The son of Hercule I, Honoré II (1597-1662) became Lord of Monaco in 1604 at the age of six, with his maternal uncle acting as regent. In 1612, he assumed the title Prince of Monaco, the first of the Grimaldi dynasty. In 1641, keen to break with the Spanish protectorate, the Prince signed the Treaty...
The son of Hercule I, Honoré II (1597-1662) became Lord of Monaco in 1604 at the age of six, with his maternal uncle acting as regent. In 1612, he assumed the title Prince of Monaco, the first of the Grimaldi dynasty. In 1641, keen to break with the Spanish protectorate, the Prince signed the Treaty of Péronne, sealing the alliance between the Principality of Monaco and the Kingdom of France. Honoré II drove the Spanish from Monaco, and created a new Monegasque nobility in gratitude to those who had fought beside him. A French garrison was installed in the Principality. To compensate for his lost Spanish possessions, the Prince of Monaco was granted French lands and titles by Louis XIII, including the titles of Duke of Valentinois, Marquess of Les Baux, and Count of Carladès. On his death in 1662, he was succeeded as Sovereign Prince of Monaco by his grandson, Louis I.
This bust of Honoré II was made around 1650 by the Genoese sculptor Lazare Ratto. Thanks to the generosity of the Monegasque people, the piece was installed on a town house on 30 December 1660 by Cantone of Genoa, who was responsible for all architectural work at the Prince’s Palace until the Prince’s death. The bust was later moved to the front of the new Palais de Justice, inaugurated in 1930. In 2018, the bust was restored and displayed as part of the exhibition “Princes and Princesses of Monaco” in Beijing’s Forbidden City. Since then, the original work has been kept in the Prince’s Gallery at the Prince’s Palace. A marble copy of the bust can be seen in an alcove at the Palais de Justice.
