by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2013
Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois; Credit – Wikipedia
Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois, was born September 30, 1898, in Constantine, French Algeria, now in Algeria. She began life as Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet, the illegitimate daughter of the future Prince Louis II of Monaco and Marie Juliette Louvet. Her parents had met the previous year in Paris, where Marie worked as a hostess in a nightclub.
Because Louis was unmarried and without an heir, the Monegasque throne was likely to pass to his first cousin once removed Wilhelm, the Duke of Urach, a German nobleman, the son of his father’s aunt Princess Florestine of Monaco. To avoid this, Louis’ father, Prince Albert I had a law passed recognizing Charlotte as Louis’ heir and part of the sovereign family. However, this law was later ruled invalid under earlier statutes. So, in October 1918, another law was passed allowing for the adoption of an heir with succession rights. On May 16, 1919, Louis legally adopted Charlotte, giving her the Grimaldi surname. Her grandfather created her HSH Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Duchess of Valentinois. Upon Louis’ accession in 1922, Charlotte became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco.
Charlotte and her husband Count Pierre de Polignac – photo source: Mad for Monaco
In March 1920, at the Cathedral of Monaco, Charlotte married Count Pierre de Polignac, who took the name Grimaldi and became Prince Pierre of Monaco. It had been an arranged marriage and neither was particularly interested in the other. By 1925, they were living separate lives and formally divorced in 1933.
- Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy (1920 – 2011), married (1) Alexandre-Athenase Noghès, had three children who were born before marriage but were later legitimized, divorces (2) Dr. Jean-Charles Rey, no children, divorced (2) John Gilpin who died six weeks after the marriage
- Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (1923 – 2005), married Grace Kelly, had one son and two daughters
Born illegitimate and now divorced, Charlotte knew the very Catholic Monaco would never fully accept her. She renounced her rights to the Monegasque throne in May 1944 in favor of her son Rainier. Five years later, her father died and Rainier became Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Charlotte left Monaco and moved to the Château de Marchais, the Grimaldi family’s sprawling estate outside Paris, France. She attended college, received a degree in social work, and although her family objected, turned the estate into a rehabilitation home for ex-convicts. She had a relationship with René Girier, a famed jewel thief known as ‘René la Canne” (René the Cane). Her last appearance in Monaco was in 1956 at the wedding of her son Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly.
Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois, died in Paris, France on November 15, 1977. She is buried at the Chapelle de la Paix (Chapel of Peace) in Monaco, along with her former husband who died in 1964.
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