From evil plans to illegitimate children.
Prince Albert of Monaco has been sitting firmly on the princely throne of Monaco for nineteen years now, and of course we hope that Son Altesse Sérénissime will be able to spend many more years there. But this Monegasque succession has a lot of twists and turns, which we will delve into today.
Grimaldi’s
Never a dull moment in Monaco! From scandals to galas and from top-level sports to lavish luxury – the microstate of the mega-rich is never boring. The Prince of Monaco has been at their head for years. Since 2005, that has of course been Prince Albert, who succeeded his father, Prince Rainier, after his death.
As the only son of Rainier and the late Grace Kelly, Albert was the logical successor to the throne – while sister Caroline had actually seen the light of day a good year earlier. In Monaco, men have priority on the throne, and so Caroline had to take a step back with the birth of her younger brother.
Family feud
Incidentally, things could have gone very differently. Albert’s aunt, Princess Antoinette, also had her eye on the Monegasque throne. To make a long story short: this older sister of Prince Rainier III already had several children, while the ruler of the principality had not yet produced any descendants.
Together with her husband, Antoinette then spread rumors that Prince Rainier’s girlfriend at the time, French actress Gisèle Pascal, was unable to have children. This was to ensure that parliament would appoint her son, the very young Christian Louis, as the rightful heir to the throne. And yes, since he was too young anyway, mommy dearest would gladly act as regent. The average Disney villain is nothing compared to this!
Although Pascal could no longer tolerate her sister-in-law’s provocation, Antoinette had not counted on her brother finding love again with actress Grace Kelly. And that down-to-earth American was not one to be fooled! At her insistence, Antoinette and her associates were thrown outside the palace gates, and the rest, as we now know, is history.
Twin
Even with Albert’s direct successors, Gabriella and Jacques, the privilege of first-born sons means that a princess has to take a step back. Gabriella is a few minutes older than her brother, but must still tolerate him ahead of her in line to the throne.
Should both kids let the throne pass them by, Caroline will still be third in line to get a place on the throne. After Albert’s oldest sister, her children and grandchildren follow, with the gentlemen of course having priority again. At the back of the line, we find Princess Stéphanie, who is now in fourteenth place. Then come son Louis and his daughter, and finally his sister Pauline.
illegitimate offspring
Of course, in Monaco, traditions surrounding marriages and children are not taken very seriously. Albert has regularly let his hair down: in addition to his twin with great love Charlene, he also has an older daughter, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, and a son, Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste. Since they are both illegitimate offspring of the prince, they have no place in the line to the throne. The same applies to several other descendants of Prince Rainier. For example, Stéphanie’s youngest daughter, Camille Gottlieb, cannot claim the throne.
To help their diligently procreating royal family with these kinds of issues, the Monegasque Code Civil has come up with a solution: a child born out of wedlock is given the same rights as a legitimate descendant, provided that the parents subsequently marry each other.
This is why Louis and Pauline Ducruet – both born long before their parents’ marriage – ‘simply’ have a place in the line of succession. However, the love between Stephanie and Camille’s father, Jean Raymond Gottlieb, was never sealed with a marriage, and Camille therefore does not have the same rights as her half-brother and half-sister.
This just goes to show that a seemingly simple path to the throne can still have many pitfalls!
Source: Glamial archive, Tatler Magazine | Image: NL Beeld
