Monaco's succession issues

[BJB]

Maybe I read the legal text wrong but by my understanding the spouse (so in this case Charlene) is always part of the regency council, regardless if it is necessary due to illness or death of Albert (if they not divorced/living separately).

 

[kath2833]

So from my understanding, if Albert passes while Jacques is still a minor, Monaco will be ruled by a council of government & court officials until he is 18 correct? Didn’t Albert also get into financial trouble with his nephews last year? I saw on another thread about offshore accounts for various family members.

 

[Somebody]

Interestingly, the Constitution doesn't even explicitly limit the brothers and sisters to be from the previous reigning prince(ss). If Charlene had had a child before marriage (instead of Albert), that child would be an older sibling of Jacques, so based on the order of primogeniture be ahead of Gabriella once Jacques is the reigning prince (according to the current wording of the Constitution) .

 

[hereditarytitles]

Maybe I read the legal text wrong but by my understanding the spouse (so in this case Charlene) is always part of the regency council, regardless if it is necessary due to illness or death of Albert (if they not divorced/living separately).

Unfortunately, I can no longer find the source, but at the time when Charlene was absent for so long due to illness, Albert excluded her from the regency council and appointed his sister Caroline instead. Perhaps this has been changed again in the meantime.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Unfortunately, I can no longer find the source, but at the time when Charlene was absent for so long due to illness, Albert excluded her from the regency council and appointed his sister Caroline instead. Perhaps this has been changed again in the meantime.

No, Albert II never appointed his sister Caroline to the regency council.


Before the 2022 changes, if Jacques had become the Reigning Prince while a minor, either Charlene (if Albert died) or Caroline (if Albert abdicated) would have served as the regent for Jacques.

From 2015 to 2022, Article 4, second paragraph, of the house law stated:

Si le Prince Héréditaire est mineur au moment du décès ou de l’abdication du Prince Régnant, la régence est, dans le premier cas, exercée par le conjoint du Prince défunt ou, à défaut, par l’héritier majeur le plus proche de Lui dans l’ordre successoral et, dans le second cas, par l’héritier majeur le plus proche du Prince ayant abdiqué dans l’ordre successoral.​

Translation:

If the Hereditary Prince is a minor at the moment of the death or abdication of the Reigning Prince, the regency is, in the first case, exercised by the spouse of the Reigning Prince or, in the absence of such, by the adult heir closest to Him in the succession order, and in the second case, by the adult heir closest to the abdicated Prince in the succession order.​

In 2022, Albert II amended the house laws on regency. Now, Article 4, second paragraph, reads:

Si le Prince Héréditaire est mineur au moment du décès ou de l'abdication du Prince Régnant, la régence est exercée par le Conseil de Régence.​

Translation:

If the Hereditary Prince is a minor at the moment of the death or abdication of the Reigning Prince, the regency is exercised by the Council of Regency.​

You can read the current and prior versions of Albert II’s house law on LegiMonaco, the official database of Monegasque law. (To select an older version, use the menu in the right-hand sidebar.)

Ordonnance Souveraine n° 5.344 du 2 juin 2015 portant statuts de la Famille Souveraine [Legimonaco]

Maybe I read the legal text wrong but by my understanding the spouse (so in this case Charlene) is always part of the regency council, regardless if it is necessary due to illness or death of Albert (if they not divorced/living separately).

Essentially yes, but when the reigning prince(ss) is still under 18 years old, they won’t have a spouse.

 

[hereditarytitles]

I have found one of the articles from April 2023, which were published by several German papers. I didn't remember the exact wording, therefore it is not as I have written in my previous post.

Translation of the important part:

"Prince Albert (65) has held the Monegasque throne since the death of his father Rainier in April 2005. Insiders rumor that the Prince will hold the office at least until his son Jacques (8) comes of age. Only when the heir to the throne is 18 years old can he take over the reins of government from his father. If something should happen to Albert earlier, his wife Charlène (45) would stand in for her son as Prince Regent until he is an adult. At least that was the rule in the principality until now.

However, as the French magazine “Closer” reports, Albert is said to have changed the rules last summer - if the worst comes to the worst, a regency council would now take over this office and his wife would no longer have sole responsibility. The regency council consists of a total of seven people, including Charlène and Albert's sisters. No wonder the rumor mill is churning: Does Albert not trust Charlène enough to carry out his role alone? Are her health problems and their alleged marital crisis playing a role? RTL Royal expert is certain that Albert is not publicly humiliating his wife, but rather being considerate".

Was die geänderte Thronfolge in Monaco für Charlène bedeutet

Die Karten im Fürstentum Monaco wurden neu gemischt, Fürst Albert hat im vergangenen Jahr die Thronfolge geändert. Was das für seine Familie bedeutet...

www.rtl.de

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Let us take a closer look at the membership of the Regency Council, which would act as regent for Jacques if he became the Sovereign Prince before his 18th birthday.

The first three paragraphs of Article 11 of the house law state:

Le Conseil de Régence est composé comme suit :

- le conjoint du Prince Régnant non séparé de droit ou de fait, Président ;
- le Président du Conseil de la Couronne ;
- le Secrétaire d'État ;
- le Président du Conseil d'État ;
- quatre personnes nommées par Décision Souveraine.

Si le Prince Régnant n'a pas de conjoint ou si ledit conjoint est empêché ou s'il est séparé de droit ou de fait, le Conseil de Régence ne comprend que les sept autres membres ci-dessus. Sa présidence est alors assurée par la plus âgée des quatre personnes nommées par Décision Souveraine conformément au précédent alinéa.

Seuls deux membres du Conseil de Régence peuvent ne pas être de nationalité monégasque.​

Translation:

The Council of Regency is composed as follows:

- the spouse of the Reigning Prince, not legally or factually separated, President;
- the President of the Crown Council;
- the Secretary of State;
- the President of the Council of State;
- four persons named by Sovereign Decision.

If the Reigning Prince does not have a spouse or if the said spouse is impeded or he is legally or factually separated, the Regency Council will be comprised only of the seven other members aforementioned. Its presidency is then held by the oldest of the four people named by Sovereign Decision in conformity with the previous paragraph.

The Regency Council may only have two members who are not of Monegasque nationality.​

According to these instructions, there will be three ex officio members of Jacques’ Regency Council:

“- the President of the Crown Council”: The Crown Council normally advises the Prince on some of his constitutional duties.

“- the Secretary of State”: The Secretary of State is the head of the Prince’s household.

“- the President of the Council of State”: The Council of State normally advises the Prince on legislative proposals.

Article 11 also states that “- the spouse of the Reigning Prince, not legally or factually separated” is a member and president of the Regency Council. However, Jacques will not have a spouse while he is under 18, so this clause is moot.


In addition, the instructions in Article 11 state that “- four persons named by Sovereign Decision” have seats on the Regency Council. Albert II issued his Sovereign Decision naming those four persons on January 26, 2022. The four persons he appointed are:

“- M. Laurent Anselmi”: Mr. Anselmi is a former chief of staff and friend of Prince Albert II and worked for many years as a Monegasque government advisor. However, he stepped down as Albert II’s chief of staff due to the corruption investigations, so I wonder why Albert hasn’t also replaced him on the regency council.

“- M. Emmanuel Falco”: Mr. Falco is First Privy Councillor to Prince Albert II and a well-known person in Monaco.

“- Mme Marie-Pierre Gramaglia”: Ms. Gramaglia was Monaco’s minister of infrastructure, the environment, and public works from 2011 to 2021.

“- M. Frédéric Sangiorgio”: Mr. Sangiorgio is a defense attorney.


Article 11 of the house law does not provide for any other person to sit on the Regency Council while all of these seats are filled. Thus, there will be no room for Charlene, Caroline, Stéphanie, or other relatives on the Regency Council for Jacques (unless Albert II modifies his house law again).

So from my understanding, if Albert passes while Jacques is still a minor, Monaco will be ruled by a council of government & court officials until he is 18 correct?

Yes, exactly! The house law, article 4, paragraph 2 says: “If the Hereditary Prince is a minor at the moment of the death or abdication of the Reigning Prince, the regency is exercised by the Council of Regency.”

Ordonnance Souveraine n° 5.344 du 2 juin 2015 portant statuts de la Famille Souveraine [Legimonaco]

legimonaco.mc

I have found one of the articles from April 2023, which were published by several German papers. I didn't remember the exact wording, therefore it is not as I have written in my previous post.

Translation of the important part:

"Prince Albert (65) has held the Monegasque throne since the death of his father Rainier in April 2005. Insiders rumor that the Prince will hold the office at least until his son Jacques (8) comes of age. Only when the heir to the throne is 18 years old can he take over the reins of government from his father. If something should happen to Albert earlier, his wife Charlène (45) would stand in for her son as Prince Regent until he is an adult. At least that was the rule in the principality until now.

However, as the French magazine “Closer” reports, Albert is said to have changed the rules last summer - if the worst comes to the worst, a regency council would now take over this office and his wife would no longer have sole responsibility. The regency council consists of a total of seven people, including Charlène and Albert's sisters. No wonder the rumor mill is churning: Does Albert not trust Charlène enough to carry out his role alone? Are her health problems and their alleged marital crisis playing a role? RTL Royal expert is certain that Albert is not publicly humiliating his wife, but rather being considerate".

Was die geänderte Thronfolge in Monaco für Charlène bedeutet

Die Karten im Fürstentum Monaco wurden neu gemischt, Fürst Albert hat im vergangenen Jahr die Thronfolge geändert. Was das für seine Familie bedeutet...

www.rtl.de

Glad that there has been media coverage of Albert II’s important decision, but Closer is wrong about Charlene, Caroline and Stéphanie (see the first part of this post). They will not be on the regency council for Jacques.

 

[hereditarytitles]

Let us take a closer look at the membership of the Regency Council, which would act as regent for Jacques if he became the Sovereign Prince before his 18th birthday.

The first three paragraphs of Article 11 of the house law state:

Le Conseil de Régence est composé comme suit :​

​

- le conjoint du Prince Régnant non séparé de droit ou de fait, Président ;​

- le Président du Conseil de la Couronne ;​

- le Secrétaire d'État ;​

- le Président du Conseil d'État ;​

- quatre personnes nommées par Décision Souveraine.​

​

Si le Prince Régnant n'a pas de conjoint ou si ledit conjoint est empêché ou s'il est séparé de droit ou de fait, le Conseil de Régence ne comprend que les sept autres membres ci-dessus. Sa présidence est alors assurée par la plus âgée des quatre personnes nommées par Décision Souveraine conformément au précédent alinéa.​

​

Seuls deux membres du Conseil de Régence peuvent ne pas être de nationalité monégasque.​

Translation:

The Council of Regency is composed as follows:​

​

- the spouse of the Reigning Prince, not legally or factually separated, President;​

- the President of the Crown Council;​

- the Secretary of State;​

- the President of the Council of State;​

- four persons named by Sovereign Decision.​

​

If the Reigning Prince does not have a spouse or if the said spouse is impeded or he is legally or factually separated, the Regency Council will be comprised only of the seven other members aforementioned. Its presidency is then held by the oldest of the four people named by Sovereign Decision in conformity with the previous paragraph.​

​

The Regency Council may only have two members who are not of Monegasque nationality.​

According to these instructions, there will be three ex officio members of Jacques’ Regency Council:

“- the President of the Crown Council”: The Crown Council normally advises the Prince on some of his constitutional duties.

“- the Secretary of State”: The Secretary of State is the head of the Prince’s household.

“- the President of the Council of State”: The Council of State normally advises the Prince on legislative proposals.

Article 11 also states that “- the spouse of the Reigning Prince, not legally or factually separated” is a member and president of the Regency Council. However, Jacques will not have a spouse while he is under 18, so this clause is moot.


In addition, the instructions in Article 11 state that “- four persons named by Sovereign Decision” have seats on the Regency Council. Albert II issued his Sovereign Decision naming those four persons on January 26, 2022. The four persons he appointed are:

“- M. Laurent Anselmi”: Mr. Anselmi is a former chief of staff and friend of Prince Albert II and worked for many years as a Monegasque government advisor. However, he stepped down as Albert II’s chief of staff due to the corruption investigations, so I wonder why Albert hasn’t also replaced him on the regency council.

“- M. Emmanuel Falco”: Mr. Falco is First Privy Councillor to Prince Albert II and a well-known person in Monaco.

“- Mme Marie-Pierre Gramaglia”: Ms. Gramaglia was Monaco’s minister of infrastructure, the environment, and public works from 2011 to 2021.

“- M. Frédéric Sangiorgio”: Mr. Sangiorgio is a defense attorney.


Article 11 of the house law does not provide for any other person to sit on the Regency Council while all of these seats are filled. Thus, there will be no room for Charlene, Caroline, Stéphanie, or other relatives on the Regency Council for Jacques (unless Albert II modifies his house law again).





Yes, exactly! The house law, article 4, paragraph 2 says: “If the Hereditary Prince is a minor at the moment of the death or abdication of the Reigning Prince, the regency is exercised by the Council of Regency.”

Ordonnance Souveraine n° 5.344 du 2 juin 2015 portant statuts de la Famille Souveraine [Legimonaco]

legimonaco.mc

Glad that there has been media coverage of Albert II’s important decision, but Closer is wrong about Charlene, Caroline and Stéphanie (see the first part of this post). They will not be on the regency council for Jacques.

Many thanks for the detailed information. As is so often the case, newspapers, especially those sometimes referred to as the yellow press, can't always be trusted. They simply don't do thorough research, but most readers believe what they publish.

 

[Somebody]

Who is the oldest of the above mentioned 4 appointees? I.e., who would be the Council's president?

 

[victor1319]

Let us take a closer look at the membership of the Regency Council, which would act as regent for Jacques if he became the Sovereign Prince before his 18th birthday.

Glad that there has been media coverage of Albert II’s important decision, but Closer is wrong about Charlene, Caroline and Stéphanie (see the first part of this post). They will not be on the regency council for Jacques.

Yeah, I was wondering about the relatives! I mean, sure, blood is thicker than water, as one says in Germany. But there was historically infighting between members of the Grimaldi family - No need to bring the bad habits out again!

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Yeah, I was wondering about the relatives! I mean, sure, blood is thicker than water, as one says in Germany. But there was historically infighting between members of the Grimaldi family - No need to bring the bad habits out again!

That makes sense as a possible reason why Albert II chose not to include any of his family members on the regency council. The unrelated members of the council may engage in internecine fighting, but if they do, it won’t tarnish the Grimaldis’ family relationships.

Many thanks for the detailed information. As is so often the case, newspapers, especially those sometimes referred to as the yellow press, can't always be trusted. They simply don't do thorough research, but most readers believe what they publish.

Thank you for your interest and posts! I concur in your disappointment. Even non-yellow-press sources often bungle the facts when legal issues are involved. (For example, mainstream newspapers helped to spread the made-up, disproven in the courts, falsehood about Gustav of Berleburg’s grandfather supposedly writing a racist will.) Sometimes, it seems that only the actual law or court ruling is a reliable source.

Interestingly, the Constitution doesn't even explicitly limit the brothers and sisters to be from the previous reigning prince(ss). If Charlene had had a child before marriage (instead of Albert), that child would be an older sibling of Jacques, so based on the order of primogeniture be ahead of Gabriella once Jacques is the reigning prince (according to the current wording of the Constitution) .

Great point. It’s fortunate that this wording wasn’t used in Norway’s Constitution…

Who is the oldest of the above mentioned 4 appointees? I.e., who would be the Council's president?

I haven’t been able to find that out.

 

[sunflowers]

Very interesting posts about Monaco succession laws. Let’s hope that this legal loophole will not create any problems. I somehow don’t see Jazmin trying to be a monarch, but she always acts like she wants to be famous. Alexandre, however, made bombastic statements about being an ambassador of Monaco, bringing business etc, so he’s greater worry.