Charles III, Prince of Monaco
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Charles III (Charles Honoré Grimaldi; 8 December 1818 – 10 September 1889) was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 20 June 1856 to his death. He was the founder of the famous casino in Monte Carlo, as his name in Monegasque and Italian was Carlo III.[1] He was born in Paris, the only son of Florestan, Prince of Monaco, and Caroline Gibert de Lametz.
Marriage and reign
While he was Hereditary Prince, Charles was married on 28 September 1846 in Brussels to Countess Antoinette de Mérode-Westerloo.[2]
He succeeded his father Prince Florestan in 1856.
During his reign, the towns of Menton and Roquebrune, constituting some 80 percent of Monegasque territory, were formally ceded to France, paving the way for formal French recognition of Monaco's independence. Rebellions in these towns, aided by the Kingdom of Sardinia, had exhausted Monaco's military resources for decades.[2]
The Principality was in dire need of cash flow,[3] so Prince Charles and his mother, Princess Caroline, had the idea of erecting a casino.[4] The Monte Carlo Casino was designed, according to the Prince's liking, in the German style and placed at the site of Les Spélugues.[5] Monte Carlo (in English, Mount Charles) itself takes its name from Charles, after all its founder.[4][6] Charles established a society (business) to run the Casino; this society is today the Société des bains de mer de Monaco.[3]
Under Charles III, the Principality of Monaco increased its diplomatic activities; for example, in 1864, Charles III concluded a Treaty of Friendship with the Bey of Tunis, Muhammad III as-Sadiq, which also regulated trade and maritime issues.[7]
Honours
Monte Carlo is named after Charles III. It stands for the "Mount Charles" in Italian.
The Order of Saint-Charles was instituted on 15 March 1858, during the reign of Prince Charles III.[2]
He received the following decorations and awards:
- File:St Olavs Orden storkors stripe.svg Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, with Collar, 27 March 1863 (Sweden-Norway)[8]
- File:DNK Order of Danebrog Grand Cross BAR.png Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog, in Brilliants, 16 February 1865 (Denmark)[9]
- File:Ludwig Order (Hesse) - ribbon bar.png Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Ludwig, 17 April 1865 (Grand Duchy of Hesse)[10]
- File:ESP Charles III Order GC.svg Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Charles III, 17 February 1867 (Spain)[11]
- File:Ord.Aquilarossa-GC.png Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, 7 July 1869 (Kingdom of Prussia)[12]
- File:BAD Order of the Lion of Zaeringen ribbon.svg Grand Cross of the Order of the Zähringer Lion, 1869 (Grand Duchy of Baden)[13]
- File:Legion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg Officer of the Legion d'Honneur, for his service in the French Navy in the Franco-Prussian War (French Empire)[5]
- File:BEL - Order of Leopold - Grand Cordon bar.svg Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (civil division), 30 August 1874 (Belgium)[14]
- File:Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary - Ribbon bar Grand-Cross.svg Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, 1882 (Austria-Hungary)[15]
- File:SRB-SHS-YUG Orden Belog Orla VKrst BAR.svg Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the White Eagle (civil division), 29 May 1883 (Kingdom of Serbia)[16]
- File:Ordine Supremo del Cristo Rib.png Knight of the Supreme Order of Christ (Holy See)
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Death
In his middle years his sight greatly weakened, and by the last decade of his life he had become almost totally blind. In fact, Dr. Thomas Henry Pickering wrote in 1882: "So far back as 1860, Prince Charles lost his eyesight...."[5]
He died at Château de Marchais on 10 September 1889.[2] He was succeeded by his son Albert I of Monaco.
Coin
In 1966 Monaco released a 10 Francs silver coin in the memory of the 100th anniversary of Monte Carlo, portraying Prince Charles’ III on its obverse. On 1 June 2016, fifteen thousand 2 euro coins were issued by Monaco; commemorating the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Monte Carlo by Charles III[17]
In literature
Charles III is referenced, as Prince Charles Honoré, in a fictional entitled, The Fall of Prince Florestan of Monaco, by the British politician Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke. This work was one of satire and parody on a number of political characters of the day. It centered around a Cambridge-educated, half-Württemberg nephew of Charles III who comes to the throne by way of Charles III and the next two heirs being wiped out of existence. The upstart "Florestan II", a radical republican, boldly attempts to democratize Monaco. He fails and then is forced to leave the country.
Ancestry
External links
References
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- ↑ Kongelig Dansk Hof-og Statskalendar (1880) (in Danish), "De Kongelig Danske Ridderordener", p. 8
- ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 12
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- ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1873), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 74
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- ↑ Journal de Monaco
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- Pages with script errors
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- 1818 births
- 1889 deaths
- 19th-century princes of Monaco
- House of Grimaldi
- Burials at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate
- Monegasque princes
- Marquesses of Baux
- Grand Masters of the Order of Saint-Charles
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog
- Officers of the Legion of Honour
- Monegasque people of Italian descent
- Dukes of Valentinois
- Dukes of Mayenne