Marie de Lorraine, Princess of Monaco

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_of_Lorraine

Marie of Lorraine (12 August 1674 – 30 October 1724) was a princess of the House of Lorraine and Princess of Monaco as wife of Antonio I of Monaco. She was the mother of Louise Hippolyte Grimaldi, the only sovereign Princess of Monaco.

Mademoiselle d'Armagnac Lorraine was the ninth of fourteen children born to Louis of Lorraine and Catherine de Neufville.[1] Her father was a member of the House of Guise, cadet branch of the House of Lorraine. Lorraine held the rank of Foreign Princess at the French court and was styled as Her Highness[2] Mademoiselle d'Armagnac.[3] She was raised with her sister Charlotte of Lorraine and was an intimate of the Duchess of Bourbon. Her mother was a daughter of Nicolas de Neufville, a Marshal of France and the governor of a young Louis XIV. Her uncle was the Chevalier de Lorraine, lover of Philippe of France.

Duchess of Valentinois The couple signed their wedding contract on 8 June 1688.[4] In a public ceremony in the Royal Chapel of Versailles, Lorraine married Antonio Grimaldi, Duke of Valentinois on 13 June 1688.[1] The ceremony was conducted by Pierre du Cambout de Coislin. As part of the marriage contract, Louis XIV gave the House of Grimaldi the rank of Foreign Prince's at court.[5] Her husband was the son and heir of Louis Grimaldi, Prince of Monaco and Catherine Charlotte de Gramont, a former mistress of Louis XIV who had arranged the marriage between Lorraine and Antonio.[6] Court gossips later stated that the match had been schemed by Madame de Maintenon who feared that if she died not remove Lorraine from court, she would become mistress to the king. However Madame de Maintenon wrote that Lorraine was one of the most "likeable women in the kingdom".[7] Lorraine was styled as Her Serene Highness the Duchess of Valentinois till her husbands accession in 1701. The couple were to have six daughters[6], three of which would survive infancy. The couple made their first voyage to Monaco in 1692.

Married at the age of thirteen, the vivacious and young Lorraine preferred to live lavishly and was frequently accused of having been unfaithful to her husband who was some 13 years older than she. There was a great scandal when she claimed that her father in law, the elderly Prince Louis of Monaco had made unwanted sexual advances towards her.[6] As soon as it was clear that Lorraine was not going to give birth to a son, her husband began a series of badly concealed affairs to spite his wife.[6] Her husband fathered numerous illegitimate children outside the marriage.

Princess of Monaco At the death of her father in law, her husband succeeded to the principality of Monaco in 1701. Lorraine was hence styled Her Serene Highness the Princess of Monaco. Lorraine spent the last years of her life quietly without scandal and frequently returned to the French court. She died at the Princes Palace in Monaco, having organised the marriages of her two surviving daughters Louise Hippolyte and Margherita Camilla. She was buried at the Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco. Her husband died in 1731 and was succeeded by their daughter Louise Hippolyte Grimaldi who became Princess of Monaco in her own right. She married Jacques Goyon de Matignon and is a direct ancestress of the reigning Albert II of Monaco.

Issue 1.Caterina Charlotte Grimaldi, Mademoiselle de Monaco (7 October 1691 - 18 June 1696) died in infancy.

2.Louise Hippolyte Grimaldi, Princess of Monaco (10 November 1697 - 29 December 1731) married Jacques Goyon de Matignon.[1]

3.Elisabetta Charlotte Grimaldi, Mademoiselle de Valentinois (3 November 1698 - 25 August 1702) died infancy.

4.Margherita Camilla Grimaldi, Mademoiselle de Carlades (1 May 1700 - 27 April 1758) married Louis de Gand de Merode de Montmorency, Prince of Isenghien.

5.Maria Devota Grimaldi, Mademoiselle des Baux (15 March 1702 - 24 October 1703) died in infancy.

6.Maria Paolina Teresa Devota Grimaldi, Mademoiselle de Chabreuil (23 October 1708 - 20 May 1726) died unmarried.