Oscar Grimaldi
Oscar Grimaldi | |
|---|---|
| Sub-prefect of Chalon-sur-Saône | |
| In office 24 October 1861 – 16 March 1870 | |
| Sub-prefect of Castres | |
| In office 12 August 1856 – 24 October 1861 | |
| Preceded by | Étienne Henri Garnier |
| Succeeded by | Achille de Vallavieille |
| Sub-prefect of Lille | |
| In office 1853–1856 | |
| Sub-prefect of Aix-en-Provence | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Louis Gabriel Oscar Grimaldi June 8, 1814 Paris, France |
| Died | July 14, 1894 (aged 80) Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France |
| Resting place | Château de Fontaine-Française |
| Parents |
|
| Occupation | Politician |
Awards | Officer of the Legion of Honour, 1864 |
Louis Gabriel Oscar Grimaldi, Marquis of Baux, (June 8, 1814 – July 14, 1894) was the illegitimate son of Prince Honoré V of Monaco and his mistress Félicité de Gamaches.[1]
Biography
Louis Gabriel Oscar Grimaldi was born to unknown parents in Paris, at 15 rue Bonaparte, in the former 10th arrondissement, on June 8, 1814.[2]
A few months after his birth, on November 28, 1814, he was acknowledged by Prince Honoré V of Monaco before Alexandre Toussaint Delacour, a notary in Paris, with his legitimisation, Oscar was bestowed the Grimaldi surname, however, because he was born out of wedlock, meant that he would never succeed as Prince of Monaco.[3] His maternal lineage remained officially undetermined until his death.
A law graduate and lawyer at the Paris Court of Appeal, he then pursued a career in the French administration: he was attached to the Ministry of the Interior, Litigation Division (1842), deputy head of the office in the Finance Division in Algeria (1846), and then to the Directorate of Civil Affairs in Algiers (1847–1848).[3]
The remainder of his career was spent in the prefectoral administration, serving as sub-prefect of Lille (1853–1856), sub-prefect of Castres (1856–1861), sub-prefect of Chalon-sur-Saône (1861–1870), before retiring in 1870.[3]
In 1860, his first cousin, Prince Charles III of Monaco, bestowed upon him the title of Marquis of Baux, a title not recognized in France.[3]
The French state made him a Knight of the Legion of Honour on November 10, 1852, and he was promoted to Officer on August 11, 1864.[3][2]
He died unmarried and without issue in Saint-Germain-en-Laye on July 14, 1894.[4] He was buried at Château de Fontaine-Française.[5]
The question of his parentage addressed by the authors.
According to Albert Révérend
In the Titles, ennoblements and peerages of the Restoration, Viscount Albert Révérend mentions the existence of the natural son of Honoré V of Monaco, without giving any indication or hypothesis as to the maternal filiation of the latter.[6]
According to Henry de Woelmont de Brumagne
In the fifth series of his Genealogical Notices , Woelmont mentions, without indicating his sources, that Félicité Madeleine Honorée Gabrielle Rouault de Gamaches (20 Apr 1781 – 13 Jul 1819), then wife of Jacques Philippe Achille Louis Auguste Barthélémy François, Count of Héricy (1775 – 1842), is the mother of the Marquis des Baux, natural son of the Duke of Valentinois (the future Honoré V).[7]
According to Jean-Fred Tourtchine
Natural child born to Félicité Pronault de Gamaches.[8]
According to Denis Grando
In his essay on Camille de La Vincelle, bastard of Honoré III Prince of Monaco , Denis Grando reproduces verbatim the documents relating to the civil status of Oscar Grimaldi, his birth, recognition and death certificates, his service records, without giving any indication or hypothesis as to his maternal filiation.[9]
References
- ↑ "Fontaine-Française : des pages d'histoire" (in French). Archived from the original on 2017-12-03. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- 1 2 "Grimaldi, Louis Gabriel Oscar [Recherche - Base de données Léonore]". www.leonore.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Peyrègne, André (2026-05-24). "Pourquoi Oscar Grimaldi, fils du prince Honoré V, n'a jamais régné sur Monaco ?". Nice-Matin (in French). Archived from the original on June 28, 2026. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
- ↑ Grando 2002, pp. 67–72.
- ↑ "des Sites historiques" (PDF). Montecarlonews.it. p. 8.
- ↑ Révérend 1903, p. 244.
- ↑ Baron de Woelmont de Brumagne, Notices généalogiques : cinquième série, Paris, Librairie ancienne Edouard Champion, 1927, 1150 p., pp. 563-564
- ↑ Tourtchine 2002.
- ↑ Grando 2002.
Sources
- Révérend, Albert (1974). Titres, anoblissements et pairies de la Restauration, 1814-1830 Tome 3 (in French). H. Champion. p. 386.
- Tourtchine, Jean-Fred (April 2002). Le Royaume de Bavière volume III — La Principauté de Monaco (in French). CEDRE. p. 289. ISSN 0993-3964.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - Lamoussière, Christiane; Laharie, Patrick (1998). "Notice « Grimaldi (Charles, Louis, Gabriel, Oscar de) »". Le personnel de l’administration préfectorale, 1800-1880. List of names by Christiane Lamoussière, revised and supplemented by Patrick Laharie; territorial list and introduction by Patrick Laharie. Paris: Centre historique des Archives nationales. p. 366. ISBN 2-86000-271-5.
- Grando, Denis (2002). Camille de La Vincelle, bâtarde d'Honoré III prince de Monaco, femme d'archéologue de numismate et d'antiquaire, sa famille, sa descendance (in French). Versailles: Cercle généalogique de Versailles et des Yvelines. p. 190. ISBN 2-9519004-0-6.