Succession to the Monegasque throne

Last updated
Throne used by the sovereign of Monaco Monegasque throne.PNG
Throne used by the sovereign of Monaco

The succession to the throne of the Principality of Monaco is currently governed by Princely Law 1.249 of 2 April 2002.

Contents

Eligibility

Under the constitution of Monaco, the crown passes according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture. Only persons descended from the reigning monarch and the reigning monarch's siblings and their descendants, whose parents have been married at some point with the monarch's approval, and who are Monegasque citizens are eligible. Children born as a result of adultery are permanently excluded. A dynast forfeits succession rights if he or she marries without the monarch's permission, along with descendants of the unapproved marriage, but can be restored into the line of succession if the marriage produces no issue and ends before the demise of the crown. [1]

Should no one be eligible to succeed according to the succession laws, a council of regency takes power until the Crown Council elects a new monarch from among the more distant descendants of the House of Grimaldi.

Line of succession

The list below includes only persons eligible to succeed to the throne (numbered 1 to 17) and the illegitimate children who would enter the line if their parents ever married.

A person born to a dynast who was not married to the other parent at the time of birth (such as Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, Camille Gottlieb or Raphaël Elmaleh) does not have any succession rights unless legitimized by his or her parents' subsequent marriage (Civil Code 229 states: "Les enfants légitimés par le mariage subséquent auront les mêmes droits que s'ils étaient nés de ce mariage"). Louis and Pauline Ducruet, Alexandre (Sasha) Casiraghi and Balthazar Rassam have been legitimised by their parents' subsequent marriages. Jazmin Grace Grimaldi cannot be legitimated through her parents subsequent marriage because her mother's divorce proceedings were not finalized by the time of Jazmin's birth. As such, Jazmin is legally the product of adultery and cannot be legitimated through the subsequent marriage of her biological parents.[ citation needed ]

2002 changes

Until 2002, the crown of Monaco could pass only to the direct descendants, including adopted children, of the reigning prince. As a result, Princess Antoinette was not in the line of succession, and Princesses Caroline and Stéphanie would have lost their places in line at the moment of Prince Albert's accession, and there would be no further dynasts eligible to succeed to the throne.

This possibility had two implications, namely that a) the throne might fall vacant and Monaco might officially become a protectorate of France should Prince Albert inherit the crown and then die without fathering or adopting a legitimate heir or b) Prince Albert might adopt an unrelated person as his heir, thereby breaking the genealogical line of the House of Grimaldi. In 2002, changes were made to the Constitution of Monaco which eliminated that concern by excluding adopted children from the line of succession and providing that, if the sovereign has no legitimate child, the crown passes to one of the dynastic siblings of the sovereign or, if not living, to one of their legitimate descendants.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Stéphanie of Monaco</span> Monégasque princess (born 1965)

Princess Stéphanie Marie Elisabeth of Monaco is the youngest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly. She is the younger sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Caroline, Princess of Hanover. Currently 14th in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, she has been a singer, swimwear designer and fashion model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy</span> Member of the princely family of Monaco (1920–2011)

Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy was a member of the princely family of Monaco. She was the elder sister of Prince Rainier III. Her parents were Count Pierre de Polignac and Charlotte, Hereditary Princess of Monaco and Duchess of Valentinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert II, Prince of Monaco</span> Prince of Monaco since 2005

Albert II is Prince of Monaco, reigning since 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Succession to the Norwegian throne</span> Law governing who can become Norwegian monarch

The line of succession to the Norwegian throne consists of people entitled to become head of state of Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Caroline of Monaco</span> Princess of Hanover and former Hereditary Princess of Monaco

Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite of Monaco is Princess of Hanover by marriage to Prince Ernst August. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Princess Stéphanie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Succession to the Belgian throne</span>

There are seventeen people in the line of succession to the Belgian throne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Succession to the Danish throne</span>

The Danish Act of Succession, adopted on 5 June 1953, restricts the throne to those descended from Christian X and his wife, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, through approved marriages. By a change in the law in 2009, succession is governed by absolute primogeniture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monaco City</span> Ward in Monaco

Monaco City is the southcentral ward in the Principality of Monaco. Located on a headland that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, it is nicknamed The Rock. The name "Monaco City" is misleading: it is not itself a city, but a historical and statistical district. It holds most of the country's political and judicial institutions: the Prince's Palace, the town hall, the government, the National Council, the Municipal Council, the courts and a prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Casiraghi</span> Eldest daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco

Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi is a Monégasque model, socialite, writer, editor, equestrian, journalist, film producer, and humanitarian. She is the second child of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and Stefano Casiraghi, an Italian industrialist. She is eleventh in line to the throne of Monaco. Her maternal grandparents were Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly. She is named after her maternal great-grandmother, Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Succession to the British throne</span> Law governing who can become British monarch

Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701 restrict succession to the throne to the legitimate Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover who are in "communion with the Church of England". Spouses of Catholics were disqualified from 1689 until the law was amended in 2015. Protestant descendants of those excluded for being Roman Catholics are eligible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Grimaldi</span> Associated with the history of the Republic of Genoa, Italy and of the Principality of Monaco

The House of Grimaldi is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Casiraghi</span> Member of Monegasque royal family

Andrea Albert Pierre Casiraghi is the elder son of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and her second husband Stefano Casiraghi. He is the eldest grandchild of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly. Casiraghi is currently fourth in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, following his twin cousins and his mother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Alexandra of Hanover (born 1999)</span> Monegasque figure skater and princess

Princess Alexandra of Hanover is a Monegasque figure skater and the fourth child of Princess Caroline of Monaco and the third of Ernst August, Prince of Hanover.

Daniel Ducruet is a former husband of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, to whom he was married in 1995 and divorced from a year later in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danish royal family</span> Family of the Danish monarch

The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch of Denmark. While some members of the Danish royal family hold the title of Prince(ss) of Denmark, descendants of Margrethe II additionally bear the title Count(ess) of Monpezat. Children of the monarch are accorded the style of His/Her Royal Highness. The King and Queen are styled Majesty.

Elizabeth-Ann (Noghès) de Massy was the daughter of Princess Antoinette of Monaco and Alexandre-Athenase Noghès. She was a first cousin of the reigning Prince Albert II and niece of Prince Rainier III. She was the godmother of her first cousin once-removed Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

The Monaco succession crisis of 1918 arose because France objected to the prospect of a German national inheriting the throne of the Principality of Monaco. Prince Albert I had only one legitimate child, the Hereditary Prince Louis, then heir apparent to the principality. As World War I drew to a close, Prince Louis, at the age of forty-eight, remained without legitimate issue, unmarried, and unbetrothed.

Jazmin Grace Grimaldi is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Tamara Rotolo.

Christian Louis de Massy, Baron de Massy is the son of Princess Antoinette of Monaco, Baroness de Massy, and her husband, international tennis champion Alexandre-Athenase Noghès. His grandfather, Antony Noghès, created the world-famous Monaco Grand Prix. He was one of the two page boys at the wedding of his uncle Rainier III with Grace Kelly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Descendants of George V</span> Descendants of George V and Mary of Teck

This is a complete list of the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren of King George V, the founder of the House of Windsor, and his queen Mary of Teck. The list includes deceased members, members who have become Catholic, royal and non-royal, legitimate and illegitimate members openly acknowledged by their parents.

References

  1. Monaco