The House of Grimaldi ( , also , , ) is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297.
Since then, every Prince of Monaco has been a member of the House of Grimaldi. However, since the 18th century the princes have been agnatic descendants of other families that have inherited through the female line and adopted the Grimaldi name. In 1715, Jacques Goyon de Matignon married the last Grimaldi agnatic heir. He and his male line descendants, adopting the Grimaldi name, ruled as princes of Monaco from 1731 to 1949. Since then, the princes have been male line descendants of the Polignac family. Rainier III, son of Pierre de Polignac, inherited the title through his mother in 1949 and adopted the Grimaldi name. During much of the Ancien Régime, the family resided in the French court, where from 1642 to 1715 they used the title of Duke of Valentinois.
The current head of the house is Albert II of Monaco, Sovereign Prince of Monaco, who is the son and successor of Prince Rainier III and the Princess consort Grace of Monaco, formerly known as Grace Kelly.
Beginnings in Genoa
The Grimaldis descend from Grimaldo, a Genoese consul who lived during the time of the early Crusades. He may have been a son of Otto Canella, an earlier consul of the Republic of Genoa. His numerous descendants led maritime expeditions throughout the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the North Sea. They quickly became one of the most powerful families of Genoa.
The Grimaldis feared that the head of a rival Genoese family could break the fragile balance of power in a coup and become lord of Genoa, as had happened in other Italian cities. They entered into a Guelphic alliance with the Fieschi family. In 1271, the Guelphs were banned from Genoa, and the Grimaldi took refuge in their castles in Liguria and Provence. They signed a treaty with Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily and Count of Provence to retake control of Genoa. In 1276, they accepted a peace under the auspices of the Pope, but the civil war continued. Not all the Grimaldis chose to return to Genoa and settled in their fiefdoms, where they could raise armies.
In 1299, the Grimaldis and their allies launched a few galleys to attack the port of Genoa before taking refuge on the Western Riviera. During the following years, the Grimaldis entered into different alliances that would allow them to return to power in Genoa. This time, it was the turn of their rivals, the Spinola family, to be exiled from the city. During this period, both the Guelphs and Ghibellines took and abandoned the castle of Monaco, which was ideally located to launch political and military operations against Genoa. Therefore, the tale of Francis Grimaldi and his faction – who took the castle of Monaco disguised as friars in 1297 – is largely anecdotal.
In the early 14th century, the Aragonese raided the shores of Provence and Liguria, challenging Genoa and King Robert of Provence. In 1353, the combined fleet of eighty Venetian and Aragonese galleys gathered in Sardinia to meet the fleet of sixty galleys under the command of Anthony Grimaldi. Only nineteen Genoese vessels survived the battle. Fearing an invasion, Genoa requested the protection of the Lord of Milan.
Several of the oldest feudal branches of the House of Grimaldi appeared during these conflicts, such as the branches of Antibes, Beuil, Nice, Puget, and Sicily. In 1395, the Grimaldis took advantage of the discords in Genoa to take possession of Monaco, which they then ruled as a condominium. This is the origin of today's principality.
As was customary in Genoa, the Grimaldis organised their family ties within a corporation called . In the political reform of 1528, the Grimaldi became one of the 28 of the Republic of Genoa, which included the Doria and Pallavicini families, and to which other families were formally invited to join. The House of Grimaldi provided several doges, cardinals, cabinet ministers, and military officers of historical note.