by Andre Sanchez

Sometime during the night, on 8^th January 1297,  the gates of Monaco were opened to admit a modest monk.  Having entered the grounds, the monk drew a sword, overcame the few guards on duty, and gave the signal for a full attack on the rock that was Monaco, at that time held by the Genovese.  Thus did Francois Grimaldi initiate the events that were to lead the Grimaldi family to rule Monaco to this day.  

All was not plain sailing however, and after helping Charles II of Anjou, and the French king Phillipe le Bel to defeat the Flemish navy in 1304, he was rewarded by Charles giving Monaco back to Genova. However, although he had to accept this, it was not long before the Grimaldis were once more rulers of Monaco.  The independence of Monaco was finally recognized by France in 1505, although this was almost upset by the Genovese again in 1506 when they stormed the rock.  However they were beaten back, and peace reigned until the Spanish briefly occupied Monaco with a garrison, but this was put to right by Honore II in 1651.

Peace again reigned until the French Revolution, when the revolutionary generals decided that Monaco should be annexed to France, and the Principality remained in French hands until after Waterloo when the Sardinian army was garrisoned there.  When they finally left, Monaco was back in the hands of the Grimaldis without interference.  

Charles III did much to enhance the development of Monaco, though it was his mother, Princess Caroline, who suggested the building of the first casino. The wheel first span in  December 1856, and little did they know what they were starting when that first silver ball dropped into its slot. The opening of the railway between Genoa and Nice, which Charles allowed to pass through Monaco, opened the state up for tourism and an influx of foreigners, both famous and rich.

The town itself is named after Charles III, who reigned until his death in 1889 when he was succeeded by his son, Albert I.  Albert was a keen oceanographer and his charts were very useful to the allied forces during the Second World War. His Oceanographic Museum is one of the wonders of Monaco, and still stands to this day.  He married a British wife, Lady Mary Douglas-Hamilton, who was less than enamored with her marriage, and escaped from Monaco in under a year.   

However, it was a fruitful year, since her son Louis eventually became Prince.  Before that, however, Albert got divorced and remarried, this time to an American, Alice Heine.  This, however, also failed and Prince Albert gave up further thought of success with marriages.  Under his rule Monaco remained neutral during the First World war and he died in 1922.  First, though, he instituted the Monte Carlo Rally, still a famous race to this day.  

His successor was Prince Louis II, the son from his first marriage. Louis spent most of his time away from Monaco and did little for the principality, but the Automobile Club of Monaco instituted the Grand Prix de Monaco under his reign, and the Monaco Grand Prix is still one of the flagship races of Formula 1, one of its features being the tunnel under the rock, which was also built during Louis’ reign.  

The ascendancy after Louis was not clearly defined and Louis’ daughter Charlotte was declared the would-be successor to her father, even though the marriage of Louis to her mother, Juliette Louvet, is in doubt.  Charlotte married Pierre de Polignac  and they had two children, Antionette and Rainier.  This was another marriage that failed the distance, and after the separation Charlotte renounced her position, thus allowing her son to become Prince elect. 

He was educated at a preparatory school in England, where he learned the language but became homesick and felt isolated from his homeland.   After preparatory school, he completed his education at a Swiss college before attending Montpellier University.  

During World War Two, Prince Rainier fought as Lieutenant and was the proud recipient of the Croix de Guerre.  After the war, his father Louis died in 1949, and was succeeded by a 26 year old Rainier.  In spite of being one of the world’s most eligible bachelors it took Rainier till 1956 to marry.  The movie star Grace Kelly was an unlikely wife, but the marriage was more of a success than those of his predecessors and they had a son, Albert, and a daughter, Caroline.  

During Rainier’s rule, Monaco became once again the place to be.  It once again became the haven for the billionaires and the movie stars that it once was, after passing through a bad period after the war. This was largely due to the efforts of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, who sadly died on September 14^th, 1982 as the result of car accident the day before.  

Prince Rainier III died in April, 2005, and was succeeded by Albert.  Although Albert admits to having illegitimate children, the current successor is Caroline, his sister. 

History of the Royal Family of Monaco was originally published at http://www.globallifenow.com