Princess Florestine Gabrielle Antoinette of Monaco (22 October 1833 – 4 April 1897) was the youngest child and only daughter of

Florestan I, Prince of Monaco Florestan (Tancrède Florestan Roger Louis Grimaldi; 10 October 1785, in Paris – 20 June 1856) was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 2 October 1841 until his death. He was the second son of Prince Honoré IV and Louise d'Aumont M ...

, and his wife,

Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz Marie Caroline Gibert de Lametz, (18 July 1793 – 25 November 1879), was a French stage actress and a Princess Consort and regent de facto of Monaco by marriage to Florestan I, Prince of Monaco. Life She was the daughter of Charles-Thomas G ...

. Florestine was a member of the

House of Grimaldi The House of Grimaldi ( , also , , ) is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297 ...

and a Princess of Monaco by birth and a member of the

House of Württemberg The House of Württemberg is a German dynasty and former royal family from Württemberg. History County The House probably originated in the vicinity of the Salian dynasty. Around 1080 the ancestors of modern Württemberg, which was then called ...

and Duchess consort of Urach and Countess of Württemberg through her marriage to

Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach Count Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand of Württemberg, 1st Duke of Urach (6 July 1810 – 17 July 1869), was the son of William Frederick Philip, Duke of Württemberg, Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg (1761–1830), younger brother of Frederick ...

Marriage and issue

Florestine married Count Wilhelm of Württemberg (later

), son of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg and his

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

wife Baroness Wilhelmine von Tunderfeldt-Rhodis, on 15 February 1863 in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. Florestine and Wilhelm had two sons: * ''Wilhelm'' Karl Florestan Gero Crescentius (1864–1928), Count of Württemberg, 2nd

Duke of Urach The title of Duke of Urach (German language, German: ''Herzog von Urach'') was created in the Kingdom of Württemberg on 28 March 1867 for Wilhelm, 1st Duke of Urach, Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand, Count of Württemberg, with the style of ...

, and nominally

King of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

Mindaugas II of Lithuania Prince Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, 2nd Duke of Urach (''Wilhelm Karl Florestan Gero Crescentius''; German: '' Fürst Wilhelm von Urach, Graf von Württemberg, 2. Herzog von Urach''; 30 May 1864 – 24 March 1928), was a German prince ...

:∞ 1892

Duchess Amalie in Bavaria , title = Duchess of Urach , image = AmalieinBayern.jpg , caption = , reign = , coronation = , predecessor = , successor = , succession = , spouse = Wilhelm, 2nd Duke of Urach , is ...

(1865-1912), eldest daughter of the

Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria (9 August 1839 – 30 November 1909), was a member of the House of Wittelsbach and a professional oculist. He was the favorite brother of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and father of Queen Elisabeth of the Belgia ...

:∞ 1924 Princess Wiltrud Alix Marie of Bavaria (1884-1975), sixth daughter of

Ludwig III of Bavaria Ludwig III (Ludwig Luitpold Josef Maria Aloys Alfried; 7 January 1845 – 18 October 1921) was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. Initially he served in the Bavarian military as a lieutenant and went on to hold the rank of Oberl ...

*Josef Wilhelm ''Karl'' Florestan Gero Crescentius (1865–1925), Prince of Urach Florestine's husband Wilhelm had converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in 1841, for his first marriage to

Théodolinde de Beauharnais Théodolinde of Leuchtenberg (french: link=no, Théodelinde Louise Eugénie Auguste Napoléone de Beauharnais; 13 April 1814 – 1 April 1857), Countess of Württemberg by marriage, was a Franco-German princess. She was a granddaughter of Joséphin ...

, who died in 1857.

Monaco Succession Crisis of 1918

Florestine, according to the rules governing succession to the throne of Monaco, was able to marry without relinquishing her rights. When her grandnephew

Louis II, Prince of Monaco Louis II (Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi; 12 July 1870 – 9 May 1949) was Prince of Monaco from 26 June 1922 to 9 May 1949. Early years Born in Baden-Baden, (Germany), he was the only child of Albert I, Prince of Monaco (1848–1922), a ...

, 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 (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria ...

. Therefore, France reached an agreement with the principality allowing the illegitimate daughter of Louis II,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, to be his heir presumptive 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 (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

Honours

* : Dame of the Order of Olga, ''1871''''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg'' (1886/7), "Königliche Orden" p
104
/ref> - 400px Ribbon bar of the Order of Olga

* :

Dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

of the

Order of Queen Maria Luisa The Royal Order of Noble Ladies of Queen Maria Luisa is an Order created by King Charles IV of Spain by royal decree on April 21, 1792, at the request of his wife, Queen Maria Luisa, to reward noble women who distinguished themselves for their ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Florestine Of Monaco, Princess 1833 births 1897 deaths People from Fontenay-aux-Roses House of Grimaldi Monegasque princesses Duchesses of Urach Countesses of Württemberg Daughters of monarchs