DYNASTY
HERCULE I , DOCTOR OF LAW AND FATHER OF THE FIRST PRINCE OF MONACO
THE GRIMALDI PRINCES HAVE HISTORICALLY DISTINGUISHED THEMSELVES IN THE ARTS AND ALSO IN CULTURE , SPORTS AND SCIENCE . AS A LOVER OF THE ARTS PRINCE HONORÉ II BUILT THE GREAT COLLECTIONS OF THE PALACE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY . PRINCE ALBERT I WAS A WORLD-RENOWNED EMINENT MARINE SCIENTIST AND OUR REIGNING PRINCE ALBERT II PARTICIPATED IN FIVE OLYMPICS . THERE IS ALSO A LESS HERALDED LORD AMONG THOSE OF THE GRIMALDI DYNASTY WHO ALSO DEMONSTRATED A FINE INTELLECT : HERCULE GRIMALDI BORN ON SEPTEMBER 24 , 1562 , THE YOUNGEST SON OF FOUR OF LORD HONORÉ I OF MONACO AND HIS WIFE ISABELLA . IN THE ARCHIVES OF THE PALACE THERE IS A BEAUTIFULLY FRAMED DIPLOMA GRANTING HIM A DOCTORATE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA AT 22 YEARS OLD — A DOCTORATE IN CIVIL LAW AND CANON LAW WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN THE CULMINATION OF FOUR YEARS OF STUDY , THE FIRST TWO YEARS BEING THE EQUIVALENT OF A BACHELOR ’ S DEGREE . AT THE TIME HERCULE , BEING THE YOUNGEST SON , WOULD HAVE BEEN PREPARING HIMSELF FOR OTHER THAN THE ROLE OF LORD ( SEIGNEUR ), PERHAPS EVEN FOR AN ECCLESIASTICAL ROLE . BUT FATE HAD OTHER PLANS …
TROUBLED TIMES
Hercule ’ s eldest brother was Charles II who succeeded his father as Seigneur of Monaco in 1581 . His other two brothers , François and Horace , both died young . So when 33-years-old Charles II after just 8 years into his reign died unmarried and childless , Hercule succeeded him as Seigneur on May 17 , 1589 at the age of 27 . It was not an easy mantle to inherit as it was to be one of the more troubled times in Monaco ’ s history . The Spanish garrison on the Rock were progressively loathed by the Monegasque population . And Monaco with its strategic harbour was the target of many a conspiracy by surrounding feudal lords including Provence and Savoy , not to mention the lords in the great centres , in what is modern-day Italy . Savoy tried their hand at claiming Monaco via a notary called Boccone with the intention of driving out the Spanish and overthrowing the Grimaldis . Again though , success escaped them .
In 1595 Hercule married Maria Landi . They had three children : two daughters and a son , the future Honoré II , the first Lord of Monaco to bear the title Prince of Monaco .
MYSTERIOUS ASSASSINATION
© Gaëtan Luci - Archives du Palais Princier de Monaco
Hercule Grimaldi on horseback
It was a dangerous time to wander the streets and Hercule ’ s life was cut short one evening as he ventured out . On November 29 , 1604 after leaving the house of the Governor Gastaldi ( now 15 , Rue de Comte Félix Gastaldi ) the Lord of Monaco was stabbed to death … The Monaco Parish Registry records that , « The most noble and worthy seigneur Hercule Grimaldi , seigneur of Monaco , Marquis of Campagna , called to a better life at the age of about 42 . Attacked by a force of 5 or 6 in the Grand-Rue , in front of the house of the « podestà master », Bartholomies Dadino , he at once delivered up his soul to God ».
We don ’ t know exactly why this cruel act had happened … But it ’ s obvious that in order to avoid the sad destiny of their father , Hercule ’ s children were immediately hidden — till the moment when
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