Louise Hippolyte (10 November 1697 – 29 December 1731), was the only sovereign Princess of Monaco. She is the ancestor of the current reigning princely family of Monaco. A very popular monarch she officially ruled the state with her husband but died prematurely after a reign of only 11 months. At her death her husband abdicated in favour for their son Honoré .

Biography
Born at the Prince's Palace in Monaco, she was the second daughter of Antonio I of Monaco and Marie of Lorraine. The second of six children born to her parents, she was the first of their children to survive childhood. 

Because she had no brothers, Louise Hippolyte became the heiress to the throne of Monaco. Her father ensured with the permission of Louis XIV, that her future husband should assume the surname of Grimaldi and rule Monaco jointly with her.

Married life

On 20 October 1715, at the age of eighteen, she married "Jacques François Goyon, Count of Matignon" after his family had proposed him as a candidate. His candidacy was supported by King Louis XIV, who wanted to increase French influence in Monaco. Prior to this, Louise Hippolyte's father was eager to wed his daughter to a Grimaldi cousin. This marriage did not materialise due to the poor finances of the Grimaldis at the time. The couple had several sons most of which were also given the title of Count of Matignon. Jacques François Goyon was given a higher ranking title by Louis XIV namely the Duke of Valentinois (1642). Overall the couple had a fairly unhappy married life. Her husband preferred Paris and would often leave his wife and children in Monaco when he travelled to the Court of Versailles. 

Louise Hippolyte and Jacques had nine children. Her husband preferred to stay in Versailles (where he had several mistresses), instead of Monaco. 

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

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

Her husband remained a widower, despite a large dowry offered to him by the Duchess of Maine to get him to marry her unattractive daughter, "Mademoiselle du Maine", a granddaughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. The princess died of smallpox aged 34 and was buried in the Saint Nicholas Cathedral itself the family crypt of the House of Grimaldi.

Issue

The children of the couple were technically given the surname of "Goyon de Matignon" after their father however they were sometimes also known under the surname of Grimaldi too. 

Antoine Charles Marie Grimaldi (16 December 1717 – 4 February 1718), Marquis of Baux and Count of Matignon.
Charlotte Thérèse Nathalie Grimaldi  (19 March 1719 – 1790), nun at the Convent of Visitation at Paris.
Honoré Grimaldi (10 November 1720 – 21 March 1795), successor of his parents.
Charles Marie Auguste Grimaldi  (1 January 1722 – 24 August 1749), Count of Carladés and of Matignon. 
Jacques Grimaldi  (9 June 1723 – June 1723) died young. 
Louise Françoise Grimaldi  (15 July 1724 – 15 September 1729), Mademoiselle des Baux.
François Charles Grimaldi (4 February 1726 – 9 December 1743), Count of Thorigny.
Charles Maurice Grimaldi (14 May 1727 – 18 January 1798), Count of Valentinois; married on 10 November 1749 to Marie Christine de Rouvroy; no children.
Marie Françoise Thérése Grimaldi (20 July 1728 – 20 June 1743), Mademoiselle d'Estouteville died of smallpox unmarried.

Titles and styles

10 November 1697 - 20 October 1715 Her Serene Highness The Hereditary Princess of Monaco.
20 October 1715 - 20 February 1731 Madame la comtesse de Matignon.  [And Hereditary Princess of Monaco.]
20 February 1731 – 29 December 1731 Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco. [And Duchess of Valentinois.]

 
House of Grimaldi
1697 births
1731 deaths
Deaths from smallpox
Dukes and duchesses of France
Princes and princesses of Monaco