Charles III
Portrait by François-Auguste Biard
Prince of Monaco
Reign20 June 1856 – 10 September 1889
PredecessorFlorestan
SuccessorAlbert I
Born(1818-12-08)8 December 1818
Paris, France
Died10 September 1889(1889-09-10) (aged 70)
Château de Marchais, France
Burial
Saint Nicholas Cathedral
Monaco-Ville, Monaco
SpouseAntoinette de Mérode
IssueAlbert I, Prince of Monaco
Names
Charles Honoré Grimaldi
HouseGrimaldi
FatherFlorestan, Prince of Monaco
MotherMaria Caroline Gibert de Lametz

Charles III (Charles Honoré Grimaldi; 8 December 1818 – 10 September 1889) was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 20 June 1856 to his death. He was the founder of the famous casino in Monte Carlo, as his title in Monegasque and Italian was Carlo III.[1] He was born in Paris, the only son of Florestan, Prince of Monaco, and Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz.

Marriage and reign

While he was Hereditary Prince, Charles was married on 28 September 1846 in Brussels to Countess Antoinette de Mérode-Westerloo.[2]

He succeeded his father Prince Florestan in 1856.

During his reign, the towns of Menton and Roquebrune, constituting some 80 percent of Monegasque territory, were formally ceded to France, paving the way for formal French recognition of Monaco's independence. Rebellions in these towns, aided by the Kingdom of Sardinia, had exhausted Monaco's military resources for decades.[2]

The Principality was in dire need of cash flow,[3] so Prince Charles and his mother, Princess Caroline, had the idea of erecting a casino.[4] The Monte Carlo Casino was designed, according to the Prince's liking, in the German style and placed at the site of Les Spélugues.[5] Monte Carlo (in English, Mount Charles) itself takes its name from Charles, after all its founder.[4][6] Charles established a society (business) to run the Casino; this society is today the Société des bains de mer de Monaco.[3]

Under Charles III, the Principality of Monaco increased its diplomatic activities; for example, in 1864, Charles III concluded a Treaty of Friendship with the Bey of Tunis, Muhammad III as-Sadiq, which also regulated trade and maritime issues.[7]

Honours

Monte Carlo is named after Charles III. It stands for the "Mount Charles" in Italian.

The Order of Saint-Charles was instituted on 15 March 1858, during the reign of Prince Charles III.[2]

He received the following decorations and awards:

Death

In his middle years his sight greatly weakened, and by the last decade of his life he had become almost totally blind. In fact, Dr. Thomas Henry Pickering wrote in 1882: "So far back as 1860, Prince Charles lost his eyesight...."[5]

He died at Château de Marchais on 10 September 1889.[2] He was succeeded by his son Albert I of Monaco.

Coin

Royal Monogram of Prince Charles III of Monaco

In 1966 Monaco released a 10 Francs silver coin in the memory of the 100th anniversary of Monte Carlo, portraying Prince Charles’ III on its obverse. On 1 June 2016, fifteen thousand 2 euro coins were issued by Monaco; commemorating the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Monte Carlo by Charles III[17]

In literature

Charles III is referenced, as Prince Charles Honoré, in a fictional entitled, The Fall of Prince Florestan of Monaco, by the British politician Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke. This work was one of satire and parody on a number of political characters of the day. It centered around a Cambridge-educated, half-Württemberg nephew of Charles III who comes to the throne by way of Charles III and the next two heirs being wiped out of existence. The upstart "Florestan II", a radical republican, boldly attempts to democratize Monaco. He fails and then is forced to leave the country.

References

  1. ↑ "Referred to also as Carlo III". Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Saige, Gustave (1897). Monaco: Ses Origines et Son Histoire. Imprimerie de Monaco.
  3. 1 2 Walsh, John (31 May 2013). "All that glitters in Monte Carlo". The Independent (UK). Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. 1 2 Englund, Steven (1 May 1984). Grace of Monaco: An Interpretive Biography (Hardcover ed.). Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385188128.
  5. 1 2 3 Pickering, Dr. Thomas Henry (1882). Monaco: The Beauty Spot of the Riviera. Fleet Printing Works. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  6. ↑ Bonarrigo, Sabrina. "Entretenir la flamme 'Monte-Carlo'". Monaco Hebdo. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ↑ "Mad for Monaco: H.S.H. Prince Charles III". 10 July 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  8. ↑ Sveriges och Norges statskalender. Liberförlag. 1874. p. 703.
  9. ↑ Kongelig Dansk Hof-og Statskalendar (1880) (in Danish), "De Kongelig Danske Ridderordener", p. 8
  10. ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 12
  11. ↑ "Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III". Guía Oficial de España (in Spanish). 1887. p. 156. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "Rother Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 22{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1873), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 74
  14. ↑ Belgien (1875). Almanach royal officiel: 1875. p. 55.
  15. ↑ ""A Szent István Rend tagjai"". Archived from the original on 22 December 2010.
  16. ↑ Journal de Monaco
  17. ↑ "Nouvelle face nationale de pièces en euros destinées à la circulation". Journal Officiel de l'Union Européenne. European Union. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
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