Rainier III, Prince of Monaco

Prince Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; May 31, 1923–April 6, 2005), styled HSH The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost fifty-six years.

Early life

Of French, German, Scottish, English, Spanish, and Italian ancestry, Rainier was born in Monaco, the only son of Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois (né Count Pierre de Polignac) and his wife, Hereditary Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois. Born in Algeria, his mother was the only child of Prince Louis II and his partner, Marie Juliette Louvet; she was later legitimized through formal adoption and subsequently named heiress to the throne of Monaco. His father was a half-French, half-Spanish nobleman from Brittany who adopted his wife's surname, Grimaldi, upon marriage and was made a prince of Monaco by his father-in-law.

Related Topics:
French - German - Scottish - English - Spanish - Italian - Monaco - Pierre de Polignac - Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois - Algeria - Louis II - Marie Juliette Louvet - Brittany

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Rainier had one sibling, HSH Princess Antoinette, Baroness de Massy, an unpopular figure generally believed to be meddlesome enough regarding her children's place in the line of succession to have forced Princess Grace to demand that she leave the country.

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The prince was a direct descendant of Stéphanie de Beauharnais, an adopted daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte, and of William Thomas Beckford, the scandalous 18th century English collector, tastemaker, writer, and eccentric.

Related Topics:
Stéphanie de Beauharnais - Napoleon Bonaparte - William Thomas Beckford - Scandal - 18th century

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Rainier was first sent to study at the Summerfield College in St. Leonards-on-Sea, England, and later at Stowe, a prestigious English public school in Buckinghamshire. From there, he went to the Institute Le Rosey in Rolle and Gstaad, Switzerland, before continuing to the University of Montpellier in France, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, and finally to the Institut d'études politiques de Paris in Paris.

Related Topics:
Summerfield College - St. Leonards-on-Sea - England - Stowe - Public school - Buckinghamshire - Institute Le Rosey - Rolle - Gstaad - Switzerland - University of Montpellier - France - Bachelor of Arts - Institut d'études politiques de Paris - Paris

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Rainier's maternal grandfather, Prince Louis II, had been a general in the French army during World War I. During World War II, Rainier served as an artillery officer in the army. As a second lieutenant, he fought so courageously during the German counter-offensive in Alsace that he won the Croix de Guerre and Bronze Star and was given the rank of Chevalier in the Legion of Honor.

Related Topics:
Prince Louis II - French - World War I - World War II - Second lieutenant - German - Alsace - Croix de Guerre - Bronze Star - Legion of Honor

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On May 9, 1949, Rainier became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco on the death of Prince Louis II. His mother had previously renounced her rights to the throne in his favor.

Related Topics:
May 9 - 1949

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In the 1940s and 1950s, the prince lived with the French film star Gisèle Pascal (née Gisèle Tallone, 1923–). The couple reportedly separated when a doctor declared the actress to be infertile; in fact, she later married and had several children.

Related Topics:
Film - Gisèle Pascal - Doctor - Actress

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