Duke of Valentinois (French: Duc de Valentinois; Italian: Duca Valentino) is a title of nobility, originally in the French peerage. It is currently one of the many hereditary titles claimed by the Prince of Monaco despite its extinction in French law in 1949. Though it originally indicated administrative control of the Duchy of Valentinois, based around the city of Valence, the duchy has since become part of France, making the title simply one of courtesy.
It has been created at least four times: on August 17, 1498, for Cesare Borgia, in 1548 for Diane of Poitiers, in 1642 for Prince Honoré II of Monaco, and most recently in 1715 for Prince Jacques I of Monaco.
See main article: County of Valentinois.
King Louis XII of France and Naples created Cesare Borgia Duke of Valentinois in 1498. Both the Italianized form of this title and his previous appointment as Cardinal of Valencia led to his commonly used nickname: "Il Valentino". After Cesare's death, his daughter Louise Borgia (15001553) did not become Duchess suo jure due to the male-only succession of the title, but was instead styled "Dame Valentinois", titular Duchess of Romagna and Countess of Diois.
King Henry II of France created his mistress Diane de Poitiers Duchess of Valentinois in 1548. She was the only suo jure Duchess and her title was destinated to end after her death, due to the Salic law commonly used among French nobility.
King Louis XIII of France created the title by letters patent, signed in May 1642 and registered on 18 July 1642, as a conglomeration of several estates in the French province of Dauphiné which he had previously given to Honoré II, Prince of Monaco.
The first person to hold the title was Honoré II, Prince of Monaco, reigning Prince at the time of its creation; on his death it passed to his grandson Louis I, and thence to Louis's son Antoine. However, since the title's inheritance was restricted to male heirs, and because Antoine had only daughters and no sons, it was due to pass his brother, François-Honoré Grimaldi, but became extinct on 22 July 1715 when François-Honoré forfeited his right to succeed Antoine.
| Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue | Claim | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Honoré II Other titles | 24 December 1597 Monaco Son of Ercole of Monaco and Maria Landi | 18 July 1642 10 January 1662 | 10 January 1662 Monaco Died by natural causes (aged 64) | Ippolita Trivulzio (1616; 1538) | Created duke by King Louis XIII | ||
Louis I Other titles | 25 July 1642 Monaco Son of Ercole, Marquis of Baux and Maria Aurelia Spinola | 18 July 1642 3 January 1701 | 3 January 1701 Rome, Papacy Died by natural causes (aged 58) | Catherine de Gramont (1660; 1678) | Grandson of Honoré II (male proximity) | ||
Antoine I Other titles | 25 January 1661 Paris, France Son of Louis I and Catherine de Gramont | 3 January 1701 22 July 1715 (Devolved his rights) | 20 February 1731 Monaco Died by natural causes (aged 70) | Marie of Lorraine (1688; 1724) | Son of Louis I (male proximity) | ||
On 20 October 1715, Antoine's eldest daughter and heiress Louise-Hippolyte married Jacques-François de Goyon-Matignon, who had signed a contract on 5 September 1715 by which he was obliged to take the surname Grimaldi. King Louis XV of France thereupon recreated the title of Valentinois by letters patent, signed in December 1715 and registered on 2 September 1716, for Jacques, who was to succeed his father-in-law Antoine as Prince Jacques I; like the previous creation, its inheritance was restricted to male heirs.
After Jacques's abdication in 1733, the title passed uninterrupted for several generations from Prince to Prince: from Jacques to Honoré III, Honoré IV, Honoré V, Florestan I, Charles III, Albert I. Albert bestowed the title of Duchess of Valentinois upon his adopted granddaughter Charlotte, thenceforth known as Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois, on 20 May 1919. On 20 March 1920, shortly after Charlotte's marriage to Pierre de Polignac, he, like Jacques-François de Goyon-Matignon, took the title of Duke of Valentinois, having already changed his surname to Grimaldi.
| Duke | Birth | Tenure | Death | Marriage(s) Issue | Claim | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacques I Other titles | 21 November 1689 Torigni-sur-Vire Son of Jacques de Matignon and Charlotte de Thorigny | 2 September 1716 7 November 1733 (Ceded his title) | 23 April 1751 Hôtel Matignon, Paris Died by natural causes (aged 61) | Louise Hippolyte of Monaco (1715; 1731) | Created duke by King Louis XV | ||
Honoré III Other titles | 10 November 1720 Hôtel Matignon, Paris Son of Jacques I and Louise Hippolyte of Monaco | 7 November 1733 21 March 1795 | 21 March 1795 Paris, France Died imprisoned by revolutionaries (aged 74) | Maria Caterina Brignole (1751; 1795) | Son of Jacques I (male proximity) | ||
Honoré IV Other titles | 17 May 1758 Hôtel Matignon, Paris Son of Honoré III and Maria Caterina Brignole | 21 March 1795 16 February 1819 | 16 February 1819 Monaco Died by natural causes (aged 60) | Louise d'Aumont (1777; 1798) | Son of Honoré III (male proximity) | ||
Honoré V Other titles | 13 May/14 May 1778 Hôtel Matignon, Paris Son of Honoré IV and Louise d'Aumont | 16 February 1819 2 October 1841 | 2 October 1841 Hôtel Matignon, Paris Died by natural causes (aged 63) | Never married | Son of Honoré IV (male proximity) | ||
Florestan I Other titles | 10 October 1785 Hôtel Matignon, Paris Son of Honoré IV and Louise d'Aumont | 2 October 1841 20 June 1856 | 20 June 1856 Hôtel Matignon, Paris Died by natural causes (aged 70) | Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz (1816; 1856) | Son of Honoré IV (male proximity) | ||
Charles III Other titles | 8 December 1818 Hôtel Matignon, Paris Son of Florestan I and Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz | 20 June 1856 10 September 1889 | 10 September 1889 Château de Marchais Died by natural causes (aged 70) | Antoinette de Mérode (1846; 1864) | Son of Florestan I (male proximity) | ||
Albert I Other titles | 13 November 1848 Hôtel Matignon, Paris Son of Charles III and Antoinette de Mérode | 10 September 1889 26 June 1922 | 26 June 1922 Hôtel Matignon, Paris Died by natural causes (aged 73) | Mary Victoria Hamilton (1869; 1880) Alice Heine (1889; 1922) | Son of Charles III (male proximity) | ||
Louis II Other titles | 12 July 1870 Baden, Baden Son of Albert I and Mary Victoria Hamilton | 26 June 1922 9 May 1949 | 9 May 1949 Monaco Died by natural causes (aged 78) | Ghislaine Dommanget (1946; 1949) | Son of Albert I (male proximity) | ||
Although Albert I had granted the title of Valentinois to his granddaughter Charlotte, its right to succession remained with Louis II and his legitimate male descendants; consequently, on his death without a male heir in 1949, it became extinct in French law and under Salic Law. However, his successor, Rainier III (son of Charlotte), still claimed it, possibly in the belief, as suggested by François Velde, that it was "implicitly recreated for Charlotte by the French Republic in 1919 when her adoption was approved". However, the various French Republics have never created nor re-created any dukedom.
According to the Almanach de Gotha, the title used in Monaco corresponds to a Monegasque concession of a title which otherwise would not be recognized in France, specially having in account that when Charlotte was created Duchess by her father, her grandfather was still the living Prince of Monaco with the right to the title of Duke, and only his son could succeed to the French title. Beside, only legitimate children can inherit French titles.