Princess Florestine of Monaco
Encyclopedia
Princess Florestine Gabrielle Antoinette of Monaco (Full French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 name: Florestine Gabrielle Antoinette, Princesse de Monaco) (22 October 1833, Fontenay-aux-Roses
Fontenay-aux-Roses
Fontenay-aux-Roses is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.École Normale Supérieure was a girls school located in the area....

, Kingdom of the French
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...

 – 4 April 1897, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

, Kingdom of Württemberg
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...

) was the youngest child and only daughter of Florestan I, Prince of Monaco
Florestan I, Prince of Monaco
Florestan I, Prince of Monaco was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 2 October 1841 until his death...

 and his wife Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz
Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz
Marie Caroline Gibert de Lametz, , was a French stage actress and later Princess Consort and regent de facto of Monaco, the spouse of Florestan I, Prince of Monaco...

. Florestine was a member of the House of Grimaldi
House of Grimaldi
The House of Grimaldi is associated with the history of the Republic of Genoa and of the Principality of Monaco.-History:The Grimaldi family descends from Grimaldo, a Genoese statesman at the time of the early Crusades. He might have been a son of Otto Canella, a consul of the Republic of Genoa in...

 and a Princess of Monaco by birth and a member of the House of Württemberg
House of Württemberg
The Württemberg family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Württemberg. The House has its origins, according to recent research, probably in the vicinity of the Salian dynasty.-History:...

 and Duchess consort of Urach and Countess of Württemberg through her marriage to Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach
Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach
Count Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand of Württemberg, 1st Duke of Urach , was the son of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg , younger brother of King Frederick I of Württemberg, by his morganatic wife, Baroness Wilhelmine von Tunderfeldt-Rhodis , who had married in 1800...

.

Marriage and issue

Florestine married Count Wilhelm of Württemberg (later Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach
Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach
Count Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand of Württemberg, 1st Duke of Urach , was the son of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg , younger brother of King Frederick I of Württemberg, by his morganatic wife, Baroness Wilhelmine von Tunderfeldt-Rhodis , who had married in 1800...

), son of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg
Duke William Frederick Philip of Württemberg
William Frederick Philip, Duke of Württemberg was a prince of the House of Württemberg and a minister for war.-Early life:...

 and his morganatic wife Baroness Wilhelmine von Tunderfeldt-Rhodis, on 15 February 1863 in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

. Florestine and Wilhelm had two sons:
  • Wilhelm Karl Florestan Gero Crescentius
    Mindaugas II of Lithuania
    Prince Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, 2nd Duke of Urach was a German prince who was elected King of Lithuania with the regnal name Mindaugas II on 11 July 1918...

     (1864–1928), Count of Württemberg, 2nd Duke of Urach
    Duke of Urach
    The title Duke of Urach was created in the Kingdom of Württemberg for Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand, Count of Württemberg on 28 March 1867, with the style of HSH."Urach" is pronounced Oo-raakh -Family:...

    , and nominally King of Lithuania as Mindaugas II of Lithuania
    Mindaugas II of Lithuania
    Prince Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, 2nd Duke of Urach was a German prince who was elected King of Lithuania with the regnal name Mindaugas II on 11 July 1918...

∞ 1892 Duchess Amalie in Bavaria
Duchess Amalie in Bavaria
Duchess Amalie Maria in Bavaria was the only child of Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria and his first wife Princess Sophie of Saxony...

 (1865-1912), eldest daughter of the Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria
Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria
Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria was a member of the House of Wittelsbach and a well-known ophthalmologist. He was the brother of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria.-Life:...

∞ 1924 Princess Wiltrud Alix Marie of Bavaria (1884-1975), sixth daughter of Ludwig III of Bavaria
Ludwig III of Bavaria
Ludwig III , was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918.-Early life:...

  • Josef Wilhelm Karl Florestan Gero Crescentius (1865–1925), Prince of Urach


Florestine's husband Wilhelm had converted to Roman Catholicism in 1841 for his first marriage to Théodolinde de Beauharnais
Théodolinde de Beauharnais
Théodolinde de Beauharnais, Princess of Leuchtenberg, Countess of Wurttemberg was a Franco-German princess.- Biography :...

, who died in 1857.

Monaco Succession Crisis of 1918

Florestine, according to the rules governing succession to the throne of Monaco
Line of succession to the Monegasque Throne
The line of succession to the Monegasque throne passes to the descendants of the reigning Prince of Monaco in accordance with male-preference primogeniture...

, was able to marry without relinquishing her rights. When her great-nephew Louis II, Prince of Monaco
Louis II, Prince of Monaco
Louis II was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 27 June 1922 until 9 May 1949.-Early years:Born Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi in Baden-Baden, Germany, he was the only child of Prince Albert I of Monaco , and Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton...

 ascended to the Monegasque throne, Florestine's son Wilhelm claimed his rights for his succession to the princely throne of Monaco and the Grimaldi noble titles. However, France had undergone two wars against Germany and did not wish to see German princes ruling the Principality of Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

. Therefore, France reached an agreement with the principality allowing the illegitimate daughter of Louis II, Charlotte
Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois
Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois , was the daughter of Louis II, Prince of Monaco, and the mother of Prince Rainier III...

, to be his heir apparent to the princely throne and Grimaldi noble titles. Charlotte renounced and ceded her rights to the princely throne on 30 May 1944 to her son Rainier who became Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco , styled His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest ruling monarchs of the 20th century.Though he was best known outside of Europe for having married American...

.

Titles and styles

  • 22 October 1833 – 15 February 1863: Her Serene Highness Princess Florestine of Monaco
  • 15 February 1863 – 28 March 1867: Her Serene Highness Countess Florestine of Württemberg, Princess of Monaco
  • 28 March 1867 – 17 July 1869: Her Serene Highness The Duchess of Urach, Countess of Württemberg, Princess of Monaco
  • 17 July 1869 – 4 April 1897: Her Serene Highness The Dowager Duchess of Urach, Countess of Württemberg, Princess of Monaco

Ancestry

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