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Caroline, Princess of Hanover
Princess Caroline
Princess of Hanover
Hereditary Princess of Monaco
The Princess of Hanover at the Monaco Media Forum Awards ceremony in Monaco on 12 November 2009
Spouse Philippe Junot
(m. 1978, div. 1980)
Stefano Casiraghi
(m. 1983, died 1990)
Ernst August, Prince of Hanover
(m. 1999)
Issue
Andrea Casiraghi
Charlotte Casiraghi
Pierre Casiraghi
Princess Alexandra of Hanover
Full name
Caroline Louise Marguerite Grimaldi
House House of Hanover
House of Grimaldi
Father Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
Mother Grace Kelly
Born 23 January 1957 (1957-01-23) (age 55)
Monaco Monaco

Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite Grimaldi, Prinzessin[1] von Hannover, Erbprinzessin von Monaco), formally styled Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover[2] (born 23 January 1957), has been heiress presumptive to the throne of Monaco since 2005, a position which she previously held from 1957 to 1958.

She is the wife of Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, the head of the House of Hanover and pretender to the former throne of the Kingdom of Hanover as well as senior male-line descendant of George III of the United Kingdom.

Contents

Early life

The Princess of Hanover is the eldest child of the late Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his wife, the American former film actress Grace Kelly. As a child she spent time at the home of her maternal grandparents in Philadelphia. She belongs by birth to the House of Grimaldi and was also heiress presumptive in 1957 and 1958, between her own birth and the birth of her brother, Albert, the current Sovereign Prince of Monaco. She also has a younger sister, Stéphanie. She is a legitimate patrilineal descendant of the Dukes of Polignac, and as such belongs to the historical French nobility.

Education

The princess received her French Baccalauréat (high school or A level) degree in 1974 with honors. She was educated at St Mary's School Ascot, and continued her studies at the University of Paris[vague] in Paris, where she received a diploma in Philosophy and minors in Psychology and Biology. She is fluent in French, English, Spanish, German and Italian.

Royal Monogram

First marriage

Princess Caroline's first husband was Philippe Junot (b. 19 April 1940), a Parisian banker. They were married civilly in Monaco on 28 June 1978, religiously on 29 June 1978 and divorced on 9 October 1980, without having had issue. In 1992, the Roman Catholic Church granted the princess a canonical annulment.

Princess Caroline was briefly engaged to Robertino Rossellini, son of Roberto Rossellini and actress Ingrid Bergman, before her second marriage.

Second marriage

Her second husband was Stefano Casiraghi (8 September 1960 – 3 October 1990), the sportsman heir to an Italian industrial fortune. They were married in Monaco on 29 December 1983, and had three children:

The two younger children are named for their maternal great-grandparents, Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Prince Pierre of Monaco, whilst Andrea was named for a childhood friend of his father's. Stefano Casiraghi was killed in a speed-boating accident in 1990, aged 30 years.

Third marriage


Monegasque Princely FamilyCoat of Arms of Monaco.svg

Hanoverian Royal Family
Hannover1837.jpg

Caroline's third and present husband is Ernst August Prinz von Hanover the dynastic head of the House of Hanover and great-grandson of the last reigning duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Ernest August II, duke of Cumberland, a great-grandson of British King George III.

Caroline and Ernst August V married in Monaco on 23 January 1999. He had divorced his previous wife, Chantal Hochuli, in September 1997. (She had previously been a friend of Princess Caroline).[3]

Princess Caroline and her third husband have one child together:

Her husband's family titles had been abolished by the Weimar Republic in 1918, along with all royal and noble German titles. Neither she nor her husband (whose legal name is Ernst August Prinz von Hannover) has any royal rank in Germany, but Monaco recognizes her German royal titles and her style as a Royal Highness.

On 11 January 1999, shortly before Caroline and Ernst's wedding, his distant cousin Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued this Order in Council, "My Lords, I do hereby declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between His Royal Highness Prince Ernst August Albert of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite of Monaco...". Without the Royal Assent, the marriage would have been void in Britain, where the groom's family owned substantial property, because Ernst August is subject to the Royal Marriages Act 1772. Likewise, the Monégasque court officially notified France of Caroline's contemplated marriage to Prince Ernst August and received assurance that there was no objection, in compliance with Article 2 of the 1918 Franco-Monégasque Treaty.[4]

As of September 2009, it is reported that she has separated from Ernst August and returned to live in Monaco.[5] In January 2010, photos emerged of Ernst August kissing a woman who was not identified as Caroline, leading press to speculate that the couple are divorcing.[6]

Defense of privacy

On 24 June 2004 the Princess obtained a judgment[7] from the European Court of Human Rights condemning Germany for non-respect of her right to private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned, for instance, the publication of pictures of her taken secretly at the Monte Carlo Beach Club.

Cultural and charitable interests

The Princess was awarded, in 2005, the insignia of Commander of Cultural Merit in recognition of her commitment to the Arts. She founded Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and has been president and chairperson of The Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Monte Carlo Opera, Prince Pierre Foundation, The Spring Arts Festival, The Monte Carlo Garden Club and The Princess Grace Foundation.

She founded the children's charity Jeune J'écoute, is a patron of the Peter Le Marchant Trust, a boating charity for disabled people, and president of Amade Mondiale.

In 2006, the Princess was awarded the UNICEF Children's Champion Award. In December 2011, Princess Caroline received the People In Europe gong, which recognises leading figures in the world of arts, religion and business from long time friend Karl Largfield[8].

Succession issues

Princess Caroline is heiress presumptive to the crown of Monaco because her brother Prince Albert II has no legitimate children. If Albert leaves no legitimate dynastic issue and should she outlive Albert, Caroline will one day become the second Sovereign Princess in Monaco's history. Her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother Louise-Hippolyte Grimaldi held that title for a few months in 1731 with a regent as at the time women could not succeed the throne.

There is precedent for a Monégasque prince to adopt his own illegitimate child and thereby place that child at the head of the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, as was done for Caroline's grandmother, Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois.[9] However, due to the changes to the constitution of Monaco in 2002, this is no longer an option.[10]

Although Albert has publicly acknowledged two children born out of wedlock (Alexandre Coste, son of Togolese flight attendant Nicole Coste and Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, daughter of Tamara Rotolo of Palm Springs), unless Albert were to legitimize Alexandre by marrying his mother, Caroline cannot constitutionally be displaced in the succession order by either child.

Albert's lack of legitimate children prompted Prince Rainier to change the constitution so as to ensure there would be a successor to the throne, which strengthened the places of Caroline and her descendants in the line of succession. On 2 April 2002 Monaco passed Princely Law 1.249, which provides that if the Sovereign Prince assumes the throne and then dies without a legitimate direct heir, the throne will pass to his dynastic siblings and their descendants according to the rule of male-preference primogeniture.[10] The law was then ratified by France, as required by a 1918 Franco-Monégasque treaty, on 4 October 2005.[10] Before this change, the crown of Monaco could pass only to a direct descendant of the last reigning prince, excluding such collateral relations as siblings (e.g., Caroline), nephews, and nieces.

Titles, styles, honours, and arms

Contrary to usage in most other monarchies, not only is the heir apparent to the Monégasque throne titled Hereditary Prince, but whenever there is no heir apparent the heir presumptive legally bears the title of Hereditary Prince(ss). Therefore, Caroline first became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco at birth. From the birth of her only brother until his accession to the throne as Albert II, she was legally Princess Caroline of Monaco; at Albert's accession she resumed the position of heiress presumptive and Hereditary Princess. So long as Prince Albert remains without legitimate heirs, Princess Caroline remains first in line to succeed him on the throne. However, Albert's firstborn legitimate child would displace her in the line of succession and become Hereditary Prince/ss, either as Albert's heir apparent if male, or as his heir presumptive if female.

In Monaco and other monarchies, Caroline is usually referred to and addressed by the female form of the style attributed by tradition to her husband, i.e. Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover, rather than by her own legal title (Her Serene Highness the Hereditary Princess of Monaco). Historically, styles associated with kingdoms, such as Ernst August's, have been deemed of higher rank and status than those associated with principalities.[11]

Should Caroline succeed Albert and become reigning Princess of Monaco, she would become Her Royal Highness (by virtue of her married title) Caroline I, Princess of Monaco, although her father and brother both bore the lower style of Serene Highness because Monaco is a principality, not a kingdom. She would retain the attribute of Royal Highness consistent with the tradition that conferred that style, for example, upon descendants of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg as a result of her 1919 marriage to HRH Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, member of a deposed dynasty that once reigned over a kingdom. As reigning princess, however, Caroline would re-assume her dynastic maiden name of Grimaldi, pursuant to Article I of the principality's 2002 law on the sovereign family.[12] However, Caroline's successor (e.g., her eldest son, Andrea Casiraghi) would not be entitled to use the style Royal Highness, since styles are normally passed only through the male line, and would assume the traditional style of Serene Highness.

Titles and styles

See also

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Regarding personal names: Prinzessin is a title, translated as Princess, not a first or middle name. The male form is Prinz.
  2. ^ www.palais.mc
  3. ^ Hubbard, Kim (8 February 1999). "Ernst Goes to Monaco". People 51 (5). http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20127529,00.html. Retrieved 2009-01-14. 
  4. ^ "Monaco: The Treaties of 1861 and 1918" (in French). Heraldica.org. François Velde. 22 March 2006. http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/monaco.htm#1861. Retrieved 2009-01-14. "Measures concerning the international relations of the Principality shall always be the subject of prior consultations between the Government of the Principality and the French Government. The same shall apply to measures concerning directly or indirectly the exercise of a regency or succession to the throne, which shall, whether by marriage or adoption or otherwise, pass only to a person who is of French or Monegasque nationality and is approved by the French Government." 
  5. ^ Princess Caroline 'to divorce third husband', reigniting fears of a Monaco royal curse
  6. ^ Princess Caroline of Monaco hit by divorce rumours as husband is pictured kissing younger woman
  7. ^ European Court of Human Rights 24 June 2004, Case of Von Hannover v. Germany
  8. ^ http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/201112146779/princess-caroline-karl-lagerfeld-award/
  9. ^ "Monaco: The Succession Crisis of 1918" (in French). Heraldica.org. François Velde. 22 March 2006. http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/monaco.htm#crisis. Retrieved 2009-01-14. 
  10. ^ a b c "Monaco: The Constitution 2002" (in French). Heraldica.org. François Velde. 22 March 2006. http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/monaco.htm#const. Retrieved 2009-01-14. 
  11. ^ Hubbard, Kim (8 February 1999). "Ernst Goes to Monaco". People 51 (5). http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20127529,00.html. Retrieved 2009-01-14. "With her new title—Her Royal Highness Caroline Princess of Hanover, Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg—Caroline now outranks everyone in her immediate family except her dad. 'There's a big difference between a princely family and a royal family,' explains Harold Brooks-Baker, publishing director of Burke's Peerage..." 
  12. ^ "Monaco: House Laws" (in French). Heraldica.org. François Velde. 22 March 2006. http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/monaco.htm#house_laws. Retrieved 2009-01-14. 

External links

Caroline, Princess of Hanover
Cadet branch of the House of Polignac
Born: 23 January 1957
Monegasque royalty
First
Line of succession to the Monegasque Throne
1st position
Succeeded by
Andrea Casiraghi
Vacant
Title last held by
Prince Rainier III
Hereditary Princess of Monaco
23 January 1957 – 14 March 1958
Succeeded by
Prince Albert II
Preceded by
Prince Albert II
Hereditary Princess of Monaco
6 April 2005 –
Incumbent
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Chantal Hochuli
— TITULAR —
Duchess of Cumberland and Teviotdale
23 January 1999 — present
Reason for succession failure:
Titles Deprivation Act 1917
Incumbent
— TITULAR —
Queen consort of Hanover
23 January 1999 — present
Reason for succession failure:
Hanover annexed by Prussia in 1866
— TITULAR —
Duchess consort of Brunswick
23 January 1999 — present
Reason for succession failure:
Duchy abolished in 1918



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