| Charles III | |
| Succession: | Prince of Monaco |
| Reign: | 20 June 1856 – 10 September 1889 |
| Predecessor: | Florestan |
| Successor: | Albert I |
| Spouse: | Antoinette de Mérode |
| Issue: | Albert I, Prince of Monaco |
| House: | Grimaldi |
| Father: | Florestan, Prince of Monaco |
| Mother: | Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz |
| Birth Date: | 8 December 1818 |
| Birth Place: | Paris, France |
| Death Place: | Château de Marchais, France |
| Burial Place: | Saint Nicholas Cathedral Monaco-Ville, Monaco |
| Full Name: | Charles Honoré Grimaldi |
Charles III (Charles Honoré Grimaldi; 8 December 1818 – 10 September 1889) was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 20 June 1856 to his death. He was the founder of the famous casino in Monte Carlo, as his name in Monegasque and Italian was Carlo III.[1] He was born in Paris, the only son of Florestan, Prince of Monaco, and Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz.
While he was Hereditary Prince, Charles was married on 28 September 1846 in Brussels to Countess Antoinette de Mérode-Westerloo.[2]
He succeeded his father Prince Florestan in 1856.
During his reign, the towns of Menton and Roquebrune, constituting some 80 percent of Monegasque territory, were formally ceded to France, paving the way for formal French recognition of Monaco's independence. Rebellions in these towns, aided by the Kingdom of Sardinia, had exhausted Monaco's military resources for decades.
The Principality was in dire need of cash flow,[3] so Prince Charles and his mother, Princess Caroline, had the idea of erecting a casino. The Monte Carlo Casino was designed, according to the Prince's liking, in the German style and placed at the site of Les Spélugues. Monte Carlo (in English, Mount Charles) itself takes its name from Charles, after all its founder.[4] [5] Charles established a society (business) to run the Casino; this society is today the Société des bains de mer de Monaco.[3]
Under Charles III, the Principality of Monaco increased its diplomatic activities; for example, in 1864, Charles III concluded a Treaty of Friendship with the Bey of Tunis, Muhammad III as-Sadiq, which also regulated trade and maritime issues.[6]
Monte Carlo is named after Charles III. It stands for the "Mount Charles" in Italian.
The Order of Saint-Charles was instituted on 15 March 1858, during the reign of Prince Charles III.
He received the following decorations and awards:
In his middle years his sight greatly weakened, and by the last decade of his life he had become almost totally blind. In fact, Dr. Thomas Henry Pickering wrote in 1882: "So far back as 1860, Prince Charles lost his eyesight...."
He died at Château de Marchais on 10 September 1889. He was succeeded by his son Albert I of Monaco.
Charles III is referenced, as Prince Charles Honoré, in a fictional entitled, The Fall of Prince Florestan of Monaco, by the British politician Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke. This work was one of satire and parody on a number of political characters of the day. It centered around a Cambridge-educated, half-Württemberg nephew of Charles III who comes to the throne by way of Charles III and the next two heirs being wiped out of existence. The upstart "Florestan II", a radical republican, boldly attempts to democratize Monaco. He fails and then is forced to leave the country.
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