About Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois
Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois (Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi; 30 September 1898 – 16 November 1977), styled Hereditary Princess of Monaco between 1922 and 1944, was the daughter of Louis II, Prince of Monaco, and mother of Prince Rainier III. From 1922 until 1944, she was the Hereditary Princess of Monaco, heiress presumptive to the throne. == Birth and adoption == Born Charlotte Louise Juliette de Monaco in Constantine, French Algeria, she was the illegitimate daughter of Marie Juliette Louvet, a cabaret singer, and Louis, Hereditary Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois, son and heir of Monaco's reigning monarch, Prince Albert I. Louis had no legitimate children or siblings, so even before he succeeded his father as Prince Louis II, the principality sought to forestall a succession crisis, anticipating that its neighbour, the French Republic, might take it amiss if the throne fell someday to Louis' legal next of kin. That heir was his cousin, Wilhelm, 2nd Duke of Urach, who, although born and raised in Monte Carlo as the son of Princess Florestine of Monaco, was a German subject, property owner and patrilineal relative of the kings of Württemberg. On 15 May 1911, a law was passed recognising Charlotte as Louis' daughter, and declaring her to be a dynastic member of the sovereign family. Though this act was later held to be invalid under the 1882 statutes, an Ordinance of 30 October 1918 was passed to allow her to be adopted into the dynasty instead. Louis adopted Charlotte in Paris on 16 May 1919, thereby entitling her to the surname Grimaldi, while her grandfather bestowed upon her the traditional title of the Principality's heir, Duchess of Valentinois, for life. Charlotte became heir presumptive to the throne as Hereditary Princess when her grandfather died and her father inherited the princely crown in 1922. == Legality of adoption == A shadow of doubt existed over the legality of this adoption. The Monegasque Civil Code (Articles 240 and 243) required that the adopting party be at least of age 50 and the adoptee 21. The 1918 Ordinance changed the age limit to 18 (Charlotte was twenty at the time) but not the other age limit; Louis was then only 48.
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