Princess Caroline

of Monaco and is currently heir presumptive to the principality's throne.
The Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite Prinzessin von Hannover), formally styled Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover (nee Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline of Monaco) 1, formerly Mme Stefano Casiraghi, formerly MmePhillippe Junot and née Grimaldi, born 23 January 1957) is the eldest child of Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his wife, Princess Grace. She is the second wife of Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover and, since her father's death on April 6, 2005, has been again heir presumptive to the throne of Monaco (she was in 1957 and 1958 between her own birth and the birth of her younger brother), bearing the title The Hereditary Princess of Monaco. She was educated at the Sciences Po in Paris, and Princeton University in the USA.

Her husband's title was abolished by Weimar Republic Germany after World War I, along with all royal and noble German titles, so the title 'HSH The Hereditary Princess of Monaco' is her only undisputed title. Additionally, the Kingdom of Hanover has not existed since it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Her husband is, however, legally entitled to use "Prince of Hanover" as a surname, so she is likewise permitted to call herself "Princess of Hanover" - but as a surname and style, not as a royal title. Neither she nor her husband enjoy any royal rank in modern Germany, the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland as Prince or Princess of Hanover.

The Princess of Hanover has a younger brother, Albert II, the current Sovereign Prince of Monaco, and one younger sister, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

First marriage

Princess Caroline's first husband was Philippe Junot (1940), a Parisian banker. They were married on June 29, 1978, and divorced in 1980, a period of time that had been predicted by the bride's mother, who disapproved of Junot's age and his reputation as a playboy. In 1992, the Roman Catholic Church granted the princess an annullment.

Second marriage


Her second husband was Stefano Casiraghi (1960-1990), the sportsman heir to an Italian oil fortune. They were married on December 29, 1983, and had three children: Andrea Albert Pierre Casiraghi, born 8 June 1984; Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi, born 1986 and Pierre Rainier Stefano Casiraghi, born 1987. The two younger children are named for their maternal great-grandparents, Princess Charlotte of Monaco and Prince Pierre of Monaco whilst Andrea was named for a childhood friend of his father's. The marriage ended on October 3, 1990 when Stefano Casiraghi was killed in a speed boating accident.

Princess Caroline had a liaison from 1990 until 1995 with French actor Vincent Lindon and was also briefly engaged to Roberto Rossellini, son of movie icon Ingrid Bergman, before her second marriage.

Third marriage

Her third and present husband is Prince Ernst August of Hanover2, the head of the House of Hanover. They married in January 23, 1999, after his divorce from the former Chantal Hochuli, and have one child, Princess Alexandra of Hanover, who was born six months after their wedding. Chantal Hochuli had been a friend of Caroline's but the friendship ended with Caroline and Ernst engaged in an affair.

On June 24, 2004, the Princess obtained a judgment 3 from the European Court of Human Rights condemning Germany for non-respect of her right to a private life. The seven judges who examined her request ruled that German jurisdictions have misunderstood this right by refusing to forbid publication of photographs depicting Caroline in scenes of her daily life.

Succession issues

Because her brother Prince Albert remains unmarried and has no legitimate children, it is possible that Caroline will one day become the second Sovereign Princess in Monaco's history. Her ancestor Louise-Hippolyte Grimaldi held that title for a few months in 1731. There is precedent, however, for a Sovereign Prince to adopt an illegitimate child and thereby place that child in the line of succession, as was done with Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois.

Although Albert has publicly acknowledged at least one child born out of wedlock (Alexandre Coste, son of Togolese flight attendant Nicole Coste), an illegitimate child has no right to succeed under the current Constitution of Monaco.

Albert's lack of legitimate children prompted a constitutional change to try to ensure a successor, which had the consequence of strengthening the place of Caroline and her descendants in the line of succession. On April 2, 2002, Monaco passed Princely Law 1.249 which provided that if the Sovereign Prince assumes the throne and then dies without a legitimate direct heir, the throne would pass to his siblings and their descendants under the rule of male-preference primogeniture. Before this change, the crown of Monaco could only pass to a direct descendant of the reigning prince, and Caroline would have become ineligible to inherit the throne upon Albert's ascension.

Unlike most other countries, not only the heir-apparent to the Monegasque throne is Hereditary Prince/ss, the heir-presumptive would also be the Hereditary Prince/ss. Thus, Princess Caroline is the Hereditary Princess.

Styles & Titles from birth to present

* Her Serene Highness The Hereditary Princess of Monaco (1957-1958)
* Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline of Monaco (1958-1999)
* Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover (1999-2005)
* Her Royal Highness The Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco (2005-present)

Caroline adopted her present style, Princess of Hanover, upon her third marriage. Hanover royal and noble family titles are legally abolished as per German law, so although she is styled as a Royal Highness and a Princess of Hanover, she otherwise does not actually hold the rank or title of either - Princess of Hanover is her surname. She is, therefore, Caroline Prinzessin von Hannover (lit. Caroline Princess of Hanover); only her title as a Princess of Monaco is of undisputed legal standing. However, the style of HRH The Princess of Hanover is officially used in Monaco and by courtesy elsewhere.

Other styles accorded to the Princess of Hanover as the wife of Prince Ernest August of Hanover are: Princess of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Duchess of Brunswick-Lunenburg, Duchess of Cumberland and Teviotdale. None of these titles (except the Monagesque) have been legally recognized since the end of World War I by any of the countries that once granted them: United Kingdom, Germany, and Ireland. However, among her styles, only Princess of Hanover is actually in common use in media reports and official Monaco palace press releases.





Category:1957 births
Category:Living people
Caroline,
Caroline of Monaco
Caroline
Caroline, Princess of Hanover
Category:Alumni of Sciences Po

de:Caroline von Hannover
fr:Caroline de Monaco
nl:Caroline van Monaco
no:Caroline av Hannover
pl:Karolina (ksi??na Hanoweru)
pt:Caroline
sv:Caroline av Hannover

The Wikipedia article is licensed under http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html and uses material from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Caroline. A preview of this article is available at http://www.blinkbits.com/en_wikifeeds/Princess_Caroline.