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The House of Grimaldi: How a Genoese Family Came to Rule Monaco

Few European dynasties are searched for as often as the House of Grimaldi. It is the reigning house of the Principality of Monaco, and every Prince of Monaco has been a member of it [1]. Its story runs from medieval Genoa, through the French royal court, to a succession settlement still in force today. This article sticks to what the sources below support. Where a famous story is legend more than fact, we say so.

Origins in Genoa (12th–13th centuries)

The family takes its name from Grimaldo, a Genoese consul who lived at the time of the early Crusades. He may have been a son of Otto Canella, an earlier consul of the Republic of Genoa [1]. Wikipedia's summary dates the founding of the house to 1160 and to "Grimaldo Canella" [1]. His descendants led maritime expeditions across the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the North Sea, and the family quickly became one of the most powerful in Genoa [1].

In Genoese politics the Grimaldi led the Guelph faction, which supported the Pope against the pro-imperial Ghibellines. They allied with the Fieschi family [1]. In 1271 the Guelphs were banished from Genoa, and the Grimaldi took refuge in their castles in Liguria and Provence. They then signed a treaty with Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily and Count of Provence, to retake the city [1].

1297: The Rock of Monaco, and the Monk Legend

The best-known episode in Grimaldi history is the capture of the Rock of Monaco in 1297 by Francesco (François) Grimaldi [1]. The Prince's Palace gives the date as the night of 8 January 1297. It says Francesco, nicknamed Malizia, disguised himself as a monk, asked for shelter at the fortress and captured it with his men [7]. The Monegasque arms still show monks holding swords. Even so, the Wikipedia article on the house calls the tale "largely anecdotal". It notes that during these years both Guelphs and Ghibellines took and lost the castle more than once, because it was so well placed for operations against Genoa [1].

The source treats a later event as the real start of the principality. In 1395 the Grimaldi took advantage of unrest in Genoa to take possession of Monaco, which they then ruled as a condominium. "This is the origin of today's principality" [1]. The palace's own history puts it differently. It names Charles I, son of Rainier Grimaldi, as the first lord of Monaco, in 1341. It says the Grimaldi acquired Menton in 1346 and Roquebrune in 1355, and that in 1480 Lucien Grimaldi obtained recognition of Monaco's independence from the King of France and the Duke of Savoy [7].

Branches, Alberghi and Genoese Power

Several of the oldest feudal branches of the family appeared during the wars of the 14th century, including those of Antibes, Beuil, Nice, Puget and Sicily [1]. In Genoa the Grimaldi organised their family ties in an albergo, a family corporation. In the political reform of 1528 they became one of the 28 alberghi of the Republic, alongside the Doria and Pallavicini [1]. The wider house produced doges, cardinals, ministers and military commanders [1].

From 1532 to 1641 the Grimaldi princes of Monaco also ruled the town of Campagna in southern Italy as a marquisate granted by Emperor Charles V [1].

The French Connection: Valentinois and the Hôtel Matignon

Provence became part of the Kingdom of France in 1486. The Grimaldi sometimes relied on French support to stay independent of Genoa and Savoy [1]. In the 1600s they married into the French nobility, inherited French estates and often lived in Paris, later at the Hôtel Matignon, until the Revolution [1]. For much of the Ancien Régime they lived at the French court and used the title Duke of Valentinois from 1642 to 1715 [1]. The title of Marquis of Baux has been held by every heir apparent to the crown since 1643 [5]. The palace traces the custom to the Treaty of Péronne (1641) [8].

Revolutionary armies took Monaco in 1792 and it stayed under French control until 1815. In 1793 the principality was reduced to a cantonal seat named Fort d'Hercule, and the palace became a military hospital and a poorhouse [7]. The Congress of Vienna then restored it [1]. Italy occupied it briefly in 1940–43 [1].

Succession Through the Female Line: Matignon and Polignac

Strictly speaking, membership of a European royal house passes through the male line. Twice the Grimaldi name survived only through a woman.

1715–1731, Goyon de Matignon. In 1715 the French nobleman Jacques Goyon de Matignon married Louise-Hippolyte, the last agnatic (male-line) Grimaldi heir [1]. One condition was that he take the Grimaldi name and arms, and the right of succession came through his wife, who abdicated in his favour [1]. He and his male-line descendants ruled as Princes of Monaco from 1731 to 1949 [1].

1911, Polignac. The second crisis came in the early 20th century. Under the succession rules in place before 1911, the throne would have gone to Prince Wilhelm of Urach, a German. According to the source, French President Raymond Poincaré threatened to annex the principality if a German inherited [1]. Instead, Charlotte Louvet was legitimised in 1911 and made successor. Her husband, Count Pierre de Polignac, took the Grimaldi name and arms as a condition of the marriage [1]. That is why members of the current family also carry the "Polignac" style [1].

The dispute is not entirely over. In 2018 Count Louis de Causans, from a cadet branch, sued France for €351 million. He claimed his great-grandfather, Count Aynard de Chabrillan, should have inherited in 1911 [1].

The 20th Century: Louis II, Rainier III and Grace Kelly

Louis II (12 July 1870 – 9 May 1949) reigned from 26 June 1922 until his death [4]. His grandson Rainier III (31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was the only son of Hereditary Princess Charlotte and Prince Pierre. He reigned from 1949 until 2005 [2]. Rainier moved Monaco's economy away from its casino base and oversaw major constitutional reforms that limited the sovereign's powers [2]. In 1956 he married the American film star Grace Kelly. They had three children: Caroline, Albert and Stéphanie [2]. His 56-year reign is the second longest in Monegasque history, after that of Honoré III [2].

The 2002 Treaty and Today's Line of Succession

Until 2002, a treaty between Monaco and France provided that sovereignty would revert to France if the reigning prince left no dynastic heir. The 2002 agreement widened the pool of possible heirs to the reigning prince's dynastic collaterals, excluding adopted heirs, which guaranteed Monaco's independence [1]. Article I of the house law requires the reigning prince or princess to bear the surname Grimaldi [1].

Albert II (born 14 March 1958) is the son of Rainier III (31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) and Princess Grace, née Kelly (12 November 1929 – 14 September 1982) [9][3]. He succeeded on his father's death on 6 April 2005, and his accession was celebrated on 12 July 2005, after the official mourning [9]. He became regent in March 2005 when his father fell ill, and sovereign prince on his father's death a week later [3]. He competed in bobsleigh at several Winter Olympics between 1988 and 2002, and founded the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation in 2006 [3]. In July 2011 he married the South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock [3].

The palace announced the birth of twins on 10 December 2014: Gabriella, Thérèse, Marie (17:04) and Jacques, Honoré, Rainier (17:06). It confirmed that Jacques is Hereditary Prince and receives the title of Marquis of Baux [8]. Gabriella is Countess of Carladès [10].

Main Living Members

According to the house article [1], the main living members include:

• Albert II, Sovereign Prince, and Princess Charlène
• Jacques, Hereditary Prince, and Princess Gabriella
• Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and her children Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre Casiraghi (with the late Stefano Casiraghi) and Princess Alexandra of Hanover (with Ernst August, Prince of Hanover)
• Princess Stéphanie and her children Louis and Pauline Ducruet and Camille Gottlieb

Arms of the House

The Grimaldi arms are blazoned simply fusily argent and gules, a red and white diamond pattern with no further additions [1].

Key Dates at a Glance

In the historical Almanach de Gotha

• The House of Grimaldi in the historical Almanach de Gotha, 1871–1924

Licence: this article contains material adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). This article is shared under the same licence.