A Royal Divorce ?

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 951, 19 April 1930, Page 18

A Royal Divorce ?

Heiress to Throne of Monaco Refuses to Return to Palace

■ RINCE LOUIS OF MONACO, the reigning sovereign of the little Riviera State which contains the famous casino of Monte Carlo, had, it was recently announced, striven in vain for 48 hours to bring about a reconciliation between his adopted daughter the Hereditary Crown Princess Charlotte and her husband, Prince Pierre. He brought the couple together in a private villa at Cap Martin with their legal representatives, and pointed out to them how serious the judicial separation which both appear desirous of seeking would be at a moment when Monaco is torn by political dissensions. Princess Charlotte informed her father that she had no intention of resuming marital relations with her husband, and that she would not return to the principality so long as Prince Pierre remained there. If matters went to extremes she intended to claim the custody of her two children, Princess Antoinette and Prince Rainier. She declared that her husband and herself had not lived as man and wife for years. The news of the estrangement has astonished the inhabitants of the tiny but w-ealthy Principality. The Princess is 31 and the Prince 35. They w-ere married in 1920. Prince Pierre has brought a suit against his wife for alleged desertion of the family home, and demands that their two children shall be handed over to his care. It is stated that Prince Louis made desperate efforts to keep the estrangement secret, but the prolonged absence of the Princess finally brought matters to a head. The suit is based on the allegation that Princpss Charlotte last summer went away under the pretext of illhealth to a nursing home near San Remo. She returned to Monaco in the autumn, and it is novy reported that, despite many appeals from her father and husband, she is at tlie nursing home again, and refuses to resume residence life in the palace. To prevent the acute domestic difference from being the subject of action in the French divorce courts, the Monegasque legal authorities have taken hurried action. They have arranged the couple a legal separation. The two children of the marriage are staying at Cannes, and are being closely guarded to prevent any possible attempt at kidnapping. The refusal of Princess Charlotte to live any longer with her husband. Prince Pierre, has led to a bitter political quarrel in the principality. The majority of the voters who

I have to re-elect the consultative l bodies are strongly in favour of Prince Pierre. They have had their quarrels with the reigning monarch, and they have grown to rely on Prince Pierre to support them in the event of future crises. The fact that the domestic . differences between the Prince and his charming young wife have leaked out has caused an upheaval in the Court life of Monaco. Colonel Alban Castaldi, who is personal aide-de-camp to Prince Louis, has resigned. Countess Castaldi, his wife, and Mme, Bartholini, Ladies-in-Waiting to the Princess, have also resigned and left the palace. Prince Louis, it is stated, has sent an urgent summons to his daughter to return. Apparently Princess Char lotte does not think fit to obey her father’s orders. The Princess, it will be remembered, is the adopted daughter of Prince Louis, having been legitimatised by the latter’s father, who was then reigning Prince, and created

hereditary Princess. Her humble birth on her mother's side is an open secret. She - was given an English education at a convent near Bramber, Sussex. While there she was given police protection to prevent any attempt to kidnap her. The Princess recently intervened successfully in the dispute between her father and the Monegasque electors regarding the conduct of publicaffairs. It is reported that the population- of the little State intends to petition for the renouncement of Princess Charlotte’s claims to the throne in favour of young Prince Rainier.