monarch
A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...
and
head of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
of the
Principality of Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a semi-enclave borde ...
. All reigning princes and princesses have taken the name of the
House of Grimaldi
The House of Grimaldi is the Dynasty, reigning house of the Monaco, Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when François Grimaldi, Francesco Grimaldi captured Mo ...
. When Prince Rainier III died in 2005, he was Europe's longest reigning monarch. The Grimaldi family, which has ruled Monaco for eight centuries, is Europe's longest-ruling royal family.
The reigning prince is Albert II, who ascended in April 2005.
Powers of the prince
Monaco, along with
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
and
Vatican City
Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...
, is one of only three states in Western Europe where the monarch still plays an active role in day-to-day politics.
The Prince of Monaco exercises his authority in accordance with the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
and laws. He represents the principality in foreign relations, and any revision, either total or partial, of the Constitution must be jointly agreed to by the monarch and the National Council.
Legislative power is divided between the Prince who initiates the laws, and the National Council which votes on them. Executive power is retained by the monarch, who has veto power over all legislation proposed by the National Council.
The minister of state and the Government Council are directly responsible to the Prince for the administration of the principality.
Judiciary powers also belong to the monarch. The present Constitution states that the prince has full authority in the courts and tribunals which render justice in his or her name.
Pursuant to Article 16 of the 1962 Constitution, the Prince confers orders,
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that loyalty to the princely family is fierce; few residents of Monaco want to be quoted saying anything negative about the monarchy.
Compensation
The princely family receives annual allocation from the budget of Monaco, €43.5 million in 2015.
Titles and styles
The Prince is styledHis Serene Highness. Although used only formally, the Prince also bears several other hereditary titles, some of which are occasionally bestowed on his relatives or their spouses. Some of these titles have merged with the Crown of Monaco as a result of the Grimaldi family's acquisition of various
fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
s; they no longer imply ownership or territorial authority, although the princes of Monaco have long been substantial owners of land and in France. Most were granted or recognised by the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
or the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
and could only pass through the male line; they therefore became extinct as French dignities on the death of Albert's great-grandfather Prince Louis II in 1949. Thereafter, some of these titles were implicitly re-created as distinctly Monegasque titles.
The Prince's complete titles and styles are, in precedent order of rank:
* Sovereign Prince of Monaco
* Duke of Valentinois
* Duke of Estouteville
* Duke of Mazarin
* Duke of Mayenne
*
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
Marquis
A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Belfort
Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort.
Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...
Longjumeau
Longjumeau () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne department, France. It is located south from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Inhabitants of Longjumeau are known as ''Longjumellois'' () in French.
History
Longjumeau Party Sch ...
Baron
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...
Altkirch
Altkirch (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Alsace in north-eastern France.
The town is traditionally regarded as the capital of Sundgau.
Etymology
The name of the commune means ''old c ...
* Baron of
Saint-Lô
Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.Massy (Title now used by Christian Louis de Massy, son of Princess Antoinette)
* (Lord) of Issenheim
* ''Seigneur'' of Saint-Rémy
* Sire of Matignon
All palace correspondence features capitalized pronouns when referring to the prince.
The tradition of the monarchy of Monaco was that the flag flying from the staff on the tower above his office be hoisted when the prince was present in Monaco. The current prince flies the flag whether he is present or not, preferring to keep his location private.
Monaco is officially protected by France, according to terms set forth in the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
List of rulers of Monaco
This article lists the rulers of Monaco. Most belong to the House of Grimaldi; exceptions, which consist primarily of the principality's administrators under periods of foreign occupation, are noted.
History
The House of Grimaldi, descended fr ...