Honoré III. (Monaco)
Honoré III. (* November 10, 1720 ; † March 21, 1795 in Paris ) from the House of Goyon or Goyon-Grimaldi was Prince of Monaco in the years 1732–1793 .
Life
Honoré was the son of the Monegasque hereditary princess Louise-Hippolyte and the Norman nobleman Jacques , Herr von Matignon, who acquired an inheritance claim to the sovereign principality through marriage in 1715 and after the death of the last male representative of the older house of Grimaldi, Antoine I. , the father of Louise Hippolyta, moved with his wife from their previous residence in Paris , the Hôtel Matignon , to Monaco in 1731 to take over the rule there. According to the Monegasque rule of succession, Jacques had to take over the name Grimaldi and the Grimaldic coat of arms.
While the Monegasque received Louisa Hippolyte with enthusiasm, they saw in Jacques a stranger whom they mistrusted from the start. The situation was worsened by the death of Princess Louisa Hippolyte in December 1731. Against popular opposition, Jacques could not think of ruling the country, so he finally gave in and in May 1732 left the principality to spend the rest of his life in Versailles or to spend in Paris. His son Honoré thus became Prince of Monaco at the age of just 11 (Jacques officially abdicated on November 7, 1733). The reign took over Antoine Charles, called le Chevalier Grimaldi , an illegitimate son of Antoine I. Honoré did not return to Monaco until after the death of Antoine in 1784, until that time he left Antoine to run the government. Through his family Honoré had a close connection to the French crown, in whose army the young Honoré made a career. This strengthened Monaco's ties to France, which also supported Monaco militarily, for example when the principality was besieged by Sardinian-Austrian troops during the War of the Austrian Succession.
On July 5, 1757 Honoré married the Italian noblewoman Marie-Catherine de Brignole , from whom he divorced in 1770. With her he had two children: the heir to the throne Honoré IV (1758-1819) and Joseph (1767-1816).
The Grimaldi had close ties with the French kings Louis XV. and Louis XVI. who granted the family extensive feudal rights in France in order to indirectly gain some control over Monaco. The French Revolution of 1789 had fatal consequences for Honoré and his family. The Grimaldi lost all aristocratic privileges in France, and their property there was expropriated. But even as the sovereign Prince of Monaco Honoré had to fear for his position. Although there was a party in Monaco that, citing the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of Péronne, demanded that Monaco's independence be retained as a hereditary principality, the revolution quickly gained a foothold in Monaco, which was surrounded by France, so that the republican party removed the prince and the Following France, the 1792 with the deposition of Louis XVI. Had become a republic. Honoré was powerless in this situation and not only had to watch the annexation decision in 1793 inactive, he himself was imprisoned and died on March 21, 1795 in a dungeon in Paris. The wife of his son Joseph died soon afterwards under the guillotine , the rest of the family spent the following years, partly in custody, partly under harsh material conditions, before Honoré IV, who was in poor health, had the opportunity to inherit with the Restoration in 1814 his father to take control of Monaco.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Jacques I. |
Prince of Monaco 1732–1793 |
Honoré IV. |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Honoré III. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Honoratus III. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prince of Monaco |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 10, 1720 |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 21, 1795 |
| Place of death | Paris |