Predecessor Antoine I Name Louise Princess House House of Grimaldi | Successor Jacques I Role Sovereign | |
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Born 10 November 1697
Prince's Palace, Monaco ( 1697-11-10 ) Burial Saint Nicholas Cathedral Issue
Detail Honore III, Prince of Monaco Father Antonio I, Prince of Monaco Mother Marie de Lorraine-Armagnac Died December 29, 1731, Prince's Palace of Monaco, Monaco Spouse Jacques I, Prince of Monaco (m. 1715) Children Honore III, Prince of Monaco Parents Antonio I, Prince of Monaco, Marie of Lorraine Similar People Louis I - Prince of Monaco, Antonio I - Prince of Monaco, Catherine Charlotte de Gramo, Prince Joseph of Monaco | ||
Louise Hippolyte (10 November 1697 – 29 December 1731), was the only Sovereign Princess of Monaco.
Contents
Biography
Born at the Prince's Palace in Monaco, she was the second daughter of Antonio I of Monaco and Marie de Lorraine-Armagnac. The second of six children born to her parents, she was the first of their children to survive infancy. She had an elder sister, Caterina Charlotte (1691-1696) and four younger sisters, Elisabetta Charlotte (1698-1702), Margherita Camilla (1700–1758), Maria Devota (1702-1703) and Maria Paolina Theresa Devota Grimaldi (1708–1726).
Because she had no brothers, Louise Hippolyte became the heiress to the throne of Monaco. Her father decided, with the permission of Louis XIV, that her future husband should assume the surname of Grimaldi and rule Monaco jointly with her.
On 20 October 1715, at the age of eighteen, she married Jacques Francois Goyon, Count de Matignon after his family had proposed him as a candidate. His candidacy was supported by King Louis XIV, who wanted to consolidate French influence in Monaco. Prior to this, Louise Hippolyte's father was eager to wed his daughter to a Grimaldi cousin. This marriage did not materialise due to the poor finances of the Grimaldis at the time.
Louise Hippolyte and Jacques had nine children. Her husband preferred to stay in Versailles instead of Monaco, where he had several mistresses.
After the death of her father, Louise Hippolyte traveled from Paris to Monaco on 4 April 1731 and received an enthusiastic reception from the populace. When Jacques joined her a little while later, the reception was much colder.
At the end of 1731, Louise Hippolyte died of smallpox. Her husband neglected the affairs of Monaco and had to leave the country in May 1732. He abdicated in favor of their son, Honore, the next year.
Her husband remained a widower, despite a rich dowry offered to him by the Duchess of Maine for the hand of her unattractive daughter, Mademoiselle du Maine, a granddaughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan.