which they then ruled as acondominium.This is the origin of today's principality.

As was customary in Genoa, the Grimaldis organised their family ties within a corporation calledalbergo.In the political reform of 1528, the Grimaldi became one of the 28alberghiof the Republic of Genoa, which included theDoriaandPallavicinifamilies, and to which other families were formally invited to join. The House of Grimaldi provided severaldoges,cardinals,cabinet ministers, andmilitary officersof historical note.

French influences[edit]

Provencebecame a part of the Kingdom of France from 1486, and occasionally the Grimaldi relied upon French support to preserve their independence from the Republic of Genoa and theDuchy of Savoy.In the process they married into theFrench nobilityin the 1600s, inherited French estates, and often lived in Paris, latterly at theHôtel Matignon,until theFrench Revolutionof 1789. Monaco and the neighbouringCounty of Nicewere taken by the revolutionary army in 1792, and were French-controlled until 1815. Nice passed back to theKingdom of Sardiniain 1815; then it was ceded to France by theTreaty of Turin (1860).Monaco was re-established by theCongress of Viennain 1815, with a briefItalian occupationin 1940–43.

Modern succession[edit]

By convention, membership of sovereign European houses is through themale line.By that definition, from 1731 the French nobleHouse of Goyon-Matignonruled as Princes of Monaco until 1949. However, one of the terms ofJames de Goyon de Matignonbecoming Prince of Monacojure uxoriswas that he adopt the name and arms of Grimaldi so that the house would be preserved on the throne, and the right of succession was through his wifeLouise-Hippolyte Grimaldi,who abdicated in her husband's favor.[citation needed]Similarly, whenCharlotte Louvetwaslegitimisedin 1911 and made successor to Monaco, her husband,Count Pierre de Polignac,adopted, as a condition of the marriage, the name and arms of Grimaldi, but from this moment all his direct descendants Grimaldi would also have the title ofCounts of Polignac.In this way the "Grimaldi" name and arms were continued.[citation needed]

Under the succession rules prior to 1911, Monaco’s throne would have passed to Prince Wilhelm of Urach. However, French president at the timeRaymond Poincaréhad threatened that if the throne was inherited by a German, France would annex the principality.[1]

In 2018 a Grimaldi cousin, Count Louis de Causans, who hailed from a cadet branch of the family, sued France for €351m compensation, claiming that it had deceived his family during the succession crisis of 1911, and that his great-grandfather, Count Aynard de Chabrillan, should have inherited Monaco's throne.[2][3][4]

Until 2002, a treaty between Monaco andFrancestated that if thereigningPrince ever failed to leavedynasticoffspring, thensovereigntyover the Grimaldi realm would revert to France. The 2002 agreement modified this to expand the pool of potential heirs to dynasticcollateralsof the reigning Prince (excluding adoptive heirs, hitherto allowed, e.g. Princess Charlotte and her descendants), guaranteeing Monegasque independence. Article I of Monaco'shouse lawrequires that the reigning Prince or Princess bear the surname of Grimaldi.

Thecoat of armsof the House of Grimaldi is simply described asfusily argent and gules,i.e., a red and white diamond pattern, with no further modifiers.

Main living members[edit]

Family tree[edit]

Main article:Princes of Monaco family tree
Otto Canella
Grimaldo Canella
Oberto Grimaldi
GrimaldoIngo
LanfrancoLuca
Rainier I
Lord of Monaco		Gabriele
Charles I
Lord of Monaco		Gaspare
Rainier II
Lord of Monaco		Antonio
Jean I
Lord of Monaco		Luca
Lord of Antibes
Catalan
Lord of Monaco		Niccolo
Lord of Antibes
Claudine
Lady of Monaco		Lamberto
Lord of Monaco
Jean II
Lord of Monaco		Lucien
Lord of Monaco		Augustine
Regent of Monaco
Honore I
Lord of Monaco
Charles II
Lord of Monaco		Ercole
Lord of Monaco
Honoré II
Prince of Monaco
Ercole
Marquis of Baux
Louis I
Prince of Monaco
Antoine I
Prince of Monaco
Louise
Princess of Monaco		Jacques I
Prince of Monaco
Honoré III
Prince of Monaco
Honoré IV
Prince of Monaco
Honoré V
Prince of Monaco		Florestan I
Prince of Monaco
Charles III
Prince of Monaco
Albert I
Prince of Monaco
Louis II
Prince of Monaco
Charlotte
Princess of Monaco
Rainier III
Prince of Monaco
Albert II
Prince of Monaco

Select list of Grimaldis[edit]

Rainier I. Grimaldi(1267-1314)
Elena Grimaldi, as painted byAnthony van Dyck,c. 1623
Albert II, Prince of Monaco

See also[edit]

References and further reading[edit]

  1. ^Sage, Adam (6 August 2021)."France ordered to answer count's claim to the Monaco throne".The Times.Retrieved18 March2024.
  2. ^Willsher, Kim (13 August 2018)."Aristocrat sues France for €351m in row over Monaco throne".The Guardian.Retrieved18 March2024.
  3. ^de Causans, Louis (2004).Monaco, les 'vrais' Grimaldi.Paris: J.M. Laffont.ISBN9782849280591.
  4. ^"Monaco noble claims millions from France over royal 'trick'".BBC News.BBC.13 August 2018.Retrieved18 March2024.
  • Edwards, Anne.The Grimaldis of Monaco.William Morrow, 1992.
  • Maclaga, Michael and Louda, Jiri.LINES OF SUCCESSION;Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe. MacDonald & Co., 1981; Little, Brown & Co., 1999; Time Warner Books, UK, 2002ISBN0-7607-3287-6
  • Maurizio Ulino,L'Età Barocca dei Grimaldi di Monaco nel loro Marchesato di Campagna,Giannini editore, Napoli 2008.ISBN978-88-7431-413-3

External links[edit]

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