DYNASTY
PRINCE HONORÉ V : A BRILLIANT OFFICER AND AN UNLUCKY SOVEREIGN
By Julia Belyakova
The eldest son of Prince Honoré IV was so eager for power that he declared himself a ruler against the will of his father . Tough and authoritarian , accustomed to military discipline from his youth , he made important economic decisions alone but failed to make the country prosperous and failed to make its population rich and happy . In fairness , we note that the Prince sincerely did his best .
MILITARY SERVICE FOR FRANCE
Prince Honoré-Gabriel , the eldest son of Prince Honoré IV of Monaco and Princess Louise Felicite Victoire d ’ Aumont , was born in Paris on May 14 , 1778 . He enlisted in a French cavalry regiment when he was 20 years old and worked his way up through the ranks by his own merits until he became an officer on the staff of Marshal Grouchy . He was an exemplary soldier and was cited for his bravery many times . Being wounded in the arm he couldn ’ t take part in the action at Austerlitz ( 1805 ) but did serve with great distinction at the battle of Jena ( 1806 ) with Marshal Murat ’ s cavalry corps . Marshal Grouchy recommended him for the star of the Legion of Honour , relating that the Prince had taken a handful of cavalry and forced the surrender of an entire enemy battalion .
Wikipedia . org
In April 1814 , Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated the throne and was sent into exile on the island of Elba . The restored King Louis XVIII of France himself then also restored the Grimaldis to their places in the French nobility . Therefore , after the restoration of 1814 , Honoré-Gabriel was also named member of the House of Peers by King Louis XVIII . But many were afraid that Monegasque independence would not be secure or that the Principality might be annexed by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia . Thanks to Prince Talleyrand , however , a clause was inserted into the Treaty of Paris to put Monaco securely back in order and independent .
Prince Honoré V of Monaco ( 1778 – 1841 )
RETURN TO MONACO AND MEETING WITH NAPOLEON
Honoré IV was unable to return to Monaco because of his poor health and so appointed his brother Joseph to rule on his behalf . But Honoré-Gabriel didn ’ t like that idea and he protested fiercely about this and after some struggle he was himself appointed to govern Monaco .
In March , 1815 on his way to Monaco he met with his old commander Napoleon who was on his way to Paris to seize power at
History has tended to record Prince Honoré V as a very unpopular and autocratic monarch , but , in reality he was quite progressive .
100 / Hello Monaco Spring 2022 www . hellomonaco . com