Monaco · Duchy of Valentinois

Valentinois is a historic region in southeastern France. Its centre lies around Valence on the Rhône; in the Middle Ages, a county existed there. Its rights passed to the French dauphin in the early 15th century and thus later to the Crown. The name subsequently referred less to an independent state than to a French fief or noble title.

King Louis XII elevated Valentinois to a duchy in 1498 and bestowed it on Cesare Borgia. He was a son of Pope Alexander VI and played a military and political role in the power struggles of the Italian Renaissance. The grant was connected with the rapprochement between the French king and the Pope. After Borgia’s death, the title reverted to the Crown. In the 16th century, it was also granted for life to Diane de Poitiers, the influential confidante of King Henry II.

Valentinois became relevant to Monaco in the 17th century. With the Treaty of Péronne in 1641, Prince Honoré II ended Spanish protection over Monaco and placed the principality under French protection. In this context, King Louis XIII granted him French possessions and noble titles, including the ducal title of Valentinois. This grant formed part of the political and material reorganisation of relations between Monaco and France.

The title played another role in the Monegasque succession in the 20th century. In 1919, Prince Albert I bestowed it on Charlotte Grimaldi, the legitimised daughter of the future Prince Louis II. Charlotte was included in the line of succession and was the mother of Rainier III. She later renounced her rights to the throne in favour of her son.

Valentinois therefore does not represent a present-day Monegasque territorial possession, but rather the history of French fiefs, the change in foreign-policy direction in 1641, and the dynastic succession of the Grimaldi family. However, the information available does not indicate any specific round anniversary as the direct reason for the issue.