Antoinette Grimaldi

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Princess Antoinette Louise Alberte Suzanne of Monaco (born December 28, 1920 in Paris , † March 18, 2011 in Monte-Carlo ) was a Monegasque princess . She came from the House of Grimaldi and was the older sister of the future Prince Rainier III. from Monaco .

Life

Origin and family

Antoinette Louise Alberte Suzanne Grimaldi was born to Pierre de Polignac and his wife Charlotte of Monaco , an illegitimate daughter of Prince Louis II of Monaco , who he had with the laundress and nightclub singer Julie Louvet. In 1919, her mother Charlotte was recognized as the legitimate heiress. Antoinette's father, Pierre de Polignac, was gay . In 1930 her parents separated and in 1933 the marriage was divorced. Antoinette of Monaco grew up mainly with her grandfather Louis II outside of Monaco in Paris and partly in Monaco when her grandfather was there. Her upbringing was unconventional. She was second to the throne behind her brother Rainier III, who finally became Prince of Monaco in 1949.

Scandals

During the Second World War her desire to marry a German officer after the occupation of Monaco by the Wehrmacht in 1943 caused a sensation; however, her grandfather Louis II forbade marriage.

In the early 1950s, she made the attempt, as the firstborn and older sister, to meet her brother Rainier III. to replace in the line of succession and allowed constitutional possibilities, u. a. in favor of their son, consider. In her endeavors she was supported by the Monegasque lawyer and notary Jean-Charles Rey , then President of the Conseil National of Monaco . Rey was her lover. Antoinette of Monaco had a. a. The rumor spread that the actress Gisèle Pascal , with whom her brother Rainier III. maintained a long-standing liaison at the time, was sterile, and there was no prospect of a Monegasque heir to the throne. After separating from Rainier III. and Gisèle Pascal in 1953, Antoinette of Monaco was at times considered a persona non grata . Until her brother Rainier III married. with Grace Kelly in April 1956, however, she continued to take over the role of First Lady in the Principality of Monaco on official occasions . She accompanied u. a. Prince Rainier III. in August 1955 for the Gala of the Monegasque Red Cross in Monte Carlo. After the marriage of Rainier III. with Grace Kelly, Antoinette of Monaco was reintegrated into the family; the relationship with her brother Rainier III. improved and became narrower again, especially after the accidental death of Princess Gracia Patricia in 1982. In the Principality of Monaco it was considered "popular".

Marriages and offspring

In December 1951 she married in Genoa , secretly and without the knowledge of her family, the lawyer and tennis player Alexandre Noghès ; he was of Spanish descent. Noghès was by Rainier III. appointed Consul General of Monaco. With Noghès she had three children: Elisabeth-Ann (1947–2020), Christian (* 1949) and Christine (1951–1989). After three years the marriage ended in divorce. In 1951, after her marriage, she received the title "Baroness von Massy" from the Princely House. Her three children were also allowed to use this title. In December 1961, she married her long-time lover Charles Rey in The Hague . The marriage remained childless and was divorced in 1972. In July 1983 she married again in Monaco: ten years her junior ballet dancer John Gilpin , who died of a heart attack in September 1983 after a few weeks of marriage.

According to the regulations of the Monegasque succession to the throne, which were introduced by a constitutional amendment of Monaco in 2002, Antoinette of Monaco lost her princely privileges in 2005 with the accession to the throne of Prince Albert of Monaco ; Since then, heir to the throne is only the first direct and legitimate descendant of the prince.

Personality and later life

Antoinette of Monaco was considered "eccentric"; her character has been described as "choleric" and "difficult". She was an animal lover and campaigned intensively for animal welfare . In the early 1950s she built an animal shelter in her villa Le Bout de Monde in Èze in southern France ; mainly she took in dogs and cats there. Until her death she was president of the “Société protectrice des animaux de Monaco”, the Monegasque animal welfare organization.

Until 2007 she regularly attended the Red Cross Ball in Monte Carlo; she often accompanied Prince Albert of Monaco when he was still unmarried. In January 2011 she took part in a gala dinner organized by the “Union des Femmes Monégasques” on the occasion of her 90th birthday in the Café de Paris in Monte Carlo.

She was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Charles . The "Parc Princesse Antoinette" (with numerous recreational and leisure opportunities) in the La Condamine district of Monaco bears her name.

death

Antoinette Grimaldi died at the age of 90 after a long stay at the Center hospitalier Princesse-Grace (CHPG), the hospital of the Principality of Monaco. The funeral service took place on March 24, 2011 in the Notre-Dame-Immaculée Cathedral in Monaco-Ville . Her burial in the Chapelle de la Paix in Monaco-Ville took place in close family circles.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ palais.mc ( Memento of the original dated December 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.palais.mc
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Princess Antoinette: Member of Monaco's royal family decried for her attempt to meddle with the succession Obituary in: The Independent of April 2, 2011
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Princess Antoinette of Monaco Obituary in: The Daily Telegraph of March 27, 2011.
  4. ↑ a b c d Aunt Prince Albert II. Antoinette of Monaco is dead . N24.de of March 18, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2014
  5. ↑ a b c New Hollywood remained utopia in: DER SPIEGEL ; Edition 35/1955. Retrieved March 30, 2014
  6. ↑ a b Funeral of Princess Antoinette. Mourning in Monaco: Prince Albert bears his aunt to the grave in: BILD from March 24, 2011. Retrieved on March 30, 2014
  7. ↑ Prince Albert: His beloved aunt died in BUNTE on March 18, 2011. Retrieved on March 30, 2014
  8. ↑ a b The War of Succession in: DER SPIEGEL ; Edition 10/1953. Retrieved March 30, 2014
  9. ↑ a b Prince Albert, Charlene & Co. Here they mourn Aunt Antoinette. in BUNTE from March 24, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Grimaldi, Antoinette
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Monaco, Antoinette Louise Alberte Suzanne von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Monegasque princess; Sister of Prince Rainier III; Daughter of Pierre de Polignac and Charlotte of Monaco
DATE OF BIRTH December 28, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH March 18, 2011
Place of death Monte Carlo