Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy

Princess Antoinette
Baroness of Massy
Princess Antoinette with her brother Prince Rainier.
Spouse	Alexandre-Athenase Noghès Jean-Charles Rey John Gilpin
Issue
Elisabeth-Anne de Massy Christian Louis de Massy Christine-Alix de Massy
Full name
Antoinette Louise Alberte Suzanne Grimaldi
House	House of Grimaldi
Father	Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois
Mother	Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois
Born	(1920-12-28)28 December 1920 Paris, France
Died	18 March 2011(2011-03-18) (aged 90) Princess Grace Hospital, Monaco
Burial	Chapel of Peace, Monaco

Princess Antoinette of Monaco, Baroness fr Massy (Antoinette Louise Alberte Suzanne Grimaldi; 28 December 1920 – 18 March 2011) was a non-dynastic member of the princely family of Monaco and the elder sister of Prince Rainier III and aunt of Albert II, Prince of Monaco. Her parents were Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois and Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois.

She was born in Paris of French, Mexican, Spanish, German, Scottish, English, Dutch, and Italian ancestry.^{[citation needed]}

Children

Princess Antoinette had a long-term liaison with Alexandre-Athenase Noghès, a Monegasque-born attorney and international tennis champion, in the mid-1940s. Three out-of-wedlock children were born from this union, who were included in the line of succession to the Monegasque Throne until the death of Rainier III in 2005:

• Elisabeth-Anne de Massy (born 1947)^[1]

Married twice with two children:

• • Jean-Léonard Taubert-Natta de Massy (born 1974)^[1]
  • Mélanie-Antoinette Costello de Massy (born 1985)^[1]
• Christian Louis, Baron de Massy (Noghès) (born Monaco, 17 January 1949), married firstly in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, on 14 November 1970 and divorced in 1978 María Marta Quintana y del Carril (born London, 17 June 1951)^[1] and had one daughter, Leticia;^[1] married secondly in Ramatuelle on 11 September 1982 and divorced in 1987 Anne Michelle Lütken (28 November 1959 - London, 25 November 2001), without issue; married thirdly in Geneva Julia Lakschin (born November 6 1968) on April 1992, without issue, and divorced in 1995; and married fourthly Cécile Gelabale (born Guadeloupe), and had one son, Antoine, and adopted another, Brice Gelabale:
  • Leticia de Massy (Noghès) (born Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, 16 May 1971), married to Jonkheer Thomas de Brouwer (born Antwerp, 22 March 1973), two children:^[1]
    • Jonkvrouw Rose de Brouwer (2008)^[1]
    • Jonkheer Sylvestre de Brouwer (2008)^[1]
  • Brice Gelabale-de Massy (Souleyman)^[2] (born 2 November 1987) ^[1]
  • Antoine de Massy (Noghès) (born 15 January 1997)^[1][3]
• Christine-Alix de Massy (Noghès) (Monaco, 8 July 1951 - Nice, 15 February 1989), married firstly in Monaco on 14 February 1972 and divorced in 1976 Charles Wayne Knecht (born Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, 23 November 1944), and had one son, and married secondly on 25 March 1988 Leon Leroy, without issue:
  • Keith Sébastien Knecht de Massy (born Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, 1972), married in July 1999 Donatella Dugaginy, four children:^[1]
    • Christine (2000)^[1]
    • Alexia (2001)^[1]
    • Vittoria (2007)^[1]
    • Andrea (2008)^[1]

Marriages

1. Princess Antoinette and Alexandre Noghès subsequently married in Genoa on 4 December 1951 (her first, his second) and divorced in 1954.
   On 15 November 1951, Antoinette was created Baroness of Massy (Baronne de Massy). Her children (Elisabeth-Anne, Christian and Christine) were named Grimaldi at birth. They subsequently had their names changed to de Massy. They claim the title of Baron/Baroness through their mother, but they are not entitled to it.^[4]
2. She married her second husband, Dr. Jean-Charles Rey (Monaco, 22 October 1914 - Monaco, 17 September 1994), president of the Conseil National, the Parlement de Monaco in The Hague on 2 December 1961 and they divorced in 1974.
3. Her third and last husband was John Gilpin (Southsea, Hampshire, 10 February 1930 - London, 5 September 1983), a British ballet dancer, whom she married in Monaco on 28 July 1983. He died suddenly six weeks later.

Life account

Having divorced^{[dubious – discuss]} Noghès, she and her lover Jean-Charles Rey hatched a plan to depose her brother Rainier III, Prince of Monaco and declare herself Regent on the basis of having a son who would one day inherit the throne. She circulated rumours that Rainier's fiancee, actress Gisèle Pascal, was infertile. This led to the breakup of the relationship.^[5]

Rainier's marriage to Grace Kelly in 1956 and the arrival of his heirs, Princess Caroline in 1957 and Prince Albert in 1958, effectively scuttled Antoinette's plans. She was removed from the Palace by her sister-in-law, Princess Grace and thereafter was estranged from the princely family for many years.^{[citation needed]}

She was known to be somewhat eccentric, even having been described as "completely mad" by her servants. Having been banished from Monaco in the late 1950s, she lived down the coast from Monaco at Èze, with a large collection of dogs and cats. She was the president of Monaco's Society for the Protection of Animals. ^[6]

Upon the death of Rainier III in 2005, Antoinette and her descendants lost their place in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, due to the 2002 amendment of the succession rules.^{[citation needed]}

Death

On 18 March 2011 Princess Antoinette died at The Princess Grace Hospital Centre, aged 90.^[6] Her funeral took place on 24 March 2011 at 10 a.m. She was buried in the Chapel of Peace, in Monaco.

Ancestry

Bibliography

• Palace: My Life in the Royal Family of Monaco by Baron Christian de Massy & Charles Higham (1986, Atheneum, ISBN 0-689-11636-5)

References