Principality of Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque dialect, Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riv ...
is currently governed by Princely Law 1.249 of 2 April 2002.
Eligibility
Under the
constitution of Monaco
The Constitution of Monaco, first adopted in 1911 after the Monégasque Revolution and heavily revised by Prince Rainier III on 17 December 1962, outlines three branches of government, including several administrative offices and a number of coun ...
, the crown passes according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture. Only persons descended from the reigning monarch and the reigning monarch's siblings and their descendants, whose parents have been married at some point with the monarch's approval, and who are Monegasque citizens are eligible. Children born as a result of
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
are permanently excluded. A dynast forfeits succession rights if he or she marries without the monarch's permission, along with descendants of the unapproved marriage, but can be restored into the line of succession if the marriage produces no issue and ends before the
demise of the crown
Demise of the Crown is the legal term in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms for the transfer of the Crown upon the death of the monarch. The Crown transfers automatically to the monarch's heir. The concept evolved in the kingdom of En ...
.Monaco /ref>
Should no one be eligible to succeed according to the succession laws, a council of regency takes power until the Crown Council elects a new monarch from among the more distant descendants of the
House of Grimaldi
The House of Grimaldi ( , also , , ) is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297 ...
.
Line of succession
The list below includes only persons eligible to succeed to the throne (numbered 1 to 17) and the illegitimate children who would enter the line if their parents ever married.
* ''
Prince Rainier III
Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...
(1923–2005)''
**
Prince Albert II
Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005.
Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...
Hereditary Prince Jacques
Jacques, Hereditary Prince of Monaco, Marquis of Baux (Jacques Honoré Rainier Grimaldi; born 10 December 2014), is the heir apparent to the Monegasque throne. He is the son of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, and twin brother of Princ ...
(b. 2014)
*** (2)
Princess Gabriella, Countess of Carladès
Princess Gabriella, Countess of Carladès (Gabriella Thérèse Marie Grimaldi; born 10 December 2014), is the daughter of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene. She is second in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, behind her twin ...
(b. 2014)
** (3)
Caroline, Princess of Hanover
Princess Caroline of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite; born 23 January 1957) is, by her marriage to Prince Ernst August, the Princess of Hanover. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sist ...
(b. 1957)
*** (4) Andrea Casiraghi (b. 1984)
**** (5) Alexandre (Sasha) Casiraghi (b. 2013)
**** (6) Maximilian Casiraghi (b. 2018)
**** (7) India Casiraghi (b. 2015)
*** (8)
Pierre Casiraghi
Pierre Rainier Stefano Casiraghi (born 5 September 1987) is the younger son and youngest of three children of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and her second husband, Stefano Casiraghi. He is the maternal-line grandson of Rainier III, Prince of ...
Charlotte Casiraghi
Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi (born 3 August 1986) is a Monégasque model, socialite, writer, editor, equestrian, journalist, film producer, and humanitarian. She is the second child and only daughter of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and S ...
Louis Ducruet
Louis Robert Paul Ducruet (born 26 November 1992) is the son of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and Daniel Ducruet.
Early life
Ducruet grew up in Monaco-Ville. His parents, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and Daniel Ducruet, were married in 1995, but ...
(b. 1992)
***(16)
Pauline Ducruet
Pauline Grace Maguy Ducruet (born 4 May 1994) is a Monegasque diver, designer and niece of Prince Albert II of Monaco, through her mother, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.
Early life
Ducruet was born on 4 May 1994 at Princess Grace Hospital Centre ...
(b. 1994)
*** Camille Gottlieb (b. 1998)
A person born to a dynast who was not married to the other parent at the time of birth (such as Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, Camille Gottlieb or Raphaël Elmaleh) does not have any succession rights unless legitimized by his or her parents' subsequent marriage (Civil Code 229 states: "Les enfants légitimés par le mariage subséquent auront les mêmes droits que s'ils étaient nés de ce mariage"). Louis and
Pauline Ducruet
Pauline Grace Maguy Ducruet (born 4 May 1994) is a Monegasque diver, designer and niece of Prince Albert II of Monaco, through her mother, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.
Early life
Ducruet was born on 4 May 1994 at Princess Grace Hospital Centre ...
, Alexandre (Sasha) Casiraghi and Balthazar Rassam have been legitimised by their parents' subsequent marriages.
Jazmin Grace Grimaldi
Jazmin Grace Grimaldi (born March 4, 1992) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Tamara Rotolo.
Prince Albert II publicly confirmed Grimaldi's paternity on June 1, 2006, claiming that he had wa ...
cannot be legitimated through her parents subsequent marriage because her mother's divorce proceedings were not finalized by the time of Jazmin's birth. As such, Jazmin is legally the product of adultery and cannot be legitimated through the subsequent marriage of her biological parents.
2002 changes
Until 2002, the crown of Monaco could only pass to the direct descendants, including adopted children, of the reigning prince. As a result, Princess Antoinette was not in the line of succession and Princesses Caroline and Stéphanie would have lost their places in line at the moment of Prince Albert's accession, and there would be no further dynasts eligible to succeed to the throne.
This possibility had two implications, namely that ''a'') the throne might fall vacant and Monaco might officially become a
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its in ...
of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
should Prince Albert inherit the crown and then die without fathering or adopting a legitimate heir or ''b'') Prince Albert might adopt an unrelated person as his heir, thereby breaking the genealogical line of the House of Grimaldi. In 2002, changes were made to the
Constitution of Monaco
The Constitution of Monaco, first adopted in 1911 after the Monégasque Revolution and heavily revised by Prince Rainier III on 17 December 1962, outlines three branches of government, including several administrative offices and a number of coun ...
which eliminated that concern by excluding adopted children from the line of succession and providing that, if the sovereign has no legitimate child, the crown passes to one of the dynastic siblings of the sovereign or, if not living, to one of their legitimate descendants.
List of heirs to the Monegasque throne
These are the individuals who, at any given time, were considered next in line to inherit the throne of Monaco, should the incumbent monarch die. Those who actually succeeded (at any time) are shown in bold. Stillborn children and infants surviv ...
*
Monaco succession crisis of 1918
The Monaco succession crisis of 1918 arose because France objected to the prospect of a German national inheriting the throne of the Principality of Monaco. Prince Albert I had only one legitimate child, the Hereditary Prince Louis, then heir a ...
Line of succession
An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.