Ippolita Trivulzio (1600 – 20 June 1638) was the Princess of Monaco by marriage to Honoré II of Monaco, and was the first Monegasque consort to bear the title of ''Princess''.

Biography

Ippolita was the only daughter of Carlo Emanuele Teodoro Trivulzio, Count of Melzo and Caterina of Gonzaga-Castelgoffredo. Her family originated from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. Her older brother was Gian Giacomo Teodoro Trivulzio. Ippolita was brought up in a convent. Her brother married Giovanna Maria Grimaldi, the sister of Honoré II. In 1615, Honoré II returned to Monaco from Milan, where he had spent his childhood with his Spanish maternal uncle, to resume government after having reached his age of majority. Marriage to provide an heir was one of the first political issues to be solved, and Ippolita, being the sister-in-law of his sister Jeanne, was successfully introduced to him as a simple and suitable solution.Anne Edwards, The Grimaldis of Monaco, 1992 She married

Honoré II, Prince of Monaco Honoré II (24 December 1597 – 10 January 1662) was Prince of Monaco from 1604 to 1662. He was the first to be called Prince (in 1612), but started his reign as Lord of Monaco. Early life Honoré II was born on 24 December 1597. He was the so ...

on 13 February 1616. The couple had one son. Ippolita was described as "demure, slim, dark-haired, a potential beauty and raised by nuns." Her spouse was pious, domestic and homely and the marriage was described as a happy one. As Honoré II redecorated the Princely residence from a medieval fortress to a princely palace and introduced several courtly customs and official religious stately ceremonies to create a sense of national and monarchial feelings between the dynasty and the Monegasque population, Ippolita was given a bigger role in public representation than her predecessors." During the years 1624–30, they also hosted the state visits of

Archduke Charles of Austria Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Lawrence of Austria, Duke of Teschen (; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian field marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the youn ...

, Maria Anna of Austria and the future

Emperor Ferdinand III Ferdinand III (Ferdinand Ernest; 13 July 1608 – 2 April 1657) was Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1625, King of Bohemia from 1627 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1637 to his death. Ferdinand ascended the throne at the begi ...

. Princess Ippolita died in her thirty-eighth year. Originally buried in the crypt of the

Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate The Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate (French language, French: ''Cathédrale de Notre-Dame-Immaculée''; Latin: ''Cathedralis Templum de Nostra Domina Immaculata''), formerly called the ''Cathedral of Saint Nicholas'' (demolished in 1874),. Now t ...

, she was moved to the apsis of the cathedral on 4 November 1966 by decision of Prince Rainier III.

Issue

Ercole Grimaldi, Marquis of Baux Ercole Grimaldi, Marquis of Baux (16 December 1623 – 2 August 1651) was a member of the House of Grimaldi. He was the first Monegasque prince and heir apparent to the first Monegasque sovereign prince, Honoré II. Dying at the age of 27, Baux ...

(16 December 1623 – 2 August 1651) married Maria Aurelia Spinola (d. 1670) and had issue.

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trivulzio, Ippolita 1600 births 1638 deaths House of Grimaldi Princesses of Monaco Burials at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate Ippolita Nobility from Milan House of Gonzaga 17th-century Italian nobility 17th-century Italian women