1911 - 1919: Succession troubles in Monaco?

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Recently I read various articles that a nephew of Prince Albert of Monaco claimed to be the real heir of the throne of Monaco. I wanted to know more about the "new" claimant and about the succession of the little, beautiful principality as well. More about the article on this link.

History


In 1612, Honoré II (1597-1662) was the first Lord of Monaco, who was granted the title Prince. He was the son of Hercule, Lord of Monaco (1562-1604) and Maria Landi. At the age of 6, Honoré's father was murdered. His uncle, Frederico Landi, the 4th. Prince of Val di Taro, became regent. However the Spanish influence over Monaco stayed until 1633.





The first branch for the throne of Monaco were descendants of Princess Charlotte of Monaco.

Princess Charlotte of Monaco was the daughter of Marie Juliette Louvet, a cabaret singer and Prince Louis II of Monaco. But as Louis II had no  legitimate children, the principality would have a succession crisis. The heir could be the nephew of Prince Louis, William 2nd. Duke of Urach.
This William was born in Monaco but he was a German subject. 

So on 15 May 1911, a law recognised Charlotte as Louis' daughter. Louis adopted Charlotte on 16 May 1919 and she received the surname Grimaldi.  She also was granted the title: Duchess of Valentinois. 



Charlotte would marry Count Pierre de Polignac of Hennebont. He also took  the surname Grimaldi. The couple had two children:

Princess Antoinette of Monaco (1920 - 2011)

Prince Rainier of Monaco (1923-2005)

When Prince Albert II became the ruler of Monaco in 2005, the succession was limited to the current sovereign's descendants, his siblings and the descendants of his sibblings.

Princess Antoinette of Monaco had 3 children, all with the name de Massy. 

Florestine of Monaco

Another branch are the descendants of Florestine of Monaco.



Princess Florestine of Monaco (1833-1897)  was the daughter of  Florestane, Prince of Monaco (1785-1856). She married William, Duke of Urach. They had two sons: William and Josef. 

When Louis II ascended the throne William (1864-1928) claimed his right to the throne of Monaco. However France had undergone two wars with Germany and they did not want to see German Princes ruling the Principality of Monaco. Therefore France made an agreement that Louis II could adopt his
natural daughter Charlotte. In June 1918, William was King-elect of Lithuania. He ruled until 2 November 1918.


One of his daughters, Princess Elisabeth married to Prince Karl of Liechtenstein, an uncle of Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein. However the dukes of Urach also had family ties to Napoleon Bonaparte.  William, the first Duke of Urach was married to Théodoline de Beauharnais. She died in 1857. Later William married to Florestine of Monaco. 

Théodoline de Beauharnais was the daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais and Princess Augusta of Bavaria. Théodoline was the granddaughter of Alexandre de Beauharnais, the first husband of Empress Josephine. 


Princess Honorine of Monaco

The third branch of the princely family of Monaco are the descendants of Princess Honorine of Monaco (1784-1879). She was married to René-Louis-Victor de la Tour du Pin, marquis de La Charge.
Princess Honorine was the granddaughter of Honoré II of Monaco.

Some of her descendants are Xavier de Caumont La Force (born in 1963) and Isabelle de Caumont La Force (born in 1952). One of her children, Louis de vincens de Causans (born in 1973) claims to be the right heir of the throne of Monaco. More on this link. 

Princess Marie-Thérèse of Monaco. 

The fourth branch are descendants of Princess Marie-Thérèse Grimaldi. She was married to Sigismund III d'Este, Marquis of San Martino. Her parents were Hercule Grimaldi and Maria Aurelia Spinola. 




Conclusion

The succession always had caused many troubles in Monaco. It also gave us lots of interesting stories and family ties as you all can read in the blog post  and on the page about Monaco on this link. 
Location: Monaco

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