Louise Hippolyte, Reigning Princess of Monaco

Louise Hippolyte, Reigning Princess of Monaco

Louise Hippolyte was born on 10th November 1697 as the daughter of Prince Antonio I of Monaco and Marie of Lorraine.

In the family, she was known as Coco.
She was the eldest surviving of six daughters and as she had no brothers, she was made the heiress of Monaco.

However, she could only succeed if she married a Grimaldi or found a husband willing to change his last name.

The chance of becoming Prince of Monaco appealed to quite a few men, and wasn’t short of a few candidates.

However, Louise Hippolyte spent two years in a convent before making a decision on her choice of groom.
The chosen groom was Jacques Goÿon de Matignon.

On 20th October 1715, Louise married Jacques, and they became the Duke and Duchess of Valentinois.

They had a relatively happy marriage, but Jacques preferred to stay in France where he was recognised as a peer of the realm – and probably had one or two mistresses at his beck and call.

The couple went on to have nine children, of which six survived to adulthood.

On 20th February 1731, Louise Hippolyte’s father died at the age of 71.

She immediately decided to be sole ruler, and decreed that all documents would be in her name alone.
Her husband and children were to remain in France.

When she decided to rule alone, many were shocked by the decision, was there trouble brewing in her marriage?

Shortly after she had taken the oath of loyalty, Jacques and their children returned to Monaco.
Then the unthinkable happened.

Louise Hippolyte finally had a sense of freedom and a kingdom to rule, when she died suddenly of smallpox on 29th December 1731, aged 34.

Louise had been popular with the people and her death was greatly mourned.

She was buried at the Saint Nicholas Cathedral, where many of the Grimaldis are buried, including Grace Kelly and Rainier III.

Though Jacques attempted to hang on to power, he abdicated in favour of their 11-year-old son.

Princess Louise-Hippolyte had ruled Monaco for just seven months.

She was one of only two women to rule Monaco, the other being Lady Claudine Grimaldi in 1457.

Louise Hippolyte, Reigning Princess of Monaco

18th c. Portrait by Jean-Baptiste Santerre