History

Recent History

Prince Rainier's rule modernised Monaco and weaned it from its dependence on gambling revenue, which in recent years has accounted for less than 5% of the GDP. Citizens benefited from a tax-free life of cradle-to-grave security.

Tourism in all its permutations, from daytripping to conventioneering, became the backbone of the economy, although banking was also another major contributor to state coffers. The anonymity of those banking in Monaco is closely guarded, leading to allegations from some parts that the principality tolerates money laundering - a charge which is of course strenuously denied.

There have been efforts to further modernise Monaco, with the delivery in mid-2002 of an impressive floating jetty that was designed to double the port's capacity. Laws were passed in the same year to ensure that the Grimaldi family would remain in power even if Crown Prince Albert wasn't able to come up with a legitimate heir.

Prince Rainier, who had ruled the principality since 1949, finally died on 6 April 2005 after a series of prolonged illnesses, and was buried alongside his wife, Princess Grace, at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Monaco. He was succeeded by his son Prince Albert, who became Prince Albert II.

Modern Day History

Modern Monégasque history is inseparable from that of Prince Rainier III. Born in 1923 (d. 2005), the Prince acceded to the throne in 1949. His fairy tale marriage to movie star Grace Kelly in 1956 was the icing on the cake of Monaco's glamorous image. When the royal family is made up of leggy models and icily beautiful screen stars, representative democracy seems a tad dull in comparison. However, the Prince possessed a wide range of executive powers that made him much more than just a figurehead. In 1962 he instituted a National Council elected by native Monégasques, just 16% of the population. As all laws must be passed by the principality's ruler, the Council is mostly for show, and in a country without income tax there's very little to discuss anyway. Besides, with 300 sunny days a year, voting would be a criminal waste of tanning time.

Because residents of Monaco pay no income tax, the principality became something of a tax haven for the private jet set. Famous faces from the sporting or cinema worlds flitted in and out of expensive boutiques or zoomed through the streets in expensive cars, knowing their money was safe in Monaco. The principality was admitted to the UN as a full member in 1993.

Pre 20th Century History

Monaco's history is pretty much the history of the Grimaldi family. The country is their private playground, and they are its raison d'etre - a 1918 treaty with France states that, should the Grimaldis die out Monaco will become an autonomous state of France.

The area which is now Monaco has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Legend has it that during the Roman era a young Corsican Christian named Dévote was executed and her body placed in a boat for Africa. The boat drifted off course and ran aground on the coast of modern-day Monaco, where a state was founded in her honour.

The first serious spate of building in the area - the perimeters of today's Prince's Palace - was undertaken by the Ligurians, a Ghibelline Genovese dynasty that ruled Monaco in the 13th century. But on 8 January 1297 the first of the Grimaldis, François, snuck into the citadel behind the backs of the Ghibellines and scored his heirs 700 years' worth of easy living.

In 1489 King Charles VIII of France recognised Monaco's independence. Although they were leading separate lives, and despite Monaco's brief flirtation with Spanish dominance between 1524 and 1641, France and Monaco remained close. Eventually, however, France's possessive nature got the better of it, and in 1793 the new Revolutionary regime annexed Monaco. A treaty signed in 1861 reinstated Monaco's independence, and bickering in recent decades has been restricted to the question of tax laws - Monaco refuses to tax French residents or French companies with their headquarters in Monaco.