Louis I (25 July 1642 in

Prince's Palace of Monaco The Prince's Palace of Monaco (; ) is the official residence of the Monarchy of Monaco, Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Republic of Genoa, Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and bes ...

– 3 January 1701 in

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) was

Prince of Monaco The sovereign prince () is the monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. All reigning princes and princesses have taken the name of the House of Grimaldi. When Prince Rainier III died in 2005, he was Europe's longest reigning mo ...

from 1662 until 1701.

Early life

Louis Grimaldi was the elder son of Prince Hercule of Monaco and Genoese noblewoman, Maria Aurelia Spinola. His younger siblings were Maria Ippolita Grimaldi (wife of Carlo Emanuele Filiberto de Simiane, Prince of

Montafia Montafia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northwest of Asti. As of 31 January 2024, it had a population of 950 and an area of .All demographics and o ...

), Giovanna Maria Grimaldi (wife of Andrea Imperiali, Prince of Francavilla), and Teresa Maria Grimaldi (wife of Sigismondo III

d'Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

, Marquis of San Martino).

Reign

In 1662, Louis succeeded his grandfather Honoré II as

. In 1666 he distinguished himself at the

Four Days' Battle The Four Days' Battle was a naval engagement fought from 11 to 14 June 1666 (1–4 June O.S.) during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. It began off the Flemish coast and ended near the English coast, and remains one of the longest naval battles in ...

between the English and Dutch fleets. On 5 July 1668 he took the oath to King

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

in the

Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

on account of being

Duke of Valentinois Duke of Valentinois (; ) is a title of nobility, originally in the French peerage. It is currently one of the many hereditary titles claimed by the Prince of Monaco despite its extinction in French law in 1949. Though it originally indicated admin ...

and a

Peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

. He was made a knight of the French royal orders on 31 December 1688. In 1699, Louis XIV sent Louis to Rome as ambassador extraordinary. There on 19 December he presented the insignia of the

Order of the Holy Spirit The Order of the Holy Spirit (; sometimes translated into English as the Order of the Holy Ghost) is a French order of chivalry founded by Henry III of France in 1578. Today, it is a dynastic order under the House of France. It should not be c ...

to James Louis and Alexander Benedict Sobieski, the two sons of King John III of Poland. Louis remained in Rome until his death there in 1701.

Personal life

On 30 March 1660, Louis married Catherine Charlotte de Gramont, daughter of

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Antoine III de Gramont, in Pau. Together, they had six children: * Antoine Grimaldi (1661–1731), his successor. * Maria Teresa Carlotta Grimaldi (1662–1738), a Visitandine nun at Monaco. * Anna Hippolyte Grimaldi (1667–1700), who married Jean Charles de Crussol, 7th Duke of Uzès, son of Emmanuel de Crussol, 5th Duke of Uzès, in 1696. * François Honoré Grimaldi (1669–1748), Archbishop of Besançon * Jeanne Maria Grimaldi, a Visitandine nun at Monaco, later coadjutrice of the Abbey of Royallieu near

Compiègne Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' (). Administration Compiègne is t ...

. * Aurelia Grimaldi, called ''mademoiselle de Baux''. Louis died in Rome on 3 January 1701. His remains were transported back to Monaco.

Ancestors

References

1642 births 1701 deaths 17th-century princes of Monaco 18th-century princes of Monaco 17th-century peers of France 18th-century peers of France Burials at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate Dukes of Valentinois House of Grimaldi Marquesses of Baux Monegasque princes People from Campagna {{monaco-bio-stub