Being the second child of of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco, and the late Stefano Casiraghi, an Italian industrialist, she comes as the fourth in line to the throne of Monaco.
Monaco Royal Family
The Principality of Monaco has been ruled by the House of Grimaldi for over 700 years since Lanfranco Grimaldi conquered the territory in 1297. He was Italian by birth. Initially a merchant, he turned into a pirate.
At Lanfranco’s death, his first cousin Rainier I followed. Rainier led legitimate trading activities and eventually became Grand Admiral of France in 1304, as he had earned the respect of the French monarch.
Honore II was the first Prince of Monaco. Monaco became Principality when he assumed the title of prince in 1612. The status of Monaco changed only between 1793 and 1815. In 1793, as a consequence of the French revolution, the Grimaldi family was exiled and the principality reverted to its ancient name of Fort d’Hercule. The Grimaldis returned only in 1815 and have been ruling the principality ever since.
Monaco royalty excelled by many illustrious names such as Antoine I, a grand patron of the arts; Charles III, who founded Monte-Carlo; Albert I, who is renowned as the father of oceanography and during the reign of whom the current constitution was promulgated (in 1911).
At Albert I’s death, Prince Louis II, a general in the French army, succeeded to the throne. In May 1949, Louis was followed by his grandson, Rainier III, who ruled the principality until his death, in 2005. His son, Albert, is the current ruler of Monaco.
