Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Princess Ghislaine of Monaco was the wife of Prince Louis II of Monaco and the step-grandmother of Prince Rainier III of Monaco. She was born Ghislaine Marie Françoise Dommanget in Reims, France, on October 13, 1900, to Robert Joseph Dommanget and Marie Louise Meunier.

From an early age, she was drawn to the stage and became an actress, working at the famed Comédie-Française in Paris. Before meeting Prince Louis, she was married twice – to Paul Diey and André Brulé – and had one son, Jean Gabriel Brulé, born in 1934.

In 1942, she met Prince Louis while on a tour of Monaco, and he later wrote that he knew instantly upon meeting that she would one day be his wife. The couple was married on July 24, 1946, in a civil ceremony (with a religious service held three days later), and she became The Princess of Monaco. Ghislaine was nearly 46 years old, while her husband was more than 30 years older. While Prince Louis was very much in love with Ghislaine, the rest of the Monegasque princely family questioned her motives and viewed her as an opportunist and golddigger. Sadly, Prince Louis died less than three years later, in May 1949, and was succeeded by his grandson Prince Rainier III. In his will, Louis had left half of his estate to Ghislaine, but Rainier and his sister Antoinette contested this, and the will was overturned. Ghislaine only received her jewelry and other gifts and retained a suite of rooms at The Prince’s Palace. She also received a small pension from the Monegasque government, later stopped by Prince Rainier.

The Dowager Princess returned to Paris, only occasionally returning to Monaco. In 1956, she attended the wedding of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly. Despite a strained relationship with her step-grandson, Ghislaine developed and maintained a close friendship with Grace, who made efforts to include Ghislaine as part of the family. Later, Ghislaine returned to the stage, even appearing in Monaco (with the condition that she would not use her title of Princess of Monaco). Billed simply as “Ghislaine”, she appeared in three plays in Monaco – Ms. April in 1958, L’Aiglon in 1959, and Pea Flower in 1960.

 

Ghislaine then retired to Paris, where she wrote her memoirs – “Sois princesse” … dit-il (“Be Princess”… he said), which she dedicated to Princess Grace. In her later years, she only made two formal appearances in Monaco. In 1974, she attended the celebrations for Prince Rainier’s Silver Jubilee, and her last appearance was at the funeral of Princess Grace in 1982. Ghislaine, Dowager Princess of Monaco died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on April 30, 1991. She is buried in the Passy Cemetery in Paris.

Grave of Ghislaine Dommanget, Princess of Monaco. source: Wikipedia

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