Monaco · 200th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Prince Honoré V

Honoré V.’s full name was Honoré Gabriel Grimaldi. He was born in Paris in 1778, the son of the future Prince Honoré IV. and Louise d’Aumont. His youth coincided with the French Revolution. France annexed Monaco in 1793; members of the Grimaldi family were temporarily imprisoned and their possessions confiscated. Honoré later pursued a military career in French service and was part of the French nobility during the Napoleonic era.

After Napoleon’s defeat, the Grimaldi family regained rule over Monaco in 1814. However, Honoré IV. was scarcely able to govern himself due to his poor health. His son therefore assumed part of the governmental duties before his father’s death. When Honoré IV. died in 1819, Honoré V. succeeded him as Prince.

The political conditions of his rule differed from those before the Revolution. Monaco was now under the protection of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which also ruled in neighbouring Piedmont and Nice. This dependence limited the small principality’s scope for action in foreign and economic policy. At the same time, the state finances were strained. Honoré V. attempted to regulate revenue and economic activity through state regulations, monopolies and the promotion of businesses. The associated burdens and interventions led to discontent, particularly in Menton and Roquebrune.

Honoré V. ruled until his death in 1841. As he left no legitimate descendants, he was succeeded by his brother Florestan I. The later secession of Menton and Roquebrune in the revolutionary year 1848 was partly rooted in conflicts that had already intensified during Honoré’s reign.

The coin issue forms part of Monaco’s practice of commemorating anniversaries of the Grimaldi dynasty and milestones in its own history of rule on commemorative coins. The succession to the throne in 1819 marked the transition from the restoration period after Napoleon to an independent reign under Sardinian protection.