Caroline, Princess of Hanover
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Caroline Louise Marguerite, The Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite Prinzessin von Hannover), formally styled Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover (née Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline of Monaco) [link], formerly Mme Stefano Casiraghi, formerly Mme Philippe Junot and née Grimaldi, born 23 January 1957) is the eldest child of Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his wife, Princess Grace née Grace Kelly. She is the second wife of Ernst August, Prince of Hanover and, since her father's death on April 6, 2005, has been again heir presumptive to the throne of Monaco (she was in 1957 and 1958 between her own birth and the birth of her younger brother). She received her French Baccalauréat (high school or A level) degree in 1974 with honors. She then continued her studies at the Sorbonne in Paris where she received a diploma in Philosophy and minors in Psychology and Biology. The Princess is fluent in French, English, Spanish, and German.
Her husband's title was abolished by the Weimar Republic Germany after World War I, along with all royal and noble German titles, so the title 'HSH The Hereditary Princess of Monaco' is her only undisputed title. 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, legally entitled to use "Prince of Hanover" as a surname, so she is likewise permitted to call herself "Princess of Hanover" - but as a surname and style, not as a royal title. Neither she nor her husband enjoy any royal rank in modern Germany, the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland as Prince or Princess of Hanover. Nonetheless, on 11 January 1999, 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 owns 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 the 1918 Franco-Monégasque Treaty.
The Princess of Hanover has a younger brother, Albert II, the current Sovereign Prince of Monaco, and one younger sister, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.
First marriage
Princess Caroline's first husband was Philippe Junot (1940), a Parisian banker. They were married on June 29, 1978, and divorced in 1980, 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 annullment.|
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Second marriage
Her second husband was Stefano Casiraghi (1960-1990), the sportsman heir to an Italian oil fortune. They were married on December 29, 1983, and had three children: Andrea Albert Pierre Casiraghi, born 8 June 1984; Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi, born 1986 and Pierre Rainier Stefano Casiraghi, born 1987. 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. The marriage ended on October 3, 1990 when Stefano Casiraghi was killed in a speed boating accident.Princess Caroline had a liaison from 1990 until 1995 with French actor Vincent Lindon and was also briefly engaged to Roberto Ingmar Rossellini, son of movie icon Ingrid Bergman, before her second marriage.
Third marriage
Her third and present husband is Prince Ernst August V[link], the head of the House of Hanover. They married in January 23, 1999, after his divorce from Chantal Hochuli, and have one child, Princess Alexandra of Hanover, who was born six months after their wedding on the 20th July 1999 in Vöcklabruck (Austria). Chantal Hochuli had been a friend of Caroline's but the friendship ended with Caroline and Ernst engaged in an affair.On June 24, 2004, the Princess obtained a judgment [link] from the European Court of Human Rights condemning Germany for non-respect of her right to a private life. The seven judges who examined her request ruled that German jurisdictions have misunderstood this right by refusing to forbid publication of photographs depicting Caroline in scenes of her daily life.
As of April, 2005, the Prince has been under permanent medical care because of acute pancreatitis followed by a coma.
Succession issues
Because her brother Prince Albert remains unmarried and has no legitimate children, it is possible that 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 was precedent, however, for a Sovereign Prince to adopt an illegitimate child and thereby place that child at the front of the line of succession for the throne, as was done for Caroline's grandmother, Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois. This is no longer a valid option due to the constitutional changes of 2002.Although Albert has publicly acknowledged two children born out of wedlock (Eric Alexandre Coste, son of Togolese flight attendant Nicole Coste and Jazmin Grace Rotolo, daughter of Tamara Rotolo of Palm Springs, California), unless Albert were to legitimize his son by marrying the 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 to try to ensure a successor, which had the consequence of strengthening the place of Caroline and her descendants in the line of succession. On April 2, 2002, Monaco passed Princely Law 1.249 which provided that if the Sovereign Prince assumes the throne and then dies without a legitimate direct heir, the throne would pass to his siblings and their descendants under the rule of male-preference primogeniture. That change 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 only pass to a direct descendant of the reigning prince, and Caroline would have become ineligible to inherit the throne upon Albert's accession.
Contrary to usage in most other monarchies, not only is the heir apparent to the Monégasque throne titled Hereditary Prince/ss, but whenever there is no heir apparent the heir presumptive legally bears the title of Hereditary Prince/ss. Therefore, Caroline first became 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, whereupon 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, the firstborn legitimate child of Albert's would again 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 higher than those associated with principalities. Should Caroline succeed Albert and become reigning Princess of Monaco, she would become HRH Caroline I, Princess of Monaco. 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 Prince 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].
Styles & Titles from birth to present
- 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)
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