Monday 18 April 2005

On the Eve of Grace: The First American Princess of Monaco - Part II

Click here for Part I

In February 1890, some 66 years before Grace Kelly arrived in Monaco to marry Prince Rainier III, Marie Alice Heine made her debut in Monaco as the principality’s first American princess. Accomplished, articulate, beautiful, well-connected and spectacularly wealthy, Her Serene Highness Princess Alice of Monaco had no reason to believe her life in Monaco would be anything but a success. Further bolstering her confidence would have been the fact that she was evidently compatible with her new husband, Prince Albert I, with whom she had carried on a love affair for four years prior to their marriage in October 1889. Unfortunately, as with the modern Grimaldis, fate rudely interfered with the fairy tale of Prince Albert and Princess Alice.  

Since Albert already had an heir, Prince Louis, by his first wife, it would seem that there was little pressure on Princess Alice, who was 32 when she first arrived in Monaco, to have any children. Free from that burden, Alice essentially went about moving her popular Parisian intellectual salon to Monaco. The intelligentsia readily flocked to the principality, but there was a problem – Monaco was severely lacking the cultural and artistic attractions so familiar in Paris. By herself, Princess Alice was certainly capable of attracting the great minds of the world to Monaco, but her presence alone would not keep them there. Early on, Alice knew she had to make Monaco a cultural center, but she was also aware that such an undertaking would be an uphill battle as long as gambling was Monaco’s chief attraction.  

The casino had attracted more than a few undesirable elements to Monaco and the country was derided by many, including Queen Victoria, as being a den of vice. European royalty and aristocracy came to Monte Carlo to show off their wealth – and lose quite a bit of it in the process – while newly rich Americans hovered around them like moths at a light bulb, undoubtedly hoping to somehow ingratiate themselves with “old” money. The Kitty Kelly of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, Marguerite Cunliffe-Owen, cloaked under the pen name, “The Marquise de Fontenoy,” undoubtedly spoke for many of her contemporaries when she called Monaco, “the Great Gambling Hell.” Not even the beautiful new opera house in Monte Carlo, known as the Salle Garnier, could detract from the perception that Monaco was a place for debauchery more than culture. 

On the other hand, it was almost entirely thanks to gambling that Monaco had risen in just 20 years from one of the poorest states in Europe to a country so prosperous that it could afford to exempt its citizens from all forms of direct taxation. Albert’s father, Charles III – who Albert had succeeded on September 10, 1889 – was credited with sparking this miracle, and Albert himself owed his personal prosperity largely to the casino. Perhaps because of this, the Marquise de Fontenoy’s opinion of Prince Albert as a “contemptible personage” was no more flattering than her opinion of Monaco itself. Ironically, Prince Albert professed a strong dislike for the institution of gambling in his principality. According to Anne Edwards, “Albert was never easy about the idea that his wealth was based on gambling losses.” And, considering the gambling industry was a major impediment in achieving her personal goals for Monaco, Alice was no fan either. 

That said, the early 1890s would have been an opportune time to dispense with the casino in Monaco, particularly since Alice had brought to the marriage a reported dowry of $6 million – the equivalent of around $120 million today. In fact, according to Albert and Alice’s long-tongued contemporary, the Marquise de Fontenoy, in her 1892 book, “Revelation: High Life in European Palaces,” Alice had:  

“…announced her intention of transforming the Casino of Monte Carlo into a kind of hospital for the poor and ailing who require a warm climate for their delicate health, as soon as the present tenancy of M. Blanc, ‘Prince’ Roland Bonaparte and Prince Radzivill – the three lessees of the public gaming tables – expires. She is determined, if possible, to wipe out, by means of charity and benevolence, the infamous souvenirs of the place and to devote a portion of her vast wealth to this purpose. It was the knowledge of these intentions on her part that led Queen Victoria to treat her with marked courtesy on the occasion of her last visit to England, and to accord for the first time any sort of recognition to her husband.” 

Whether Alice actually wanted to put a hospital in the casino or the claim is merely gossipy hyperbole is unclear. What is certain is that, regardless of Albert and Alice’s outward show of contempt for the Casino, Alice’s father, the financier Michel Heine, was charged with renegotiating the casino’s contract with François Blanc’s widow to include terms even more favorable to the prince’s coffers. Interestingly, Anne Edwards points out that one of Michel Heine’s negotiating tools was to threaten that “Alice might use her influence to close the Casino if changes were not made.” 

In the end, it seems as though the prince and princess of Monaco’s shared dislike of the casinos was more of a public relations and bargaining tool than an actual solid principal. After all, it wasn’t really the Queen Victoria’s of the world that they were courting, particularly when another British royal, the Prince of Wales – who was clearly drawn to Monaco by the casino – was so much more fun. Although no intellectual, the Prince of Wales brought something to Monaco that must have been equally desirable to Princess Alice – excellent social connections. And, while social respectability for Monaco was certainly also a consideration of Prince Albert’s, the casino’s profits kept him doing what he loved best – embarking on expensive oceanographic explorations. Even the Marquise de Fontenoy gave Albert some backhanded credit when she said, “The only thing that the Prince of Monaco has done towards redeeming his evil reputation and atoning for his past, is his recent research into the nature of marine currents and into the conditions of animal life at a great depth beneath the surface.” But even she did not make the connection that what she abhorred most about Monaco and Prince Albert was the same element that made his positive achievements possible. 

So, with the gambling industry firmly established in Monaco and generating plenty of income for Prince Albert and Princess Alice, the two set their sites on fulfilling their greatest ambitions. Albert began spending more and more time away on marine expeditions, while Alice set to work introducing Monaco to the theatre, ballet, and opera. Among these, her chief preoccupation was turning the Salle Garnier into the cultural center of Monaco. While both Albert and Alice were abundantly successful in their respective endeavors, their success had the unfortunate effect of distancing them from each other, both physically and emotionally. Left alone for long periods of time, Alice took a growing personal interest in an up-and-coming composer, Isidore de Lara, whose second opera “Amy Robsart” was being considered for the 1894-1895 Monaco opera season. Born in London on August 9, 1858 as Isidore Cohen, de Lara was certainly artistic and intellectual enough for Princess Alice’s taste, although his physical description makes him seem somewhat of an unusual choice. Anne Edwards describes de Lara as: “Under five feet tall, he had a hunched back and arms and shoulders that were overdeveloped for his size.” But Edwards goes on to justify, “…he had a stunningly handsome face, huge burning dark eyes, a strong Roman nose, and robust, swarthy coloring. His success had given him an aura of great self-assurance, and he exuded a seductive charm.” 

Clearly attracted to de Lara, Princess Alice saw to it that he was given a generous six-year contract with the Monte Carlo opera. Since Albert spent more time out at sea on his boat named the “Princesse Alice” than he did with the actual Princess Alice, it’s possible to comprehend just how easy it must have been for Alice and de Lara to carry out an affair. And that’s just what they did for several years, with Albert seemingly oblivious of what was happening. During this time, Alice managed to bring culture and class to Monaco, while never actually turning the Monte Carlo Casino into a hospital. In 1899, she also met and became friendly with the Princess of Wales – a relationship that would grow in the future. Otherwise, in some eight years, little appears to have disrupted the status quo that developed between the three key players – Alice, Albert and Isidore de Lara. One exception is an unverified incident mentioned in “The Grimaldis of Monaco.” The story goes that, in 1900, Albert returned to Monaco from one of his many voyages to find “Ici dort de Lara” (“Here sleeps de Lara”) written on a wall of the palace.  

By 1902, however, Prince Albert must have suspected something since a relatively minor indiscretion managed to blow up into a public row and marital debacle. On February 18, Albert and Alice attended, as they often did, the premiere of the latest opera, Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame, at the Salle Garnier, but it was far from an average evening. According to Anne Edwards: 

“As Alice, on the arm of her husband, started toward the steps leading to the Royal Box, de Lara approached. Alice turned toward him and the two had a whispered exchange. To the shock of everyone watching, the Prince completely lost control of his emotions; and when Alice turned back to him, he slapped her across the face.” 

Displaying incredible self control, Alice calmly turned away from her husband and made her way to the box while Albert left the opera house. Within days, Alice left Monaco and by May 30, she and Albert were legally separated, with Alice paying Albert a reported five million francs as part of the separation settlement.  

Evidently unfazed, Alice was settled at Claridge’s Hotel in London – as was de Lara – by the time of the separation. Likewise, without missing a beat, Alice – still Princess of Monaco – proceeded to host a salon in London as renowned as the one she had hosted in Paris years earlier. Among her regular guests were Winston Churchill and Rudyard Kipling. Alice’s friendship with the Princess of Wales, who became Queen Alexandra in 1901, also grew. Throughout, her reputation for elegance and style appears never to have diminished. During the reign of Britain’s King George V, Alice was befriended by another Claridge’s resident, Hui-lan Oei Koo, wife of the Chinese diplomat Wellington Koo. According to the book “The Stone of Heaven,” by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, Hui-lan recalled that Alice “never emerged from her bedroom without wearing a choker of egg-sized pearls.” And, as gracious and generous as ever, during World War I, Alice – still living in London – converted her country home in France, the Château de Haut-Boussin, into an army hospital. 

Meanwhile, her estranged husband did what he had always done – focused his energies on oceanography. In 1902, he founded the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology in Monaco, followed in 1910 by the Oceanographic Institute in Paris and the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco. Outside of his scientific endeavors, the prince also made changes to the principality. In 1911, Albert granted Monaco its first constitution and, in July 1918, he agreed to a treaty contained in the Treaty of Versailles that provided limited French protection of Monaco. The prince also did his part to promote tourism in Monaco by introducing the now world-famous Monte Carlo Rally (Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo) in 1911.  

In the midst of his many scientific and political accomplishments, Albert was having less luck with his son, with whom he had never been close. In the late 1800s, Prince Louis had an affair with Juliet Louvet, who has been described as everything from a laundress to a cabaret singer. In 1898, Juliet bore Louis an illegitimate daughter, Charlotte Louise Juliette, in Algeria. When it became obvious that Louis was not going to marry and produce a legitimate heir, Albert saw to it that Charlotte was brought to Monaco, where she was gradually legitimatized and, on May 16, 1919, created duchess of Valentinois and placed second in line to the throne after her father.¹ Less than a year later, she was married off to the French Count Pierre de Polignac. In 1923, the couple’s heir, Rainier, was born.² 

Prince Albert I of Monaco did not live to see the birth of his great-grandson. He died on June 26, 1922 and was succeeded by his son, who became Prince Louis II of Monaco. Albert and Alice had never divorced and she outlived him by more than four years, dying in Paris on December 22, 1926. To the end, Alice and Isidore de Lara continued their relationship and, after her death, de Lara never published another musical composition. He died in Paris in August 1935. 

Almost 80 years after her death, Alice’s role as the first American princess of Monaco seems to have been all but forgotten, especially in light of the tremendous impact made by Grace Kelly. It might be said that Alice would have been more important to history if she and Prince Albert had children together, particularly with the looming succession issue created by Prince Louis. But speculation on what might have been makes little difference now. Fortunately, it is possible to find bits and pieces of Alice’s legacy if you look hard enough. To start with, like many historical royal women, she has a rose named after her – a tea rose, to be precise, and at least one street named for her – the Rue Princesse Alice de Monaco in Cherré, France, near Le Mans. One part of the world that most certainly has not forgotten Alice is her birthplace, New Orleans, Louisiana. Today, one of the houses that was built and owned by Alice’s maternal relatives is an event venue known as The Princess of Monaco Courtyard and Carriage House (http://www.experienceneworleans.com/princess/). Befittingly, one full page of the web site is devoted to Alice. 

In accordance with her importance among literary circles, Alice has also been immortalized in literature. Modern author Carole Nelson Douglas features Alice in her 1991 book, “Good Morning, Irene,” a detective novel starring a female Sherlock Holmes named Irene Adler. During her own lifetime, Alice’s close friend Oscar Wilde dedicated “The Fisherman and His Soul” – one of four fairy tales in his 1891 book, “A House of Pomegranates” – to her. In his autobiography, “Son of Oscar Wilde,” the writer’s youngest son, Vyvyan Holland, writes: “…one of the people who had remained loyal to my father was Princess Alice of Monaco. She had always protested against the inhumanity of his treatment. She was a devout Catholic and it was she who suggested that I should go to Jesuit school, promising my mother that she would keep an eye on me, see that I was reasonably happy, and let me come and play with her family on Sundays and holidays, whenever I wished to do so.” Alice also made a deep impression on Marcel Proust, who spent time at her intellectual and literary salon in Paris. Undoubtedly enamored with Alice, he based the Princesse de Luxembourg in “In Search of Lost Time” (“À la recherche du temps perdu”) on her.  

Most importantly, Princess Alice can be remembered for bringing art, culture and sophistication to Monaco. In essence, she laid the groundwork for the accomplishments of Princess Grace, who helped make Monaco the modern and glamorous destination it is today. And, like her successor, the ups and downs of Princess Alice’s life undoubtedly helped to perpetuate the notions of the fairy tale of Monaco and the curse of the Grimaldis.

Until next time, 

- Tori Van Orden Martínez

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¹ Monaco’s law allowing for the adoption of an heir originates from this time. According to Wikipedia, “…in 1911 a law was passed recognizing his bastard daughter, Charlotte, as Prince Louis’s acknowledged heir, and making her a part of the sovereign family. This law was later held to be invalid under the 1882 statutes. Thus another law was passed in 1918 modifying the statutes to allow the adoption of an heir, with succession rights. Charlotte was formally adopted by Louis in 1919, and became Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi, Hereditary Princess of Monaco, and Duchess of Valentinois.”

² On May 30, 1944, just one day short of Prince Rainier’s 21^st birthday, Princess Charlotte renounced her rights to the Monegasque crown in favor of her son. When Prince Louis II died on May 9, 1949, his grandson succeeded him as Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Princess Charlotte died on November 17, 1977.

^* For contemporary depictions of Princess Alice, Prince Albert I, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis II, go to http://www.values.ch/Countries/Monaco/monaco1.htm and scroll down to the last four images. From left to right are: Princess Alice, Prince Albert, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.