European Kingdoms

Principality of Monaco
AD 1814 - Present Day
Incorporating Heads of State (1814-2025)

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The pocket European principality of Monaco is located on the French Riviera, not far from the border with Italy. It is surrounded on three sides by France and on its eastern flank by the Mediterranean. The country consists of only two hundred and two hectares of land and had a 2021 population of 36,686, but its reputation worldwide is enormous, thanks to its casinos, beneficial tax rules, and the jewel in its crown, its annual Formula 1 grand prix.

Evidence of settlement in the area has been found in a cave on the 'Rock of Monaco', the principality's oldest part. That evidence provides a date of about 400,000 BC, well before anatomically-modern humans existed, let alone had even entered Europe (see feature link). These humans would mostly likely have been late Homo Heidelbergensis or early Homo Neanderthalis.

The first permanent inhabitants were Ligurians, followed by Celts and Romans. In the sixth century BC, Phocaeans from Massalia (modern Marseille) founded a city at Monaco, naming it Monoikos, although that name is also claimed as being Ligurian in origin. The area was acquired by the republic of Genoa in 1191. The early lordship of Monaco began during this Genoese colonial period, in 1215, but the Genoese Grimaldi family seized the colony in 1297.

They were out of favour at the time, so their seizure of Monaco was far from being a Genoese-sanctioned move. They have governed it ever since, barring a few breaks, making them Europe's longest-serving dynasty. From 1612 they used the title 'sovereign prince' to underline their independence as 'Princes of Monaco'. Until the 1800s they also held the lordships of Menton and Roquebrune.

Sympathy for republican ideas arose during the French Revolution and, ultimately republican France annexed an already-republican Monaco. In the wars which followed, Monaco changed hands a few times between France and its enemies. It was only with the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814 that the independent principality was restored.

Please note that the History Files does not regularly monitor changes in modern heads of state or their representatives. Get in touch here if this section requires updating.

(Information by John De Cleene and the John De Cleene Archive, with additional information from Hammond's Historical Atlas (C S Hammond & Co, 1963), from Historical Atlas of the World, R R Palmer (Ed, Rand McNally & Company, 1963), from National Geographic (May 1996), from Oxford Atlas of World History, Patrick K O'Brien (Ed, Oxford University Press, 1999), from Washington Post (16 November 1996), and from External Links: Hello Monaco, and Monaco (Flags of the World), and Monaco, (Heraldica.org), and Monaco (Rulers.org), and Monaco (Monaco.mc, no longer online but available via the Internet Archive), and Provence & Beyond, and Monaco (World Statesmen), and Monaco Grand Prix's long-term future (The Guardian).)

1814 - 1819

Son of Honorė III. Imprisoned during 'Republic' period.

1814 - 1819

The 'Republic of Monaco' period comes to an end. Honorė IV, son of Honorė III, is restored as sovereign prince of Monaco after a brief Austrian occupation and provisional government.

Following the end of Napoleon's 'One Hundred Days' return to power in Paris, the Treaty of Vienna makes Monaco a protectorate of Sardinia, a status which endures until 1860, ensuring the continuance of an independent principality.

Due to the prince's poor health he establishes a regency, first under his brother, Joseph Grimaldi (whose wife had been guillotined during the republican French 'Reign of Terror'). Joseph prefers life in Paris however, so Honorė chooses his son, Honorė-Gabriel (the future Honorė V), to oversee a joint regency with a state council.

The 'Rock of Monaco' is a sixty-two metre-tall promontory which overlooks Monte-Carlo's modern port and the Mediterranean Sea, and is also the oldest of Monaco's settlement areas, the one in which the Old Town is located

Honorė IV himself never lives in Monaco, remaining in Paris where he mysteriously dies by drowning in the Seine in 1819. His death is ruled an accident, while some speculate that his physical incapacity makes him unable to suffer that kind of accident. They suspect suicide or murder.

1814

President of the provisional government.

1814

Allied military commander. Austrian.

1814 - 1815

Brother & regent. Administrator-general.

1815

Allied military commander. British.

1815 - 1819

Son of Joseph, and regent.

1819 - 1841

Former regent and now reigning prince. Unpopular.

1819 - 1841

Honorė is a distinguished military veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, including at the Battle of Jena in 1806. His attempts to expand industries in Monaco are usually blocked by Sardinia, but he is able to establish state-owned enterprises such as lace-making and hat-making. He also introduces tourism and employs the poor in cooperatives in the citrus orchards.

Count Camillo Benso di Cavour, Sardinia's new, liberal minister from 1852, was a leading figure in the move towards Italian unification, an aim which was achieved in 1861 after two years of war against Austria

1841 - 1856

Brother. Deposed & imprisoned (1848-1849).

1841

Florestan has lived his entire life in comfort in Paris, but he succeeds as reigning prince of Monaco when his older brother, Honorė V, dies without having had any children. He has never prepared to rule and dislikes the idea, but he does accept the responsibility. His wife, Caroline Gilbert de Lametz, helps him and is responsible for introducing the idea of building a casino during the reign of their son, Charles III.

1848

In a year of European revolutions in 1848 (France, Galicia, Hessen-Darmstadt, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Lombardy-Ventia, and Wallachia also experience problems), Florestan proposes a new constitution.

The proposal is not liberal enough for Menton and Roquebrune. They desire to be separated from the poverty of the rest of the principality so they declare independence in order to be absorbed into the district of Nice within the kingdom of Sardinia. Monaco therefore loses half its territory while refusing to recognise the separation.

Today's Roquebrune-Cap-Martin is located directly to the east of Monaco, and was a holding of the lords and princes of Monaco until the nineteenth century

At the same time Florestan is overthrown and imprisoned, and princely rule is abolished. His son, Charles, is appointed regent until Florestan is restored in 1849. However, Charles remains regent until the end of his father's reign. All this turmoil inspires the creation of the country's national anthem.

1848 - 1856

Son and regent.

1856 - 1889

Former regent (administrator-general). Now prince.

1860 - 1861

As a reward for the help of Napoleon III during the reunification of Italy, Sardinia cedes the county of Nice and Savoy to France under the Treaty of Turin. The action includes the transfer of Menton and Roquebrune. Charles finally - and formally - gives up his rights to the two cities in 1861.

Monaco is reduced to one-twentieth of its former size, but France pays Charles an indemnity of four million francs in compensation. France also recognises Monaco's independence, and Monaco becomes a French protectorate for the second time.

The town of Menton lies on the French Riviera in south-eastern France, known for its beaches and gardens but also for its part as a holding of the principality of Monaco from its early days until the nineteenth century

1863 - 1868

To develop a source of revenue for the principality, where taxes cannot be increased, Charles and his mother, Princess Caroline, establish the first gaming house in Monte Carlo. The enterprise is highly successful from the start, not least because bans on gambling spread throughout the rest of Europe after the fall of Napoleon III.

The popularity of gambling in Monaco is also spurred by improved access to the principality as a railway between Nice and Ventimiglia is completed in 1868.

1879

The Monte Carlo Opera opens with funding from Marie Blanc, widow of the François Blanc who had established the casino. Monaco becomes a destination for culture as well as gambling, and Sarah Bernhardt of the Comedie Française participates in the grand opening. A ballet company will also be established here (at the start of the twentieth century).

Charles III of Monaco legalised gambling in order to attract wealthy tourists, with the first gambling casino being established at the Bellevue Villa in the Condamine area but, when that and other early ventures failed, in 1863 Charles gave the gambling concession to Française Blanc, 'the Wizard of Homburg,' a well-known entrepreneur who had already turned around that town's fortunes

1881 - 1882

Monaco promulgates a civil code in 1881, while the prince revises the succession laws in the following year. The sovereign prince is now permitted to adopt an heir if he is without descendants, and the hereditary prince (the heir) is allowed to do the same, with the reigning prince's consent. Other provisions govern the prince's assent for certain marriages and the regulation of regencies.

1889 - 1922

Son. Promulgated the constitution.

1898

Albert is the only head of state publicly to support Alfred Dreyfus during the Dreyfus Affair. He writes a letter to Émile Zola in support following the publication of Zola's famous letter 'J'accuse'.

1899

Albert I founds the Oceanographic Institute, the first of three such foundations by him, which becomes the world's premier facility for studying the ocean. Albert has always been an enthusiastic student of anything about the seas, having served in the Spanish navy, rising to the rank of rear admiral.

The USA was seemingly goaded into war against Spain by feverish claims by the press that the Spanish were behind the loss of the USS Maine off the coast of Cuba, but it was a Central American war which Spain was unlikely to win

1911

Monaco promulgates its first constitution. Legislative power is shared between the prince and a national council which is elected through universal suffrage, but much power is reserved for the prince.

1914 - 1918

The principality remains neutral during the First World War. The prince at one point writes to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany as a consequence of which the French villages of Sissonne and Marchais are spared destruction from an attack by General Karl von Bülow.

1918

A succession crisis arises because Albert's only child, Louis, is unmarried, and next in line after Louis is Albert's first cousin, Wilhelm, duke of Urach. Wilhelm's succession is likely to place Monaco in Germany's hands, a situation which France cannot tolerate.

Louis also has Charlotte-Louise-Juliette, a daughter from an affair during his service with the French army in Algeria. The daughter has been recognised as a member of the sovereign family through an ordinance which, however, is in violation of the 1882 succession statutes. A new ordinance is adopted to modify the 1882 statutes in order to permit her adoption. Charlotte becomes heir apparent following Louis' succession in 1922.

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Prussia and the German empire inspects his troops on the eve of war in 1914, a war which none of the tributary German principalities had any chance of escaping

1922 - 1949

Son. Balanced principality safety during occupations.

1939 - 1942

Monaco is neutral during the Second World War. Nevertheless, after France falls to Nazi Germany in 1940, financial arrangements make Monaco's independent and neutral status advantageous to Germany. The prince is pro-French, but much of the population is pro-Italian.

Italy already exercises considerable control over Monaco but, in 1942, it formally occupies the principality and establishes a puppet state. Louis forces Benito Mussolini to promise not to deport Jews, many of whom have taken refuge in Monaco.

1940 - 1941

Italian consul in Monaco.

1941 - 1943

Italian consul in Monaco.

1942 - 1943

Italian commander (58th Infantry Division Legnano).

1943

Italy surrenders to the allies in 1943, but Nazi Germany replaces Italian forces in northern Italy and Monaco. The Germans sponsor the establishment of a host of fraudulent businesses and banks. Louis carefully aligns with the Germans, even though they export a fraction of the principality's Jews.

Would-be creator of an Italian empire but largely possessing second-rate military forces, Benito Mussolini as 'Il Duce' became the country's dictatorial leader in the run-up to the Second World War

1943 - 1944

German consul general.

1943

Commander of German forces.

1944

Commander of German forces.

1944

Commander of German forces.

1944

Allied bombing leads to starvation within the principality which, during the war, has benefited from an abundance of food. The bombing also drives out the Germans in 1944, the same year in which Charlotte-Louise-Juliette surrenders her rights of succession to her son, Rainier.

1949 - 2005

Grandson of Louis II through Charlotte-Louise-Juliette.

1949

Rainier begins to rebuild Monaco's treasury, depleted by the Second World War. Casinos suffer from the lack of money from their former customers, primarily the European aristocracy. The prince promotes Monaco as a tax haven, property investment location, commercial centre, and tourist attraction. Rainier's management of the economy leads to enormous increases in economic growth and prosperity during his reign.

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier join hands as the bishop of Monaco, Monsignor Gilles Barthe, administers the nuptial benediction at St Nicholas Cathedral in April 1956

1956

Prince Rainier marries the American actress Grace Kelly, a star of recent the Hitchcock blockbuster films, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, and To Catch a Thief. The event receives worldwide attention and makes Monaco a famous location.

1962

Monaco adopts a new constitution which greatly reduces the power of the sovereign prince, sharing it with a national council of eighteen elected members. The constitution's adoption mollifies General Charles de Gaulle, the French president, who up to now has been quarrelling with Prince Rainier.

1982

Princess Grace dies in a car accident on the region's winding roads at the age of fifty-two. Her car leaves the cliff while she is travelling with her daughter, Princess Stephanie, from her country home to the principality's palace.

1993 - 2004

Monaco joins the United Nations in 1993. This body had formed in 1945 when representatives of fifty countries gathered at the 'United Nations Conference on International Organization' in California's San Francisco, USA, between 25 April and 26 June 1945.

In San Francisco, USA, in summer 1945, representatives of fifty countries signed the United Nations charter to establish a new, international body which was tasked with upholding the human rights of citizens the world over

2002

The constitution is revised, and Monaco also negotiates a new treaty with France. Adoption is eliminated as a route to succession. The new succession rules provide that direct legitimate heirs of the reigning prince are eligible to succeed and, failing that, succession passes to siblings of the prince and their descendants.

If there are none then the regency council and the crown council chooses an heir. This places as the successor to the heir, Albert, his sister Princess Caroline. France recognises these constitutional changes.

The treaty with France now means that Monaco no longer needs to obtain prior French approval to changes in the succession statutes, but merely needs to notify France of any changes.

Monaco's Chapel of Sainte Dévote (Saint Devota) honours the patron saint of Monaco and Corsica, martyred about AD 303 during Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians, and today with a Formula 1 corner also bearing her name in Monaco's annual motor racing grand prix

2004

The principality becomes the forty-sixth member state of the council of Europe. Monaco is a member of the European Union as a third country through its relationship with France, although it has already had an ambassador in Brussels since 1999. It becomes part of the EU customs territory and VAT area and, generally, its relationship with the EU is negotiated through France.

2005 - On

Son. Participated in five Olympics.

2005

Rainier III dies after a one-week regency by his son Albert, who succeeds as the reigning prince. A younger Albert had been a keen sporting enthusiast, competing in bobsled events in five Winter Olympics.

2024

Agreement is reached to extend the licence to host the Monaco Grand Prix until 2031. The event shifts its usual date from the end of May to the first full weekend in June to avoid a scheduling conflict with the USA's Indianapolis 500 race.

One of the most recognisable Formula 1 tracks on the calendar winds its way each year through the narrow streets of Monaco