The Grimaldis of Monaco: Centuries of Scandal, Years of Grace
SynopsisPlot
For nearly eight hundred years, from the elegant Genoese Rainier I to the current Prince Albert II, the Grimaldis—“an ambitious, hot-blooded, unscrupulous race, swift to revenge and furious in battle”—have ruled Monaco. Against all odds, they have proved themselves masterful survivors, still in possession of their lands and titles despite the upheavals of the French Revolution and the First and Second World Wars, when royal heads rolled and most small countries met their demise.
Story
About this book
Anne Edwards traces the history of the Grimaldi family, who have ruled Monaco for close to eight hundred years. The account begins with Rainier I, a Genoese nobleman, and follows the dynasty through centuries of European conflict, palace intrigue, and political maneuvering up to the reign of Prince Albert II. Monaco itself is a tiny sovereign state on the French Riviera, smaller than many city parks, yet the Grimaldis managed to hold onto it across eras that dismantled far larger kingdoms.
The book covers how the family navigated the French Revolution, the Napoleonic period, and both World Wars, periods when numerous European monarchies and small states ceased to exist. Edwards draws on the family's reputation for fierce ambition and a talent for survival, examining how personal temperament and strategic alliances shaped Monaco's unlikely persistence. The narrative also addresses the scandals and internal tensions that accompanied each generation, giving a detailed account of how dynastic politics played out within such a confined territory.
Monaco covers roughly two square kilometers along the Mediterranean coast, bordered almost entirely by France. The Grimaldis' hold on this strip of land, maintained since the late thirteenth century, makes theirs one of the longest-reigning dynasties in European history.
