Born Charlotte Louise Juliette de Monaco in Constantine, French Algeria, she was the illegitimate daughter of Marie Juliette Louvet, a cabaret singer, and Louis, Hereditary Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois, son and heir of Monaco's reigning monarch, Prince Albert I. Louis had no legitimate children or siblings, so even before he succeeded his father as Prince Louis II, the principality sought to forestall a succession crisis, anticipating that its neighbour, the French Republic, might take it amiss if the throne fell someday to Louis's legal next of kin. That heir was his cousin, Wilhelm, 2nd Duke of Urach, who, although born and raised in Monte Carlo as the son of Princess Florestine of Monaco, was a German subject, property owner and patrilineal relative of the kings of Württemberg. On 15 May 1911 a law was passed recognising Charlotte as Louis's daughter, and declaring her to be a dynastic member of the sovereign family. Though this act was later held to be invalid under the 1882 statutes, an Ordinance of 30 October 1918 was passed to allow her to be adopted into the dynasty instead. Louis adopted Charlotte in Paris on 16 May 1919, thereby entitling her to the surname Grimaldi, while her grandfather bestowed upon her the traditional title of the Principality's heir, Duchess of Valentinois, for life. Charlotte became heir presumptive to the throne as Hereditary Princess when her grandfather died and her father inherited the princely crown in 1922.
Legality of adoption
A shadow of doubt existed over the legality of this adoption. The Monegasque Civil Code required that the adopting party be at least of age fifty and the adoptee twenty-one. The 1918 Ordinance changed the age limit to eighteen but not the other age limit; Louis was then only 48.
Marriage
In Monaco civilly on 18 March and religiously on 19 March 1920, Louis arranged Charlotte's marriage to the then CountPierre de Polignac of Hennebont, Morbihan, Brittany, France, who, by the Prince's ordinance, took the surname Grimaldi and became a Prince of the Monegasque Royal Family. The couple had two children:
Their marriage was not, however, a happy one; they separated on 20 March 1930 due to his homosexuality, and Charlotte left him to live with her doctor and Italian lover, Dalmazzo. The couple were divorced on 18 February 1933 by ordinance of Prince Louis II.
Late life
On 30 May 1944, the day before her son's 21st birthday and in full agreement with her father, Charlotte renounced and ceded her rights to the throne to her son Rainier, subject to the stipulation that he did not predecease her. From this date she was no longer Hereditary Princess of Monaco, though she retained the title Princess Charlotte of Monaco. Late in life she went to college, obtaining a degree in social work. After her son assumed the throne, Princess Charlotte moved to live at Château de Marchais, the Grimaldi estate outside Paris. Despite the objections of her children who feared for her safety, she turned the estate into a rehabilitation centre for ex-convicts. She lived at the estate with her lover, a noted French former jewel thief named René Girier and nicknamed "René la Canne". She died in 1977 in Paris.
Titles, styles and honours
Titles and styles
30 September 1898 – 18 July 1911: Charlotte Louise Juliette de Monaco
18 July 1911 – 15 November 1911: Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi de Monaco
15 November 1911 – 16 May 1919: Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi de Monaco, Mademoiselle de Valentinois
16 May 1919 – 1 August 1922: Her Serene Highness The Duchess of Valentinois
1 August 1922 – 30 May 1944: Her Serene Highness The Hereditary Princess of Monaco
30 May 1944 – 15 November 1977: Her Serene Highness Princess Charlotte of Monaco
