Louis II of Monaco (July 12, 1870 – May 9, 1949) was the Sovereign Prince of Monaco from June 26, 1922 until May 9, 1949. July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

Born Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi, a.k.a Prince Louis of Monaco, in Baden-Baden, Germany, he was the only child of Prince Albert I of Monaco (1848 - 1922), and Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton (December 11, 1850 - May 14, 1922), of Lanarkshire, Scotland. His mother was a daughter of William Alexander Anthony Archibald Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton, and his wife, Princess Marie Amelie Elizabeth Caroline of Baden. Map of Germany showing Baden-Baden Baden-Baden is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ... Albert I of Monaco Albert I (November 13, 1848 – June 26, 1922), Reigning Prince of Monaco from September 10, 1889 – June 26, 1922). ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton1 (December 11, 1850 - May 14, 1922) was the Scottish-German-French great-grandmother of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, the fashion designer Egon von Fürstenberg, and the socialite and actress Ira von Fürstenberg. ... December 11 is the 345th day (346th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1850 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Lanarkshire (Siorrachd Lannraig in Gaelic) is a traditional county of Scotland. ... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ... William Alexander Archibald Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and 8th Duke of Brandon (19 February 1811–8 July 1863), styled Earl of Angus before 1819 and Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale between 1819 and 1852, was a Scottish nobleman. ...

Within a year of his parents' marriage Louis was born, but his mother, a strong-willed 19-year-old, disliked Monaco and was unhappy with her husband. Shortly thereafter, she left the country permanently, and the princely couple's marriage was annulled in 1880. Louis was raised in Germany by his mother and stepfather, Tassilo, Prince Festetics de Tolna, along with his half-sister, Alexandra, and did not see his father until age 11 when he was obliged to return to Monaco to be trained for his future royal duties.

Louis' father, Prince Albert I, was a dominating personality who had made Monaco a center of cultural activity and whose intellectual achievements were recognized around the world. Unhappy, living with his cold and distant father, as soon as he was old enough, Louis went to France, enrolling in the Saint-Cyr Military Academy. Four years later, after graduating, he asked to be posted with the French Foreign Legion fighting the wars in the African colonies. The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, Special Military School of St Cyr) is the foremost French military academy. ... The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion Étrangère) has been an unique and distinguished unit within the French Army since 1831. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ...

While stationed in Algeria, he met Marie Juliette Louvet (1867 - 1930), a cabaret singer.¹ (Juliette was already the mother of two children, Georges and Marguerite, by her former husband, French "girlie" photographer Achille Delmaet.) Reportedly, Prince Louis fell deeply in love but, because of what in those days was seen as her ignominious station in life, his father would not permit the marriage. It has been asserted that Louis ignored his father and married Juliette in 1897: there is, however, no evidence for this allegation. Their illegitimate daughter Charlotte Louise Juliette, born on September 30, 1898 in Constantine, Algeria. (There is no mention of Marie Juliette Louvet in the authorized biography of her grandson, Prince Rainier III, who is Monegasque by nationality but genealogically is French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Scottish.) public domain This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Marie Juliette Louvet (May 9, 1867 - September 24, 1930) was mistress of Prince Louis II of Monaco and was the mother of his only child, Princess Charlotte of Monaco. ... 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Portrait of Charlotte as a young woman Her Serene Highness Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois (Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi, née Louvet) (30 September 1898 - 15 November 1977), styled HSH The Princess Charlotte, was the daughter of Louis II, Prince of Monaco, and the mother of Prince Rainier III. From... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 92 days remaining, as the final day of September. ... 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Constantine or Qustantînah is a city in north-east Algeria, slightly inland. ... Biography (from the Greek words bios meaning life, and graphein meaning write) is a genre of literature and other forms of media like film, based on the written accounts of individual lives. ... Rainier III ruled Monaco from 1949 to 2005. ...

For ten years, Louis served in the military with distinction, being awarded the cross of the Legion of Honor. In 1908 he returned home, leaving behind his mistress and daughter. At the outbreak of World War I, he re-enlisted in the French army, proving to be one of the Fifth Army’s most outstanding soldiers. He was made a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor and eventually became a Brigadier General. While many of his Grimaldi ancestors had served in the military, none had acquitted themselves with more distinction than Louis. French Legion of Honor The Légion dhonneur (in Legion of Honor (AmE) or Legion of Honour (ComE)) is an Order of Chivalry awarded by the President of France. ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

A political crisis loomed for the Prince because without any other heir, the throne of Monaco would pass to his first cousin, the duke of Urach, a German nobleman who was a son of Prince Albert's aunt, Princess Florestine of Monaco. To ensure this did not happen, in 1911 a law was passed recognizing his bastard daughter, Charlotte, as Louis's acknowledged heir, and making her part of the sovereign family. This law was later held to be invalid under the 1882 statutes. Thus another law was passed in 1918 modifying the statutes to allow the adoption of an heir, with succession rights. Charlotte was formally adopted by Louis in 1919, and became Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi, Hereditary Princess of Monaco, and Duchess of Valentinois. Charlotte Grimaldi (September 30, 1898 - November 15, 1977) was a Princess of Monaco. ... Location within France Valence is a commune in south-eastern France, the capital of the département of Drôme, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, 65 miles south of Lyon on the railway to Marseille. ...

On June 27, 1922, Prince Albert I died in Paris. Louis Grimaldi ascended to the throne as Louis II, Prince of Monaco. While his reign never achieved the grandeur of his father, Louis II left an indelible imprint on the tiny principality. In 1924 the Monaco Football Club was formed and in 1929, the first Grand Prix of Monaco automobile race was held, won by Charles Grover (aka "Williams") driving a Bugatti painted in what would become the famous British racing green color. June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 187 days remaining. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Prince Albert of Monaco on the left represents a principality where he wields adminisitrative authority. ... The Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club is a Monegasque football club, founded in 1924. ... 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The principality of Monaco holds one of the oldest races on the Formula One automobile racing circuit. ... Bugatti is one of the most celebrated marques of automobile and the one of the most exclusive Italian/French car producers of all time. ...

In 1931, the prestige of Monaco's cultural life received a boost when René Blum was hired to form the "Ballet de l’Opera a Monte Carlo." Just before the outbreak of World War II in 1939, a modern large football stadium had been built where the World University Games were staged at the newly named "Stade Prince Louis II." 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... René Blum (Paris, 13 March 1878 - Auschwitz, 30 April 1942) was the founder of the Ballet de lOpera a Monte Carlo. He was the brother of the socialist Prime Minister of France, Leon Blum. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air. ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes, by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). ...

While Prince Louis' sympathies were strongly pro-French, he tried to keep Monaco neutral during World War II but supported the Vichy France government of his old army colleague, Marshall Petain. Nonetheless, his tiny principality was tormented by domestic conflict partly as a result of Louis' indecisiveness and also because the majority of the population was of Italian descent and they supported the fascist regime of Italy's Benito Mussolini. In 1943, the Italian army invaded and occupied Monaco, setting up a fascist government administration. Shortly thereafter, following Mussolini's collapse in Italy, the German army occupied Monaco and began the deportation of the Jewish population. Among them was René Blum, founder of the Opera, who died in a Nazi concentration camp. Under Prince Louis' secret orders, the Monaco police, often at great risk to themselves, warned people in advance that the Gestapo was about to arrest them. Vichy France, or the Vichy regime (in French, now called: Régime de Vichy or Vichy; at the time, called itself: État Français, or French State) was the de facto French government of 1940-1944 during the Nazi Germany occupation of World War II. The Vichy position that it was the... Philippe Pétain Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain (April 24, 1856 - July 23, 1951), generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain, was a French soldier and leader of Vichy France. ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... Benito Mussolini created a fascist state through the use of propaganda, total control of the media and disassembly of the working democratic government. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... A concentration camp is a large detention center created for political opponents, aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. ... The Gestapo was the official secret police force of Nazi Germany. ...

However, throughout the War, Prince Louis' vacillation caused an enormous rift with his grandson Rainier, the heir to the throne, who strongly supported the Allies against the Nazis. Rainier III ruled Monaco from 1949 to 2005. ... When spelt with a capital A, Allies usually denotes the countries that fought together against the Central Powers in World War I and against the Axis Powers in World War II. Other uses In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to...

Following the liberation of Monaco by the Allied forces, the 75-year-old Prince Louis did little for his principality and it began to fall into severe neglect. By 1946 he was spending most of his time in Paris and on July 27th of that year, he married for the first time. His wife was Ghislaine Dommanget (1900 - 1991), a French film actress and former wife of actor André Brulé. Absent from Monaco during most of the final years of his reign, he and his wife lived at Le Marchais, the family estate near Paris. In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ... Ghislaine Marie Francoise Dommanget (October 13, 1900 - April 30, 1991) held the title of Her Serene Highness Princess of Monaco from 1946 to 1949. ... 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Prince Louis died in 1949 and is buried at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Monte Carlo, Monaco. His widow, Ghislaine, Dowager Princess of Monaco, died on April 30, 1991 in Paris, where she was interred in the Passy Cemetery. Monte Carlo is a very wealthy section of the city-state of Monaco known for its casino, gambling, beaches, glamour, and sightings of famous people. ... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining, as the last day in April. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Cimetière de Passy is a famous cemetery located in 2, rue du Commandant Schœlsing, in the quarter of Passy in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. ...

Hereditary Princess Charlotte ceded her succession rights to her son, Rainier, in 1944, at which time he became Hereditary Prince. When Louis died five years later, he was succeeded by his grandson, Prince Rainier III. Rainier III ruled Monaco from 1949 to 2005. ...

Note

1. Confused versions of this story claim that either Marie Louvet or her mother was laundress or "washerwoman" to Louis' regiment: in fact, Marie Louvet’s step-mother, not her mother, had been Louis’ laundress in Constantine, Algeria.

Albert I of Monaco Albert I (November 13, 1848 – June 26, 1922), Reigning Prince of Monaco from September 10, 1889 – June 26, 1922). ... The Sovereign Prince of Monaco is the sovereign monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Rainier III ruled Monaco from 1949 to 2005. ... The Hereditary Prince(ss) of Monaco is the title given to the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the reigning Prince of Monaco. ... Marquis of Baux (French: Marquis des Baux) is one of the Prince of Monacos many hereditary titles, and one which is usually also given to the reigning Princes eldest son. ... 1889 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Portrait of Charlotte as a young woman Her Serene Highness Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois (Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi, née Louvet) (30 September 1898 - 15 November 1977), styled HSH The Princess Charlotte, was the daughter of Louis II, Prince of Monaco, and the mother of Prince Rainier III. From...