Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy

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Princess Antoinette
Baroness of Massy
Princess Antoinette in 1962
Born(1920-12-28)28 December 1920
Paris, France
Died18 March 2011(2011-03-18) (aged 90)
Princess Grace Hospital Centre, Monaco
Burial
Chapel of Peace, Monaco
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1951; div. 1954)​
Jean-Charles Rey
​
​
(m. 1961; div. 1974)​
​
​
(m. 1983; died 1983)​
Issue
Names
Antoinette Louise Alberte Suzanne Grimaldi
Count Pierre de Polignac
MotherPrincess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois

Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy (Antoinette Louise Alberte Suzanne Grimaldi; 28 December 1920 – 18 March 2011) was a member of the

Count Pierre de Polignac
.

She was born in Paris, of French and Monegasque ancestry.

Early life

Princess Antoinette was born on 28 December 1920 in

Count Pierre de Polignac. Her mother was the only child of Prince Louis, Hereditary Prince of Monaco
.

She was named Antoinette Louise Alberte Suzanne, after her maternal great-great-grandmother Princess Antoinette; her maternal grandfather, Prince Louis; her maternal great-grandfather, Prince Albert II; and her paternal grandmother, Countess Susana de Polignac. She was third in the line of succession at the time of her birth, preceded by her grandfather and mother, and then second in the line after the ascension of Prince Louis II, though later moved down the line after the birth of her younger brother, Prince Rainier in 1923.

Children

Princess Antoinette had a long-term liaison with

line of succession to the Monegasque Throne until the death of Antoinette's brother, Prince Rainier III, in 2005; Elizabeth Ann de Massy (1947–2020), Christian Louis de Massy (born 1949), and Christine Alix de Massy (1951–1989).[citation needed
] Furthermore, there was no hereditary devolution of the title of « Baroness de Massy » but the children of Princess Antoinette, by Sovereign Ordinance of November 15, 1951, bear however the patronymic name of « de Massy ».

Marriages

  1. Princess Antoinette and Alexandre-Athenase Noghès subsequently married at the Monaco consulate in Genoa on 4 December 1951 (her first, his second) and divorced in 1954.
    On 15 November 1951, Antoinette was created Baroness of Massy (Baronne de Massy). Her children (Elizabeth-Ann, Christian-Louis and Christine-Alix) were named Grimaldi at birth. They subsequently had their names changed to de Massy. Christian-Louis claimed the title of Baron through his mother.[2] His use of the title of Baron of Massy (Baron de Massy) was subsequently approved by Prince Albert II, but only on a non-hereditary basis.[1]
  2. She married her second husband, Dr. Jean-Charles Rey (Monaco, 22 October 1914 – Monaco, 17 September 1994), president of the
    Conseil National (the Parlement of Monaco) in The Hague
    on 2 December 1961 and they divorced in 1974.
  3. Her third and last husband was John Brian Gilpin (Southsea, Hampshire, 10 February 1930 – London, 5 September 1983), a British ballet dancer, whom she married in Monaco on 28 July 1983. He died suddenly six weeks later.

Life account

Having divorced Noghès, she and her lover Jean-Charles Rey hatched a plan to depose her brother Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and declare herself regent on the basis of having a son who would one day inherit the throne. This led to the breakup of the relationship.[3]

Rainier's marriage to

Princess Caroline in 1957 and Prince Albert in 1958, effectively scuttled Antoinette's plans. She was removed from the Palace by her sister-in-law, Princess Grace, and thereafter was estranged from the princely family for many years.[3]

She was known to be somewhat eccentric and was described as "completely mad"[3] by her servants. Having been banished from Monaco in the late 1950s, she lived down the coast from Monaco at Èze, with a large collection of dogs and cats.[4] She was the president of Monaco's Society for the Protection of Animals and Refuge[3] and a patron of the UK-based Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.[4]

Upon the accession of Albert II in 2005, Antoinette and her descendants lost their place in the

line of succession to the Monegasque throne, which is limited to the current sovereign's descendants, siblings, and siblings' descendants.[5][3]

The Princess Antoinette Park in Monaco's La Condamine district was named in her honour.[6]

Death

On 18 March 2011 Princess Antoinette died at

The Princess Grace Hospital Centre, aged 90.[3] Her funeral took place on 24 March 2011. She is buried in the Chapel of Peace in Monaco beside her parents, her daughters Elizabeth-Ann and Christine-Alix, her last husband John Brian Gilpin and her nephew by marriage, Stefano Casiraghi
.

Patronages

Honours

  •  
    Order of Saint-Charles (28 December 1938)[8][9]
  •  Monaco: Medal for Physical Education and Sports, First Class[10]
  •  Monaco: Medal of Recognition of the Monegasque Red Cross[11]

Ancestry

Bibliography

  • Palace: My Life in the Royal Family of Monaco by Baron Christian de Massy & Charles Higham (1986, Atheneum,
    ISBN 0-689-11636-5
    )

References

  1. ^ a b "Ordonnance Souveraine n° 7.891 du 22 janvier 2020 autorisant le port d'un titre. / Journal 8496 / Année 2020 / Journaux / Accueil - Journal de Monaco". journaldemonaco.gouv.mc (in French). Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  2. ISBN 0425117766
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Princess Antoinette of Monaco (obituary)". The Daily Telegraph. 2011-03-27. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b Bonarrigo, Sabrina. "L'adieu à l'aînée des Grimaldi". Monaco Hebdo. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  5. ISBN 9780739174272
    . Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Princess Antoinette Park". Visit Monaco - Princess Antoinette Park. Visit Monaco. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  7. ^ Biography of her eldest daughter
  8. ^ Journal de Monaco
  9. ^ Cloud
  10. ^ Cloud
  11. ^ Cloud
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