Marie Charlotte Blanc (née Hensel; 23 September 1833 – 25 July 1881) was a German socialite and businesswoman. She was a prominent member of

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

in Monaco and France. After the death of her husband,

François Blanc François Blanc (; 12 December 1806 – 27 July 1877), nicknamed "The Magician of Homburg" and "The Magician of Monte Carlo", was a French entrepreneur and operator of casinos, including the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco. His daughter, Marie-F� ...

, she operated the

Monte Carlo Casino The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The Casino de Monte-Carlo i ...

Biography

Marie Charlotte Hensel was born on 23 September 1833 in

Friedrichsdorf Friedrichsdorf () is a town of the Hochtaunuskreis, some north of Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inh ...

to working class parents. Her father was a shoemaker. At the age of 14 she entered service as a maid for French businessman

; his wife, Madeleine-Victoire Huguelin; and their two children, Camille and Charles, at their home in

Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe'', w ...

. While in their service, Hensel learned to speak French. In 1852 Madeleine-Victoire Huguelin died. On 20 June 1854 Blanc and Hensel married in Paris. They had three children. Her eldest daughter, Louise, married Prince Constantine Radziwiłł. Her younger daughter, Marie-Félix, married

Prince Roland Bonaparte Roland Napoléon Bonaparte, 6th Prince of Canino and Musignano (19 May 1858 – 14 April 1924) was a French prince and president of the Société de Géographie from 1910 until his death. He was the last male-lineage descendant of Lucien Bonaparte ...

. Her son,

Edmond Edmond is a given name related to Edmund. Persons named Edmond include: * Edmond Canaple (1797–1876), French politician * Edmond Chehade (born 1993), Lebanese footballer * Edmond Conn (1914–1998), American farmer, businessman, and politician ...

, became Mayor of

La Celle Saint-Cloud La Celle-Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the Yvelines department of the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a western suburb of Paris, from the center. Population Transport La Celle-Saint-Cloud is served by two stations on th ...

. In 1856

Charles III of Monaco 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 Ita ...

hired François Blanc, who successfully operated a casino in Germany, to create a casino in Monaco. He founded the

and, in 1861, co-founded the

Société des bains de mer de Monaco The Société des Bains de Mer (SBM; en, Society of Sea Baths), officially the Société Anonyme des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers à Monaco (; en, Society of Sea Baths and of the Circle of Foreigners in Monaco), is a publicly traded ...

. While living in Monaco, Hensel helped her husband establish the casino in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

. On 27 July 1877 her husband died due to respiratory problems while in

Leukerbad Leukerbad (french: Loèche-les-Bains, Walliser German: ''Leiggerbad'', although locally known as ''Baadu'') is a municipality in the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. History The story of Leukerbad dates back to the 4th ...

, Switzerland for treatment. After her husband's death, Hensel inherited 72 million francs and took control of the Monte Carlo Casino. She worked with Charles Garnier to build the

Opéra de Monte-Carlo The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des ba ...

. In 1871 Hensel purchased Ermenonville Castle for her daughter, Louise. Hensel died on 25 July 1881 in

Moûtiers Moûtiers (; Arpitan: ''Motiérs''), historically also called Tarentaise, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 3,511. Moûtiers is the main access point ...

Gallery

Friedrichsdorf, Taunusstraße 4.jpg, House of Maries's birth in Friedrichsdorf, Taunusstrasse 4 Monte Carlo Casino general plan 1879 - Croquis d'architecture 1879 - Bonillo 2004 p114.jpg, General plan by Garnier and Dutrou, two years after her inheritance Monte Carlo Casino, Monaco (Riviera)-LCCN2002707976.jpg, Facade on the Place du Casino after the expansion of 1878–79

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanc, Marie Charlotte 1833 births 1881 deaths Blanc family Businesspeople in the casino industry People from Friedrichsdorf German socialites German expatriates in France 19th-century German businesswomen