This summer, we are taking a look at the various lines of successions in the world’s monarchies. Today, we are focusing on the sixteen people in line to the Monégasque throne.
There was a major change to the Constitution of Monaco in 2002 regarding the line of succession. Until then, only the direct descendants, including adopted children, of the reigning prince could inherit the crown. That meant that when Prince Albert became the reigning prince, there would be no heir. The 2002 change stated that adopted children could not be in the line of succession and that if the reigning prince has no heir, the crown could pass to one of his siblings or their direct descendants if the reigning prince has no living siblings.
The constitution also states that children born out of wedlock cannot be in the line of succession. However, the subsequent marriage of their parents legitimises them and puts them in the line of succession. Thus, Camille Gottlieb (daughter of Princess Stéphanie), Jazmin Grace Grimaldi and Alexandre Coste (children of Prince Albert seen in the centre and right of the Instagram photo below) and Raphael Elmaleh (son of Charlotte Casiraghi) are not in the line of succession because their parents never married, but Louis and Pauline Ducruet (children of Princess Stéphanie and Daniel Ducruet), Alexandre Casiraghi (son of Andrea and Tatiana Casiraghi) and Balthazar Rassam (son of Charlotte Casiraghi and Dimitri Rassam) were legitimised since their parents married after their births.
The current monarch is Prince Albert II (b. 1958) who became the Sovereign following the death of his father, Prince Rainier III in 2005. He married Princess Charlene on 1 July 2011, and they have two children: Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella.
The line of succession is as follows:
- Hereditary Prince Jacques (b. 2014)
Hereditary Prince Jacques was born on 10 December 2014. He has a twin sister Princess Gabriella. He was born two minutes after his sister but he is first in the line of succession as Monaco still operates under the male-preference primogeniture system.
[getty src=”1156296532″ width=”396″ height=”594″]2. Princess Gabriella, Countess of Carladès (b. 2014)
Princess Gabriella is the elder twin sister of Hereditary Prince Jacques, born on 10 December 2014.
[getty src=”1156297442″ width=”396″ height=”594″]3. Princess Caroline of Hanover (b. 1957)
Princess Caroline is the older sister of Prince Albert. She had three children with her first husband, Stefano Casiraghi. After the death of Stefano, Princess Caroline married Prince Ernst August of Hanover, and they had a daughter together. Between the ascension of Prince Albert in 2005 and the birth of Hereditary Prince Jacques in 2014, she was heir presumptive to the throne.
4. Andrea Casiraghi (b. 1984)
Andrea Casiraghi is the eldest child of Princess Caroline. He married Tatiana Santo Domingo in 2013, and together, they have three children. Andrea and his children do not carry any titles.
5. Alexandre “Sacha” Casiraghi (b. 2013)
Alexandre is the eldest child of Andrea and Tatiana Casiraghi and the eldest grandchild of Princess Caroline. Alexandre was born a few months before the marriage of his parents and was thus included in the line of succession only after his parents’ marriage.
[getty src=”1063495988″ width=”594″ height=”396″]6. Maximilian Casiraghi (b. 2018)
Maximilian is the third child of Andrea and Tatiana Casiraghi. As stated above, Monaco still operates under the male-preference primogeniture system and thus he passed his older sister in the line of succession when he was born.
[getty src=”1063542026″ width=”396″ height=”594″]7. India Casiraghi (b. 2015)
India is the second child of Andrea and Tatiana and the only granddaughter of Princess Caroline.
[getty src=”1151822107″ width=”446″ height=”594″]8. Pierre Casiraghi (b. 1987)
Pierre is the third child of Princess Caroline and Stefano Casiraghi. He has an older sister Charlotte who is below him and his children in the line of succession. Pierre married Beatrice Borromeo in 2015 and they have two children.
9. Stefano Casiraghi (b. 2017)
Stefano is the first child of Pierre and Beatrice Casiraghi. He was named after his paternal grandfather.
[getty src=”1063495662″ width=”594″ height=”396″]10. Francesco Casiraghi (b. 2018)
Francesco is the second child of Pierre and Beatrice.
[getty src=”1063496266″ width=”594″ height=”396″]11. Charlotte Casiraghi (b. 1986)
Charlotte Casiraghi is the second child of Princess Caroline and Stefano Casiraghi. She has a son Raphael Elmaleh (b. 2013) with French comedian Gad Elmaleh, but he is not part of the line of succession as Charlotte and Gad never married. Charlotte had a second son Balthazar (b. 2018) with Dimitri Rassam whom she married in 2019.
12. Balthazar Rassam (b. 2018)
Balthazar is the second child of Charlotte Casiraghi – her first with Dimitri Rassam – and the youngest grandchild of Princess Caroline. At first, Balthazar was not part of the line of succession but was included following the marriage of his parents in June 2019.
13. Princess Alexandra of Hanover (b. 1999)
Princess Alexandra is the youngest child of Princess Caroline. She is the only child of Princess Caroline to carry a title.
[getty src=”1151635872″ width=”446″ height=”594″]14. Princess Stéphanie, Countess of Polignac (b. 1965)
Princess Stéphanie is the youngest child of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace. She had two children with her first husband Daniel Ducruet. She also had a daughter with her partner Raymond Gottlieb. As Princess Stéphanie and Raymond Gottlieb never married, Camille is not in the line of succession.
15. Louis Ducruet (b. 1992)
Louis is the first child of Princess Stéphanie and Daniel Ducruet. As his parents were not married at the time of his birth, he was not in line to the throne at first. This changed after his parents’ wedding in 1995. Louis recently married Marie Chevallier.
16. Pauline Ducruet (b. 1994)
Pauline is the second child of Princess Stéphanie and Daniel Ducruet. Just like her brother, she was included in the line of succession after her parents’ civil wedding in 1995.
You can read our entire lines of succession series here.
