Marie Caroline Gibert de Lametz, (18 July 1793 – 25 November 1879), was a French stage actress and a Princess Consort and regent

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

of Monaco by marriage to

Florestan I, Prince of Monaco Florestan (Tancrède Florestan Roger Louis Grimaldi; 10 October 1785, in Paris – 20 June 1856) was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 2 October 1841 until his death. He was the second son of Prince Honoré IV and Louise d'Aumont ...

Life

She was the daughter of Charles-Thomas Gibert (b. 1765), who was a lawyer, and Marie-Françoise Le Gras de Vaubercey (1766–1842). The marriage of her parents ended in divorce, and she became the adopted stepdaughter of Antoine Rouyer de Lametz (1762–1836), Chevalier d'Empire and Knight of the Legion of Honour. Marie Caroline was originally a stage actress, as was her future spouse, Florestan. Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz and Prince Florestan of Monaco, at that time both actors, married in

Commercy Commercy () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The 18th-century Lorraine historian Nicolas Luton Durival (1713–1795) was born in Commercy. History Commercy dates back to the 9th century, and at that tim ...

on 27 November 1816 and had two children: Prince Charles III, and Princess Florestine. She was described as a skillful businesswoman: she handled the economy of the family, and successfully managed the fortune her spouse inherited from his mother (who had excluded her eldest son from her will because of his illegitimate issue) in 1826.

Princess of Monaco

Florestan ascended to the throne in Monaco in 1841, but he was never prepared to assume the role of prince — he had been an actor in the

Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique The Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (, literally, Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), a former Parisian theatre, was founded in 1769 on the boulevard du Temple immediately adjacent to the Théâtre de Nicolet. It was rebuilt in 1770 and 1786, but in ...

— and the real power during his reign lay in the hands of his wife, who reportedly possessed great intelligence and "excelled at social skills." According to the historian

Gustave Saige Gustave Saige (1838-1905) was a French archivist. He was the archivist of the Prince's Palace of Monaco from 1881 to 1905. Early life Gustave Saige was born on 20 August 1838 in Paris, France. He graduated from the École Nationale des Chartes in ...

, Princess Caroline's intelligence was required to figure out the affairs of state, which Honoré V had handled absolutely by himself, not trusting anyone to advise or assist him. By introducing a tax reform, she was able to alleviate the difficult economic situation stemming from the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

assigning Monaco as a protectorate of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

rather than France. Her involvement in state politics, however, gave bad publicity to Florestan. When their son once reproached her for her de facto regent position, she replied that she ruled simply because she wanted to take responsibility for the welfare of the family. The couple attempted to meet local demands for greater democracy and offered two constitutions to the local population, but these were rejected, particularly by the people of Menton, who were given a better offer by King Charles Albert of Sardinia. The Prince and Princess of Monaco then handed over power to their son Charles (later Prince Charles III). Encouraged by the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

, however, the towns of

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

and Roquebrune revolted and declared themselves independent. The crisis worsened when the King of Sardinia garrisoned Menton, Florestan was dethroned, arrested, and imprisoned. Florestan was restored to the throne in 1849, but Menton and Roquebrune were lost forever. They had hoped to be annexed by

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, but this did not occur, and the towns remained in a state of political limbo until they were finally ceded to France in 1861.

Later life

After her husband's death in 1856, her son, Prince Charles III took over control of the throne, after having been well prepared to assume power by his mother. Together, they worked towards laying the foundation for Monaco as a major resort destination. She died on November 25, 1879.

Ancestry

Coat of Arms of Maria Caroline, Princess of Monaco

References

The Peerage
retrieved 26 February 2007 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibert De Lametz, Maria Caroline 1793 births 1879 deaths People from Coulommiers Hereditary Princesses of Monaco French stage actresses Regents of Monaco 19th-century French actresses House of Grimaldi Princesses of Monaco Burials at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate