Noble Blood - The Princess of Monte Carlo

Episode Date: October 25, 2022

In 1841, it seemed inevitable that the small, impoverished principality of Monaco would be absorbed by one of its larger neighbors. But the new Princess had an idea, a risky and possibly dangerous idea to save her country: a casino. Support Noble Blood: — Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon — Merch! — Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' and pre-order its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists. We have an incredible new episode this week for you guys. We have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode. They put on Lizzie McGuire at 2 a.m. Video on Demand.

This guy's bobo-bubim. 2 a whatever time it is. Lizzie McGuire. And I'm like, the paper view. It was like a first closet moment from me where I was like, I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of that. No, no, no. I was like, she's beautiful.

But I'm appreciating her. in a different way than these boys are. I'm not like, but listen to Los Goldsou-Juristas on the I-HeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast. Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of IHeart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. Hey guys, this is Dana Schwartz, the host of Noble Blood. One, thank you so much for listening. But second, this is a very annoying announcement. But I wrote this book called Anatomy a Love story, which is about a young woman who wants to be a surgeon in 1800 Scotland. And I wrote a sequel that

is coming out in February. It's called Immortality, a Love Story. And I think if you like Noble Blood, you will really like both of these books, really. My publishers are telling me that pre-orders are like the most important thing when it comes to book publishing. So if you are intrigued or interested at all, it would mean so much to me if you took a look and possibly pre-ordered immortality. But, you know, just thank you so much for listening to the show and sorry to be making a plug. Back to our podcast. In 1855, a regal woman summoned her closest advisor to a secret meeting. She was in her mid-60s, once a self-styled countess in Paris, but now a real royal of a country in peril. Her advisor was a French lawyer, and she needed him to do something.

for her. Make the journey north to Hess Holmberg, a small but sovereign state along the Rhine River, bring her news of its casino. She was Princess Maria Caroline of Monaco, usually known as Princess Caroline, not to be confused with Monaco's current princess of the same name. It was 1855, and her tiny country was not the paradise of millionaires that we know it as. today. In fact, Monaco's finances were in dire straits. The casino at Montecarlo had not yet even been imagined. The citrus trade that had kept the Monte Carlo economy propped up was gone. Princess Caroline's husband, Floriston, had no interest in running a country. Caroline's son, Charles, found her pushy and overbearing, a presumptuous woman meddling in men's affairs.

Less than a hundred years prior, Monaco had been absorbed by the neighboring French. There was always a feeling of threat from the neighboring Sardinians. Monaco's future as an independent state was uncertain. And there in the north of Europe was Bad Holmberg, a casino, making what Princess Caroline assumed was an immense amount of cash for the state. Her advisor returned from his reconnaissance mission with gleaming eyes. The Grand Duke von Hess Hesse Homburg was earning 350,000 francs per year from his casino. Hundreds of thousands of tourists flocked to the spa town flanking the gambling halls. Princess Caroline's mind started spinning.

At this time, there was no home for gambling in all of Southern Europe, no casinos anywhere along the French Riviera. Francois Blanc, the visionary who operated Bad Omburg, could likely be convinced to venture south. But gambling is a messy business. Maybe not suited for a woman. Maybe not suited for a country. Someday there would be lists of Monte Carlo's suicide,

published in the papers, reports of people pushed to financial and moral ruin. There would also be gatherings of the wealthiest people in the world in their white sunhats and designer bikinis, sunbathing on the Azure coastline. If you think of Monaco today, maybe you think of that coastline. Maybe you picture the beautiful American actress Grace Kelly, who became the principality's most famous princess in 1956. Maybe you envision the race car zooming past the docked yachts at the Monaco Grand Prix. Maybe you know that Monaco is the second smallest sovereign state on earth after Vatican City.

At 0.81 square miles, it is a little more than half the size of New York City's central park. At a little over 39,000 residents, it has the population of West Fargo, North Dakota, not Fargo, which is bigger. Certainly, you think of the casino, Monte Carlo, arguably the most famous casino in the world. It sits in a resort town nestled along the French Riviera, surrounded by France and near the border with Italy. income from the casino has made the place a tax haven for millionaires who, along with the rest of the Monaco population, pay no income taxes.

Nearly one out of three residents of Monaco is a millionaire, the 33%, we might say. That means Monaco has over 12,000 millionaires in less than one square mile. The poverty rate is 0%. Of its 39,000 and change residents, only about 9,000 are Montagasc, people who are native to Monaco. In an economy built on gambling, the Montagasc are subject to a strange rule. They are not allowed to enter the casino at Monte Carlo unless they are an employee. It is an unusual rule that is part of the unlikely story of how, tiny, vulnerable Monaco, has managed to survive as an independent nation, century after century.

The name Montecarlo means Mount Charles, named for the Princess Caroline's son. But the brains behind the operation were hers. Because back in 1855, Monaco was approaching the kind of financial misfortune that could only mean the risk of losing independence. and one woman who would have to hide her actions behind the name of a man, looked into her advisor's eyes and thought of the desperation of the gambler at the table, the roulette wheel flashing before him, the coins thrown on the table, the despair and alcohol in the open, empty wallets, and she saw the path to saving her country.

I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. In January 1297, a man dressed in the brown, humble robe and hood of a Franciscan monk arrived at the entrance of the castle of the Ghibellin, a group of genuens who held the fortress at Monaco. The monk's hands were hidden under his robes, surely devoutly clasped. The time of year was around the Christmas season, a welcoming religious spirit. spirit was in the air. The monk was granted admittance. But this was no monk. The man in the brown robes was Francesco Grimaldi, known as Ill Malitia, mal as in bad, cunning, spiteful. Also, it turns out, violent. No sooner did the seemingly innocent monk enter the castle,

then he revealed that in his clasped hands was held a dagger. Joined by followers he had planted in advance, he stabbed his way through the fortress until he had claimed Monaco for himself. With occasional breaks, the Grimaldes have held the country ever since. And this is a tip for anyone playing trivial pursuit. The Grimaldes are the longest reigning royal family.

centuries later it was this line that would produce Honoré the Fourth, crowned Prince of Monaco in 1814 who fathered two sons, first another Honoré and then seven years later Floristan. Both boys were born in France. Honoré the Fourth died at age 60, officially by drowning in the Sen. But as he was at least partially paralyzed at the time of his death, a casually. swim in the river seemed unlikely. Rumors swirled that it was a suicide. His eldest son, Honoré V, took over as prince, while the new prince's younger brother,

Floriston, continued to live in Paris, where he'd gone to become an actor and wound up marrying a well-off French woman named Maria Caroline Gilbert. Every source I could find takes a certain, let's say, tone in its disdainful. description of this woman, Maria Caroline, usually known as Caroline. The kindest source, a contemporary one, calls her, quote, a striking Mediterranean beauty with a strong personality, unquote. The descriptions at the time were slightly less circumspect about their views of the gender politics between husband and wife. One history from 1867 writes that, quote, weak and vacillated, Floristin allowed himself to fall at once under the dominion of his wife, unquote.

Other sources portray her as pushy and domineering, an over-ambitious woman meddling in a man's world. Who knows how we would view her in the 21st century? The image of the overbearing, nagging wife certainly still persists today. Probably she was rather pushy. certainly she was ambitious, but likely she was also a sharp businesswoman with a somewhat duller husband, and, well, somebody had to figure out how to handle their personal finances. She took over the logistics of Floristin's life. He had no complaints about it. They had two children, a son, Charles, followed by a daughter. They bought a mansion in France, called themselves the Comte and Comptestes de Grimaldi,

and rented a wing of the house, the spare one, you know, with the ballroom, to a local poet and politician who helped found the Second Republic of France. In the meantime, back in Monaco, Forever Bachelor Honoré V was struggling to come up with a way to improve Monaco's fortunes, any way to improve Monaco's fortunes. Historian Mark Brede lists Honoré's desperate attempts to lift up the economy of his impoverished country with a, quote, Lace-making factory, a perfumery, a distillery, a hat-making workshop, and a plant for making false teeth. End quote. His failures at them all came to an unhappy end on October 2, 1841, when he died the death of the

single person that Liz Lemon feared on 30 Rock. While eating alone, he choked to death. So his younger brother Floristan inherited the throne of Monaco, having never actually lived in Monaco. Maria Carolina arranged a golden carriage to bring the family to their new home, so the people could adore them in the streets. The people, for their part, seemed not to know what to do with them. Maybe the Grimaldives weren't great at ruling. Monaco was in serious financial trouble, but also Monaco. was still independent, and perhaps this brother would get his act together on behalf of the state.

He didn't. The 1867 history of Monaco describes Floristan as, quote, a man utterly unsuited for the task before him. From education and temperament, he was incapable of governing. He had resided in Paris, where he lived in complete obscurity and heedless of the future, till his brother's death called him to Monaco and placed him in a position necessitating a life

little compatible with his tastes. End quote. He inspired a satirical book published in 1874 titled, quote, the fall of Prince Floriston of Monaco by himself. End quote. The fall of me by me, essentially.

Not a guy who was taken particularly seriously. So behind the, the scenes, Princess Caroline took the reins of ruling, and her son, Charles, immediately tried to rest them from her. He wanted to take over from his father. He took this desire so far, so publicly, that in 1842, Princess Caroline wrote her son the following letter, I was chosen by your father to enter one of the highest placed families. In spite of my sex, I became head of a and had to fulfill the obligations attached. You can imagine that in a very small place

where people have been used to the strong will of one person, they must have been greatly astonished to see a prince letting himself be maneuvered, the wife poking her finger into everything, and a son apparently going his own particular way, and often lacking in respect and even consideration where they are due, end quote. The letter continues,

warning her son that if he was in fact saying that he should rule instead of his father, quote, what you would be saying in effect is, I love and respect my mother enough to leave her some of the authority she seems to like so much, but only on condition that she leaves me the rest. Oh no, my young friend, I shall not agree to a deal like that. Having no rights myself, I'm under the cover of your father, end quote. Charles left to go to Turin, where he failed to gain support to take over Monaco. In the meantime, whether under Caroline's direction or Floristons,

the country's fortunes were spiraling downward. In 1848, a secessionist movement succeeded in areas called Menton and Rocco Bruna, and Monaco lost four-fifths of its territories, as well as one of its key industries. The citrus trade. The palace's income slowed to a trickle. France and Sardinia seemed to be growing more threatening every day. Quote, I am an unfortunate little sovereign, said Floristan, crushed between two big neighbors who only hesitate as to the sauce with which they will devour

me, end quote. Monaco was small now, growing ever smaller and vulnerable. And how do you get out of a position of vulnerability? Well, Princess Caroline had spent a lot of time controlling the family's finances, and she had an idea. Money. Princess Caroline had already visited Hess Hamburg, a spa town near present-day Frankfurt.

She had already noted the similarities between that small sovereign state and her own. She must have passed Bod Almberg, the casino. Maybe she heard the joyful shouts of the winners or the moaning laments of the losers. Surely she knew one thing. The house always wins, and the house had to answer to its nobility. If the casino house could win in Monaco, she thought, then so too could the house Grimaldi. She dispatched her lawyer and waited anxiously for his return. Maybe she looked at her son Charles with a wary eye.

Maybe she comforted her husband with the promise of fine clothes and visits to the theater once they increased their fortune. Maybe she worried her lawyer would get caught up in a round of whist himself, though probably not. He had been loyal to her since her days running the mansion back in France. The news he brought back to Monaco was what she had expected. The casino at Bodomberg supported the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke supported the casino. It was the solution Monaco needed, but it wouldn't be easy or without risk.

At the time, a few casinos could be found in Switzerland, Belgium, northern Spain, and a few German-speaking territories, but there were none in southern Europe. In Monaco's neighbor, Sardinia, games of chance were illegal, even if she took her lawyer's advice, which was to play up the spa town angle and play down the gambling angle, Floriston could easily be seen as provoking his more powerful neighbors if he allowed a casino to open in Monaco. But Floriston was not the one in charge of such decisions. Not really.

Princess Caroline wanted a casino. Floristan signed on. One year later, in 1856, Floriston was dead. His son inherited the throne he had always believed he deserved more than his father. In the local tongue, Charles has another name, Carlo. Before Floriston died, he made one last terrible decision that almost derailed the future Monte Carlo. He offered the rights for the spa and casino development to two men, Albert Albert Albert and Napoleon Linguay, who wound up being con artists.

The two had no money. They had never built or run a casino. But they were the two who'd been willing to take a risky bet on Monaco. The brains behind Bad Omburg, Francois Blanc, had wanted nothing to do with it. What if Sardinia or France, decided to crack down. No, not worth the gamble. So Charles inherited an exclusive deal with two grifters who promised to build the casino that was supposed to save the country from an economic quagmire. Princess Caroline insisted that the gambling hall be far from her family's palace,

so the two broke ground in a largely abandoned area and opened Monaco's first casino on November 14th, 1856. The casino was called Villa Bellevue. It was not a rousing success. Villa Bellevue had so little money that if a patron placed a high bet and won big, he could have won more money than the house could pay. The casino's cafe was more plan than reality. It had a 15-piece orchestra that quickly ate the budget and played for virtual. virtually no one. They had a telescope so that dealers could see if anyone was actually coming that day, at which point they would snuff their cigarettes out and run back to the roulette wheel or their table and cross their fingers that no one would win enough to

break the bank. The word casino comes from the Italian Casa, meaning house. A casino is a little house. But Villa Bellevue was more like a stanza, Italian for stopping place. more a little room to stop into than a lovely home to spend a lavish weekend, with little poetry or beauty to be found. The casino changed hands twice, quickly, but no one seemed able to help it. It's not hard to imagine Princess Caroline's embarrassment and disappointment at the lackluster little house that was supposed to be her grand idea to save her country. Luckily for her, Badenberg was starting to feel to Francois Blanc like a bad bet. By the early 1860s, Hezsselberg was looking likely to be absorbed into a unified Germany,

which might change its opinion about the legality and morality of gambling. Blanc met Caroline's lawyer and the latest owner of the Monaco Casino in Paris, in a charming little anecdote during which Blanc claimed he had to stand while the other sat because he had a boil in an unmentionable location. Weird power play, but all right. The truth was Blanc couldn't lose. He'd been the guy Princess Caroline and her lawyer wanted from the start, and Charles was already on board.

Blanc won the contract in 1863, a 50-year exclusive deal to build up the spa and the spot. casino, to support the Montagasc with utilities, to convey tourists between Nice and Monaco, and to pay Charles and his descendants a royal kickback for the rest of time. Blanc opened a new casino and immediately set about making it opulent, grand, a true luxury resort. On July 1, 1866, the final piece of this story was put in place. Charles, rechristened the area, Courtey des Monte Carlo, Mount Charles, named for himself. Princess Caroline's name was nowhere to be found in the title of the new casino,

but she had achieved her vision under the name of her obstinate son, just as she used to work behind her husband. And so, Monte Carlo, the second Charles in Princess Caroline's life, was officially born. Montecarlo flourished and with it the country. Blanc built two train stations to connect Monaco to the world and to invite the world's wealth in. Houses, shops, and hotels were built and opened faster than anyone could keep track of them. Potential gamblers had to be dressed well or they would be turned away at the door. It was like a thrilling exclusive club. Writers described the beauty of the casino in glowing terms. Books were published with titles like Monaco, the beauty spot of the Riviera, in 1882 tract that contains descriptions like, quote,

the splendor of the concert room to many persons may seem exaggerated for the abundance of ornamentation, the glare and glitter of the gold and bronze, the rich reflections of the ruby velvet hangings are perhaps too dazzling, end quote. The plight of a once financially imperiled Monaco seemed lifetimes away. The country was now making money hand over fist. On February 8, 1869, Charles abolished income taxes for all citizens of Monaco. It all seemed like an economic coup. But the palace was not insensitive to the potential dark sides of gambling.

the addiction, the ruin, the risk. Charles decreed that it would be the foreigners who risked their moral lives in the casino. The Montagasc would be forbidden to enter the gambling halls, except to work there. At first blush, this seems unfair. It is unfair, but see it another way, too. Here in the United States, we often see ballot measures in which cities in economic distress want to open casinos as a way to get revenue. It rarely works.

More often than not, the casino will take money from their state's own residents, often the poorest, instead of earning money from outside state borders that they could then keep inside. Via Charles decree, Monaco avoided this problem. They would make money from tourists only. The country prospered. All the while, of course, All the while, of course, the question of moral vice lingered. The press talked in outraged terms about the men and women who lingered together in the gambling halls.

Rumors circulated about old women, having lost it all, given fair for a one-way train ride home. Describing this period from the vantage of 1910, the historian Ethel Colburn, Maine, wrote, quote, quote, I now enter a region of such wild invective, such unbridled scandal, that the very ink turns pale, to no one is left a shred of character, past, present, or to come, end quote. Perhaps a little dramatic. In 1876, a pamphlet and niece listed Montecarlo's losers at the gambling tables who became Monte Carlo's suicides. A pistol bullet. in his heart, a head severed from the trunk by the train between two tunnels at Monaco. A book in the pocket of a corpse inscribed, Monaco will be the destruction of many others, end quote.

Were these vicious, violent rumors true? Were they exaggerated by moralists? Probably a little bit of both. None of the moral problems hampered the casino's growth and reputation on the world stage. Carl Marx visited Monte Carlo in 1882. Edward Monk painted it in 1892. F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda were frequent visitors in the 1920s. American actress Grace Kelly became its most famous princess when she married Princess Caroline's great-great-great-grandson were near the third in 1956. The brains of the operation were gone long before that.

Francois Blanc died a multimillionaire on July 27, 1877. Princess Caroline outlived him by two years, dying in 1879, assured that she had done all she could to set her country and family on a safe path for the future. Monaco's current coat of arms is a suit of red diamonds on white, flanked by two men dressed in friar's robes, brandishing swords. The virtuous with an edge. All a gamble.

All a cunning play. If you squint, the coat of arms looks like a playing card. As for Hess-Omburg, the home of Bad Omburg Casino, the bet Francois Blanc was willing to take first, it was absorbed into Germany. Monaco remains an independent state. That's the story of how Princess Maria Caroline of Monaco had the idea for a casino to save her country,

but stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear a little bit more about the legacy of the Blanc family fortune. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast presents Soccer Moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey.

And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drink.

Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here? Just hit it. What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album?

Come on. Can you pull? I would buy it. Cut through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic.

You're lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcasts, presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. This is my best friend Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip. Just a little bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the

back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Well, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here? Just What are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. I would buy it.

Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh.

Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHop. Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Francois Blanc, designer of the modern Monte Carlo, died with the equivalent of 88 million francs to leave his family. Though the money diminished over time, there was still a substantial sum left for his granddaughter, Marie Bonaparte. Yes, related to that Bonaparte. In 1907, she married Prince George of Greece and Denmark and became Princess. But the marriage had a problem.

Prince George was almost certainly gay. Almost two decades into the marriage, having lived apart from her husband for the majority of it, Blanc's granddaughter sought help for her own blackluster sexual experiences in the form of a brand-new field. Psychoanalysis. She wound up on the couch of a very famous Jewish psychoanalyst, one who would ultimately need a ransom paid to the Nazis in order to escape. Maria Bonaparte used some of the fortune that she had inherited from the founding of Monte Carlo

to pay that ransom and save the life of her psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud. Noble Blood is a production of IHeart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. Noble Blood is hosted by me, Dana Schwartz. Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is produced by Rima Il Kiali, with supervising producer Josh Thane, and executive producers Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick.

For more podcasts from IHeartRadio, visit the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists, We have an incredible new episode this week for you guys. We have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode. They put on Lizzie McGuire 2 a.m. Video on Demand.

This guy's boon-a-m. 2 a.m. Lizzie McGuire. And I'm like, a wild batch you were with. It was like a first like closet moment from me where I was like, I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of that. No, no, no. I was like, she's beautiful.

But I'm appreciating her in a different way than these boys are. I'm not like, but listen to Lascal Jeristas on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or whatever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.