Louise-Hippolyte, Princess of Monaco

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Louise-Hippolyte (Monaco, October 10, 1697- Monaco, December 29, 1731) is the only woman who reigned as the Sovereign Princess of Monaco. She is the ancestress of the current reigning royal family of Monaco.

She was the daughter of Antonio I of Monaco and Maria of Lorraine.

Because she had no brothers, Louise Hippolyte became heir to the throne of Monaco. Her father decided, with the permission of Louis XIV, that her future husband would be given the name of Grimaldi and was to rule Monaco, together with her.

On October 20, 1715, at the age of 18 she married Jacques François Goyon de Matignon and went on to have eight children.

The marriage wasn't very happy. Her husband preferred to stay in Versailles instead of Monaco, where he had several mistresses.

After the death of her father, Louise Hippolyte traveled from Paris to Monaco on April 4, 1731 and received an enthusiastic reception by the population. When Jacques joined her a while later, the reception was much colder.

At the end of 1731, Louise Hippolyte died of smallpox. Her husband neglected the affairs of state and had to leave the country in May 1732. He abdicated in favor of their son Honoré the next year.

Preceded by Antoine I

Sovereign Princess of Monaco 1731

Succeeded by Jacques I