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Caroline, Princess of Hanover
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Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite Grimaldi, Prinzessin von Hannover, Erbprinzessin von Monaco), formally styled Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover (born 23 January 1957) is the eldest child of the late Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his wife, the former American film actress Grace Kelly. As a child she spent time at the home of her maternal grandparents in Philadelphia.
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Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite Grimaldi, Prinzessin von Hannover, Erbprinzessin von Monaco), formally styled Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover (born 23 January 1957) is the eldest child of the late Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his wife, the former American film actress Grace Kelly. As a child she spent time at the home of her maternal grandparents in Philadelphia. She has been married to Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover since 1999.
Born Princess Caroline of Monaco of the House of Grimaldi, she is the second wife of Ernst August, Prince of Hanover and, since her father's death on 6 April 2005, is the heiress presumptive to the throne of Monaco. She was also heiress presumptive in 1957 and 1958, between her own birth and the birth of her brother, Albert, the current Sovereign Prince of Monaco. She also has a younger sister, Stéphanie.
Education
The princess received her French Baccalauréat (high school or A level) degree in 1974 with honors. She was educated at St Mary's School Ascot, and continued her studies at the Sorbonne in Paris, where she received a diploma in Philosophy and minors in Psychology and Biology. She is fluent in French, English, Spanish, German and Italian.
First marriage
Princess Caroline's first husband was Philippe Junot (b. 19 April 1940), a Parisian banker. They were married in Monaco civilly on 28 June 1978 and religiously on 29 June 1978 and divorced on 9 October 1980, without issue (a period of time that had been predicted by the bride's mother, who disapproved of Junot's age and his reputation as a playboy). In 1992, the Roman Catholic Church granted the princess an annulment.
Princess Caroline was briefly engaged to Robertino Rossellini, son of Roberto Rossellini, before her second marriage.
Second marriage
Her second husband was Stefano Casiraghi (8 September 1960 – 3 October 1990), the sportsman heir to an Italian industrial fortune. They were married in Monaco on 29 December 1983, and had three children:
The two younger children are named for their maternal great-grandparents, Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Prince Pierre of Monaco, whilst Andrea was named for a childhood friend of his father's. Stefano Casiraghi was killed in a speed-boating accident in 1990, aged 30 years.
Third marriage
Her third and present husband is Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover, the head of the House of Hanover. They married civilly in Monaco on 23 January 1999 and religiously in Marienburg on 27 January 1999, after his September 1997 divorce from Chantal Hochuli (previously, a friend of Caroline's), and have one child together:
Her husband's family titles were abolished by the Weimar Republic, Germany, after World War I, along with all royal and noble German titles. Additionally, the Kingdom of Hanover has not existed since being annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Her husband is, however, entitled by German law to use "Prince of Hanover" as his surname (i.e. Ernst August Prince of Hanover), so the Princess is likewise permitted to call herself "Princess of Hanover" - but as a surname, not as a royal title. Neither she nor her husband has royal rank in modern Germany as Prince or Princess of Hanover, though Monaco recognizes her German royal title and her style as a Royal Highness.
Nonetheless, on 11 January 1999, shortly before Caroline and Ernst's wedding, his distant cousin Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued this Order-in-Council, "My Lords, I do hereby declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between His Royal Highness Prince Ernst August Albert of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite of Monaco...". Without the Royal Assent, the marriage would have been void in Britain, where the groom's family owned substantial property, because Ernst August is subject to the Royal Marriages Act 1772. Likewise, the Monégasque court officially notified France of Caroline's contemplated marriage to Prince Ernst August and received assurance that there was no objection, in compliance with Article 2 of the 1918 Franco-Monégasque Treaty.
Defense of privacy
On 24 June 2004 the Princess obtained a judgment
from the European Court of Human Rights condemning Germany for non-respect of her right to private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned, for instance, the publication of pictures of her taken secretly at the Monte Carlo Beach Club.
Cultural and charitable interests
The Princess was awarded, in 2005, the insignia of Commander of Cultural Merit in recognition of her commitment to the Arts. She founded Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and has been president and chairperson of The Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Monte Carlo Opera, Prince Pierre Foundation, The Spring Arts Festival, The Monte Carlo Garden Club and The Princess Grace Foundation.
She founded the children's charity Jeune J'écoute, is a patron of the Peter Le Marchant Trust, a boating charity for disabled people, and president of Amade Mondiale.
In 2006, the Princess was awarded the UNICEF Children's Champion Award.
Succession issues
Princess Caroline is heir presumptive to the throne of Monaco because her brother Prince Albert remains unmarried and has no legitimate children. If that situation remains unchanged and she outlives him Caroline will one day become the second Sovereign Princess in Monaco's history. Her ancestor Louise-Hippolyte Grimaldi held that title for a few months in 1731.
There is precedent for a Monégasque prince to adopt his own illegitimate child and thereby place that child at the head of the line of succession to the throne, as was done for Caroline's grandmother, Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois. However, this is no longer a valid option owing to the constitutional changes of 2002.
Therefore, although Albert has publicly acknowledged two children born out of wedlock (Eric Alexandre Coste, son of Togolese flight attendant Nicole Coste and Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, daughter of Tamara Rotolo of Palm Springs, California), unless Albert were to legitimize Alexandre by marrying his mother, Caroline cannot constitutionally be displaced in the succession order by either child.
Albert's lack of legitimate children prompted Prince Rainier to change the constitution so as to ensure there would be a lawful successor to the throne after him, which strengthened the places of Caroline and her descendants in the line of succession. On 2 April 2002 Monaco passed Princely Law 1.249, which provides that if the Sovereign Prince assumes the throne and then dies without a legitimate direct heir, the throne will pass to his dynastic siblings and their descendants according to the rule of male-preference primogeniture. The law was then ratified by France, as required by a 1918 Franco-Monégasque treaty, on 4 October 2005. Before this change, the crown of Monaco could pass only to a direct descendant of the last reigning prince, excluding such collateral relations as siblings (e.g., Caroline), nephews, and nieces.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Contrary to usage in most other monarchies, not only is the heir apparent to the Monégasque throne titled Hereditary Prince, but whenever there is no heir apparent the heir presumptive legally bears the title of Hereditary Prince(ss). Therefore, Caroline first became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco at birth. From the birth of her only brother until his accession to the throne as Albert II, she was legally Princess Caroline of Monaco; at Albert's accession she resumed the position of heiress presumptive and Hereditary Princess. So long as Prince Albert remains without legitimate, dynastic issue, Princess Caroline remains first in line to succeed him on the throne. However, Albert's firstborn legitimate child would displace her in the line of succession and become Hereditary Prince/ss, either as Albert's heir apparent if male, or as his heir presumptive if female.
In Monaco and other monarchies, Caroline is usually referred to and addressed by the female form of the style attributed by tradition to her husband, i.e. Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover, rather than by her own legal title (Her Serene Highness The Hereditary Princess of Monaco). Historically, styles associated with kingdoms, such as Ernst August's, have been deemed of higher rank and status than those associated with principalities.
Should Caroline succeed Albert and become reigning Princess of Monaco, she would become Her Royal Highness (by virtue of her married title) Caroline I, Princess of Monaco, although her father and brother both bore the lower style of Serene Highness because Monaco is a principality, not a kingdom. She would retain the attribute of Royal Highness consistent with the tradition that conferred that style, for example, upon descendants of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg as a result of her 1919 marriage to Felix of Bourbon-Parma, member of a deposed dynasty that once reigned over a kingdom. As reigning Princess, however, Caroline would re-assume her dynastic maiden name of Grimaldi, pursuant to Article I of the principality's 2002 law on the sovereign family. However, Caroline's successor (e.g., her eldest son, Andrea Casiraghi) will not be entitled to use the style Royal Highness, since styles are passed only through the male line, and would resume the traditional style of Serene Highness.
Titles and styles
- Her Serene Highness The Hereditary Princess of Monaco (1957-1958)
- Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline of Monaco (1958-1999)
- Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover, Princess of Monaco (1999-2005)
- Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco (2005-present)
Ancestry
External links
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