Hello Monaco #11 Spring 2021 | Page 109

DYNASTY
FOR THE BENEFIT OF HIS MOTHERLAND AND PEOPLE

The welfare of the Monegasque population was always one of Prince Antoine ’ s chief priorities . One of the great achievements that earned Antoine the respect of his subjects is that he undertook the construction of enormous underground bunkers to protect his citizens from potential cannon fire . He also added giant cisterns to store water in the event of a siege . During the very difficult years of an already strained treasury Antoine used to melt down the family silver and sell the family jewels to pay for the vastly improved defenses .

Prince Antoine I was very popular and fondly known by Monegasques as Goliath because of his great size and strength .
Prince Antoine I passed away on February 20 , 1731 at the age of 70 . On his death Prince Antoine also held the titles Duke of Valentinois and Peer of France ( he had been made a knight of the French royal orders in 1724 ).
TWO HEIRS OF PRINCE ANTOINE

Antoine was the eldest of Catherine Charlotte de Gramont ’ s six children by Prince Louis I . He was healthy at 40 years old when he succeeded his father as Prince of Monaco . He was a great soldier and statesman and beloved by his Monegasque subjects but the same love was not shared between him and his wife Marie . On June 13 , 1688 he had married Marie of Lorraine who was the daughter of the Comte de

The Sovereign Princess Louise- Hippolyte , Antoine ’ s eldest surviving daughter , became the second woman on the Monegasque throne .
Armagnac . The marriage was arranged by none other than Louis XIV at Versailles . It was not a happy union saved by the fact that Antoine was away much of the time on military campaigns . Marie absented herself from Monaco at every opportunity . Still , the union created six daughters , three of whom did not survive early childhood .
Antoine ’ s eldest surviving daughter , who like him was loved by the Monegasque population , would succeed him . She was the Sovereign Princess Louise-Hippolyte ( 1697 – 1731 ) and became the second woman on the Monegasque throne after Claudine ( XV century ). Unfortunately , that would set up a troublesome dynamic with an ambitious husband who was a ‘ lesser noble ’ and not a Grimaldi , and who did not endear himself to Monaco ’ s citizens . He was Jacques de Goyon Matignon Comte de Thorigny . Sovereign Princess Louise-Hippolyte would be felled by small-pox only 11 months into her reign .
However , Antoine ’ s progeny did manage to ensure a stable and enduring governorship of Monaco after his death . This was due to the fact that Prince Antoine I had a number of illegitimate children , one his own namesake . His illegitimate son Antoine ( 1697 – 1784 ), son of the dancer Elizabeth Dufort , would come to be known as Le Chevalier de Grimaldi . Following Louise-Hippolyte ’ s untimely death and short reign , he would become the de facto ruler of Monaco for over 50 years with the title Governor General and Regent .
So , the lives of two children of Antoine I born in the same year with a one-month difference finally turned out so differently …
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A functioning and lively quay at the bottom of the Rock is named after Prince Antoine I .
Hello Monaco Spring 2021 / 107 www . hellomonaco . ru