Honoré II, Prince of Monaco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Honoré II (24 December 1597-10 January 1662) was Sovereign Prince of Monaco. He was the first to be called Prince, but started his reign as Lord of Monaco.

He was the son of Hercule of Monaco and Maria Landi.

At the age of seven he succeeded his father under the regency of his uncle, Frederico Landi, prince of Val di Taro. Landi was a loyal ally and friend of Spain and allowed the country to be occupied by Spanish troops in 1605. the inhabitants of Monaco were prohibited to carry arms and the Prince and his two sisters were moved to Milan.
the Council of Monaco tried to limite Spanish power but the occupation lasted until 1614, and a strong Spanish influence remained until 1633, when it recognized Honoré as a sovereign prince.

From adulthood, Honoré started to criticize Spain and turned to France for support. Louis XIII gave him the support he needed and this resulted in the Treaty of Péronne. This ended Spanish rule and put Monaco under French protection, recognizing and guaranteeing Monegasque sovereignty. As a consequence Honoré lost his Spanish and Italian possessions, but was compensated by King Louis XIII of France with the marquisate Les Baux and the title of Duke of Valentinois.

In 1616 he married Ippolita Trivulzio and had a son Hercule. Honoré was interred in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas (it stood on the location of the current Cathedral) in Monaco. During his reign he did much to extend, rebuild and transform the Genoese fortress that was the Grimaldi's stronghold into what is today Monaco's Royal Palace.

Preceded by —	Sovereign Prince of Monaco 1612-1662	Succeeded by Louis I
Preceded by —	Duke of Valentinois 1642-1662
Preceded by Hercule	Lord of Monaco 1604-1612	Succeeded by —