Jacques I, Prince of Monaco
Encyclopedia
Jacques Goyon de Matignon (Jacques François Léonor; 21 November 1689 – 23 April 1751) was count of Thorigny, Prince of Monaco
Prince of Monaco
The Reigning Prince or Princess of Monaco is the sovereign monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. All Princes or Princesses thus far have taken the name of the House of Grimaldi, but have belonged to various other houses in male line...

 as Jacques I and the fourth Duke of Valentinois
Duke of Valentinois
Duke of Valentinois , formerly Count of Valentinois, is a title of nobility, originally in the French peerage. It is currently one of the many hereditary titles claimed by the Prince of Monaco despite its extinction in French law in 1949...

 from 1731 until 1733.

Biography

Jacques came from an ancient Norman
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 family. "Thorigny" is now called Torigni-sur-Vire
Torigni-sur-Vire
Torigni-sur-Vire is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-Heraldry:-See also:*Communes of the Manche department...

, where the Mairie, or town hall, is the former family chateau. His uncle was Marshal of France Charles-Auguste de Goyon-Matignon.


He was son of Jacques Goyon de Matignon, jure uxoris
Jure uxoris
Jure uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife". It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband....

Count of Thorigny, and Charlotte Goyon de Matignon, Countess of Thorigny.

When Antonio I of Monaco
Antonio I of Monaco
Antonio I was the Prince of Monaco from 1701 to 1731. He was the elder son of Louis I, Prince of Monaco and Catherine Charlotte de Gramont....

 and his wife Marie de Lorraine
Marie of Lorraine
Marie of Lorraine was a princess of the House of Lorraine and Princess of Monaco as wife of Antonio I of Monaco. She was the mother of Louise Hippolyte Grimaldi, the only sovereign Princess of Monaco....

 was looking for a wedding partner for his daughter and heir Louise Hippolyte of Monaco, the family proposed him as a candidate. The prospect of his own Principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....

 was very attractive and his candidacy was supported by King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...

, who wanted to consolidate the French influence in Monaco.

Jacques and Louise Hippolyte married on 20 October 1715 and had eight children. The wedding ceremony was the first official act that the five year old King
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...

 Louis XV carried out during the Regency
Régence
The Régence is the period in French history between 1715 and 1723, when King Louis XV was a minor and the land was governed by a Regent, Philippe d'Orléans, the nephew of Louis XIV of France....

 of the Duke of Orléans
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...

.

The marriage wasn't very happy. Jacques preferred to stay more in Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...

 than in Monaco, where he had several mistresses.

After the death of Antonio I of Monaco, Louise Hippolyte traveled from Paris to Monaco on April 4, 1731 and received an enthusiast reception by the population. When Jacques joined her few times later, the reception was much colder.

At the end of 1731, Louise Hippolyte died of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

. Jacques I neglected the affairs of state and, under pressure from the population, had to leave the country in May 1732. He abdicated in favor of his son Honoré
Honoré III, Prince of Monaco
Honoré III ruled as Prince of Monaco and was Duke of Valentinois for almost sixty years from 1733 to 1793...

 the next year.

He spent the last years of his life in Versailles and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. It was at Versailles that Mademoiselle du Maine
Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1707–1743)
Louise Françoise de Bourbon was a grand daughter of Louis XIV of France and his mistress Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, better known as Madame de Montespan...

, a grand daughter of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...

 and Madame de Montespan was proposed as a wife for the widowed Prince; despite having a large dowry, (she was the daughter of the duc du Maine
Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine
Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Legitimé de France was the eldest legitimised son of the Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan...

 and his wife, the formidable Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon) the marriage never materialised and the Prince never married again.

His Paris residence was named after him Hôtel Matignon
Hôtel Matignon
The Hôtel Matignon is the official residence of the Prime Minister of France. It is located in the VIIe arrondissement of Paris, France.The address of Hotel Matignon is 57 rue de Varenne, Paris, France.-History:...

and is today the official residence of the Prime Minister of France. Prior to his death, he was a frequent visitor to Versailles with his son.

Issue

  • Antoine Charles Marie (16 December 1717 - 4 February 1718), Marquiss des Baux and Count of Matignon.
  • Charlotte Thérèse Nathalie (19 March 1719 - 1790), nun at the Convent of Visitation at Paris.
  • Honoré III Camille Léonor
    Honoré III, Prince of Monaco
    Honoré III ruled as Prince of Monaco and was Duke of Valentinois for almost sixty years from 1733 to 1793...

     (10 November 1720-21 March 1795), successor of his parents.
  • Charles Marie Auguste (1 January 1722–24 August 1749), Count of Carladés and Matignon.
  • Jacques (9 June 1723-June 1723).
  • Louise Françoise (15 July 1724–15 September 1729), Mademoiselle des Baux.
  • François Charles (4 February 1726 –9 December 1743), Count of Thorigny.
  • Charles Maurice (14 May 1727–18 January 1798), Count of Valentinois; married on 10 November 1749 to Marie Christine Chrétienne de Rouvrois; no issue.
  • Marie Françoise Thérése (20 July 1728-20 June 1743), Mademoiselle d'Estouteville.
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