Monaco: Title Conundrum

Rainier I Grimaldi started out as a pirate taking the castle of Monaco in a military action and ousting its Genoese owners in 1297. He was soon chucked out again. In 1331, his son Carlo Grimaldi retook the castle; he officially received the castle from the French King Philip VI the Fortunate together with Menton and Roquebrune and was styled Seigneur de Monaco. Over the next 500 years, the Grimaldi of Monaco collected numerous French titles and lands from various thankful monarchs.

In 1457, Claudine of Monaco set the precedent for female succession by assuming the lands and titles in her own right and styling herself as Dame de Monaco. In 1612, Honoré II elevated himself to Prince of Monaco with the backing of the Spanish King Philip III and nobody really cared to contest the issue. As a prince, he would be addressed in French as Son Altesse Sérénissime which translates to His Most Serene Highness but this translation is customarily reserved for ruling princes of the Holy Roman Empire. For that reason, family members today have to be content with HSH (His or Her Serene Highness); it’s an unjust world.

Due to the precedent set by Claudine, the French lands and titles remained in the family for centuries despite a second female succession happening with Louise in 1731. Claudine had married a Grimaldi cousin, but Louise was married to Jacques de Goyon-Matignon, Comte de Thorigny et de Matignon, Duc d’Estouteville who took on the name Grimaldi and their titles and reigned in lieu of his wife. He set the precedent for changing the name if marrying the prospective heiress of Monaco.

During the Great War, France became progressively worried about the situation in Monaco. The ageing Prince Albert I had only a son Louis and that one didn’t show any intention to marry and beget children. If they both died, the German Duke of Urach (a cadet line of the Royal House of Württemberg) would inherit the principality. France could have German submarines landing in a port on its Mediterranean coast any day after that event.

Louis had an illegitimate daughter who was unable to succeed him. The French government had an idea what they wanted, and it was something Monaco could live with, considering they were defended by the French army. France and Monaco made a treaty whereby France guaranteed Monaco’s independence for as long as a Grimaldi from the direct line would sit on the throne. If the line failed, France would inherit Monaco to become part of France.