|
Giovanna Noémi Grimaldi Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco Owned by: Jay
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taken as an interview in front of the mirror; she would never be so honest with an actual interviewer.
- What was your first incident of magic and how old were you? (Compulsory)
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I was...eight and a half - " she raises her eyebrows for emphasis, " - and I remember the half because it was colder than usual and icy on the roof where my brother and I were playing. I slipped off the roof and my brother, saint that he is, caught me, and then..." She had to stop and take several deep breaths to clear the image of the scene from her mind. She really did need to go back to therapy; thinking about that moment was still so difficult for her. The sight of him above her, holding on to her hand with both his own, then one, and then... "Well, he let me go. And I was lucky I panic-conjured a small bed of carnations; I made it out with only one broken leg, some bruises, and more importantly, my life. To his dismay, I'm sure."
- Do you believe in love at first sight?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
She chuckles. "No, not anymore. Attraction at first sight, yes; I've been on both sides of that firsthand. I used to strongly believe in love at first sight. But then I told my first girlfriend I would die for her much too soon, and she was kind enough to tell me as much, as well as several other very honest and nastily worded things before she broke up with me. After that, I decided love at first sight really wasn't worth having to lie to anyone else about your feelings. Besides, I really do believe that love is too deep and complex an emotion to happen so quickly."
- Have you ever been in love? If so, with who? If not, do you want to be in love?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"Yes," she scoffs. "Despite what my family and my first girlfriend told me, I do think I was really in love with her. She definitely didn't feel the same way, which hurt." She laughs once, a little bitterly. "But you can't force love, so it truly is what it is. I would like to be in love with someone again...and hopefully do it right."
- How do you want to be remembered by the people around you?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"As long has history doesn't forget that I'm gay, I don't really care all that much. I don't have enough real power or political ambition to do any lasting damage to my country, unlike certain other, blessedly dead relatives of mine. Looking at you, Mother," she adds, just in case her mother really did come back as a ghost like she threatened to.
- What is one activity that helps wind you down? Alternatively, what is one activity that does the opposite to you? Is there more than one, if so-what?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I usually stretch when I need to wind down, or if I'm excessively wound up I'll exercise by my lonesome first to work off some energy. I'm very competitive, so while I enjoy playing games and working out with friends, the moment other people get involved any hope of winding down goes out the window."
- Were you close with your family growing up? If not-why?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"Well, isn't that the question of the hour?" She sighs and shakes her head softly. "I'm never quite sure of my answer. I think I was probably closest with my father; he was far more lenient than my mother and more prone to acting like a normal parent than my mother ever was. He attended my dueling matches and quidditch games and actually supported me, instead of just being there for show like my mother. My mother, on the other hand...seemed only to have one thing on her mind, and most of the attention she paid me tied back to preparing me to succeed her after she'd wrested power back from the High Council." She rolls her eyes. "Even though the Council has existed in virtually the same capacity since the family split four centuries ago." She scoffs. "My mother always wanted too much. She wanted too much power, she wanted too much perfection, she wanted too much obedience. I swear, the only thing she didn't want too much of was trust - except in her, of course. Even before my brother dropped me off the roof, she did her best to convince me that I shouldn't trust him; he wanted the crown for himself, clearly, which made me a target. But...my brother and I were close before the incident." She hesitates before continuing, struggling to vocalize her thoughts even though she's standing alone in her bathroom, gesturing with her toothbrush. "He was annoying, but he was a good brother up until then. He frequently got me out of lessons with my mother, and we'd play in the hidden rooms he'd found in the palace." She feels a tear leak from her eye at the memory and reaches up quickly to wipe it away. "And he was just as annoying after, but it's different once someone tries to kill you."
- What would you say to your younger self and what would they think of you?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I think I would tell my younger self not to listen too attentively to our mother." She thinks for a second before changing her mind. "Actually, I'd tell myself not to be a dumb shit and play on an icy roof. Maybe without my brother dropping me as leverage, my mother wouldn't have been able to make me hate him so much." She snorts. "I'm sure she would have found a way anyway. But I don't think younger me would take too much issue with current me. I did graduate, which truly was my plan, even if I did skip class as much as I could without ruining dueling and quidditch for myself. And I completed my arithmancy apprenticeship with the royal arithmancer, which would surely impress younger me. I thought that woman was terrifying as a child, even if her work did fascinate me to no end." She thinks for a moment, trying to put herself fully into the shoes of her younger self...but not very effectively. "Oh! And my mother is no longer my problem, so overall I am quite successful."
- Where do you see yourself in ten years?
for context, with arithmancy, numbers "reduce" to their core number or whatever - so 10=1+0=1, 23=2+3=5, 69=6+9=15=1+5=6 and so forth
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I prefer to take my life by fives rather than tens. Five, fourteen, twenty-three - last year was a great year for me, actually. My mother finally died shortly after I turned twenty-three. Truly, it was a tragic accident. A spell went stray at a duelling tournament and caused part of the ceiling to collapse, which she was caught under. And not to be graphic, but there's only so much of a building the body can hold before it gives up. And my father died in the same incident, trying to protect her with his own body, which was just as tragic but much more sad. Although he did stand by and watch her try to corrupt my brother and I for twenty-three years without trying to intervene, so you can see why I'm not so brokenhearted over it." Even as she says that, she feels her eyes sting with tears. Objectively, their death was good for her. She succeeded her mother and no longer had to suffer under her control, and she didn't have to manage her father's lingering suspicion that she'd killed her own brother or his constant defense of her mother. But they were still her parents, despite all their many shortcomings, and she was allowed to feel conflicted about their passing, even if she didn't want to show it. "I'm sorry, what was the question?" She looks back down at the list and wipes a spot of toothpaste off the question. "Oh, yes. So let's go with where I see myself at thirty-two. Realistically speaking, someone will probably be pestering me to continue the line at that point, since if I don't have children it will fall to my mother's sister, and she and her brood are...well, they're interesting. I doubt I'll be married, as I fully expect that to be an extremely long process for me, given my romantic history or lack thereof, so with that in mind I will start looking deliberately for a permanent relationship. If I'm lucky enough to have already found someone, we'll likely have a serious talk about children then. Whether legal adoption will meet succession requirements, who would carry our biological child, and so forth."
- What were you like growing up?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I was bored most of the time. None of my "royal" responsibilities were very interesting, and a lot of my classes were terribly dull as well. Sitting still and listening to someone else is not my strong suit. My brother was my partner in crime for most of my childhood, though not always willingly. He was good about finding reasons to get me out of our mother's boring lectures, and he spent enough time exploring the palace to know of all the little hidden rooms and passages that she didn't know. I didn't interact with many other kids until they sent me to Beauxbatons against my will - because my mom thought it would be good for me to have structure." She rolls her eyes. "But I made friends, and they made school bearable enough."
- Who/what was the biggest influence growing up? Why?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"My ex-therapist says it was my brother, but as the person who actually had to be influenced by someone growing up, it was clearly my mother. My brother was just a side effect. Yes, we fought a lot, and I first joined quidditch and duelling almost expressly to compete with him, but my mother told me not to and I did it anyway. Much of who I am is a result either of her direct influence or trying to reject her influence."
- What was your childhood dream? Why so? And why did it change?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"When I was a child, I wanted to learn arithmancy and go into an associated profession, but my mother was so kind as to tell me over and over that such thoughts were ridiculous and as her heir I should be focusing on following in her footsteps rather than doing what I wanted to."
- If you’re not native to the UK, where were you born and how did you end up in the UK?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I was born in Monaco, of course, and why do I go anywhere? Because I want to be there. I went to America three years ago specifically to see a Home Depot. The muggles as you call them were disturbingly nice and kept asking me if I needed help with anything. One of the employees in the lumber section asked me if I was looking for firewood, and I don't know how he knew I am a witch, but I'm pretty sure that was a threat."
- What are people’s usual first impressions of you? Are they correct?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I would imagine people's first thoughts are that I am very gay and very strong, and both of those are very correct."
- How much effort do you put into fashion and appearance? Do you have a personal ‘aesthetic’?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
She spreads her arms as if to show herself off, sleeveless hoodie, paint-stained shorts and all. The only other living thing nearby is her cat, asleep on the closed toilet seat. "My body is my temple; I'm stuck in it for life, so of course I take very good care of it. I like to look and feel good and I do both quite effectively. As a public figure, I do have to put effort into fashion, but I don't mind it much. Besides, I can make anything look good, so the effort is mostly for my publicist, who would have a heart attack otherwise."
- What is your most vivid memory? This doesn’t have to be a good or bad memory.
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"A few weeks before graduation, my brother and I got into a fight in the hallway. I don't really recall what it was about, but I remember punching him, and one of his friends retaliated in his defense, and most of the memory is fuzzy but I remember quite clearly my brother pulling his friend off of me and helping me to the infirmary after." She sighs. "That's usually what I use for my patronus, actually. Not that I really need it, but it's quite pretty so I conjure it simply to admire it sometimes."
- When was the last time you cried?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
She laughs loud enough to wake her cat, who glares up at her from his spot on the toilet seat. "I cry quite frequently! Mostly at night, but also from laughing."
- How do you treat the people around you?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I am polite to everyone, as I should be. The only people I was every less than civil to were my family and my opponents, but that was always mutual."
- Do you believe people can be given a second chance?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
She looks down at her cat. "Should people get a second chance, Home Depot?" Home Depot blinks at her, then yawns and curls back up to nap. "I agree. It depends on what they did and how they act after. I'm not opposed to it, but there isn't really one answer to this question."
- What act have you made that you most regret?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
She stares at the question on the page, thinking about what she regrets the most. Her first instinct is the one that keeps her up at night: letting her brother die like that, but why did that happen in the first place? "Listening to my mother."
- How do you behave in a romantic relationship? If you’ve never been in one before, how do you think you’d behave?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I develop feelings very quickly - in any relationship. I've learned the hard way that others tend not to develop feelings quite so quickly, so I put a lot of effort into reigning myself in and gauging the other person's emotional progress and trying to match that...but I have a habit of avoiding romantic relationships and having purely physical ones simply because they're easier, so I don't have a wealth of romantic experience. I enjoy spending time with my friends and I'm casually affectionate with them as well, so I imagine it would be a lot of the same, just in a different setting."
- Do you believe in zodiac signs?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
She squints and tilts her head. "To an extent, but the zodiac signs on their own are more for fun than anything else."
- If you could go to any other magical school other than Hogwarts, which one? Why?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I went to Beauxbatons, unfortunately, and I would have preferred my father's suggestion of magical tutors instead of traditional school, but I've heard about Mahoutokoro's quidditch training and I would relish the challenge of it."
- Do you think you're prejudiced or have a certain bias?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"I do, yes. My mother made a point to teach me the history of the magical community and as much of our troubles come from muggles...I am definitely wary of them at best. I worry about members of the magical community who regularly consort with muggles as well...in today's time, it would be easy for a muggle to record and reveal our existence in just hours, and the thought terrifies me."
- Are you happy with the path that you've found yourself on? How would you change it if you could?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"Am I happy?" She watches Home Depot stretch before he jumps onto the counter, demanding affection. She scratches his chin while she thinks. "Yes, I think so. I could be happier, and there are a lot of things that I would change, but the past is fixed, so I need to focus on my future and being as happy as I can with the path that I'm on."
- Do you believe technology and magic can coexist together?
Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco
"Technology and magic, yes, but for me, the integration ends with the technology. The muggles have shown us clearly that they cannot coexist with us."
- my lesbians will activate you and be like "im unit" - shitpostgenerator
- ma'am
- yes, absolutely gay
- she went to america just to visit a home depot
- went to beauxbatons but not willingly
- and not much either, she skipped class like...a lot
- really admires super great grandma giovanna maria grimaldi for whom she is named
- lowkey it's about time great grandma giovanna got to live vicariously through somebody who's on the throne
- also hates her brother, but he's dead now, so who's the real winner?
- it's her. she's the winner.
- and no, she didn't kill him
- she thought about it
- not seriously
- well...not that seriously
- i mean when she was a kid she fell off the roof and he caught her but then he let her go like who does that? bitch was so desperate for the crown he really tried to murder his baby sister huh
- he called her his baby sister but only because he was born first.
- is he dead? did he really try to murder her? or was that just her mother telling her to be wary of her brother and her being very young and susceptible to lies told by her parents?
- borderline dumb jock
- giovanna doesn't like her mom. she groomed giovanna from birth for the throne and she didn't do it in a very good way. her mother had aspirations of seizing power from the high council and making them an absolute monarchy, and she did her level best to pass those on to her daughter. she was closer with her father, who married into the family, and was mostly normal.
- literally what parent tries to turn their kids against eachother???
- a shitty one, duh.
- really into arithmancy
- enjoys divination more as a fun game than anything else, but arithmancy is where it's really at
- arithmancy 5,2,3 i can't believe i did math for this
- i got really into numerology when i was a kid and i am going to CHANNEL that
- shes good at math
- July 23. yes shes a leo bc she's a 5 and leo is a 5 dont @ me about it i did MATH for this
- fraternal twins (w/the infamous brother of course Prince Ambroise Grimaldi of Monaco)
- named her cat home depot
- giovanna, discovering vines: i should have been born in the 90's
- Giovanna when her brother dies "i don't care that you broke your elbow" also "what, is this the murder weapon??"
- Everyone else thinks she's the vine guy "i brought you mur...mur der" when he dies
- Giovanna when she should be in class *oven boy with dad playing trombone*
- Giovanna when her brother is trying to do things *the guy blowing away the smoke in the "Adam!" vine, brother is adam*
- Giovanna looking in her brother's coffin even though it was a closed casket ceremony "this bitch empty, YEET" but she didn't tell anybody
- Giovanna when she wakes up at night in a cold sweat thinking her brother is still alive: "merry crisis" *that loud thomas the train vine where he's behind harry and ron in the flying car* *the guy yelling the different battery sizes* *the mental ghost of her brother is that weird lady vocalizing while she pounds on the bus door* *screaming grinch* *you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out*
- Giovanna in her first real realtionship: "DIE FOR EACHOTHER" and then she was single, and that's why she has commitment issues
- Giovanna thinks she's darren but deep down she's actually bitch
- Giovanna skipping class a bajillion times despite the warnings of like, everyone: zach in the zach, stop vine
- Giovanna thinking about the prosecution of magical folk by non magical folk and also magical folk wanting to mesh seamlessly with non magical folk: i am confusion lady
- Baby Giovanna when her brother lets her fall off the room: step the FUCK up kyle
- Giovanna @ her mom when she's forced to go to actual school: kid in you're not my dad vine
- OG super great grandma Giovanna's husband: i want a church girl guy
- Giovanna's brother: im a bad bitch you can't kill me
- Giovanna: today my brother pushed me so im starting a kickstarter to put him down
- Other students watching Giovanna and her brother fight: can i PLEASE get a waffle
- Giovanna's mom after giovanna spilled lipstick in her valentio white bag: lipstick?? in my valentino white bag??? wghwghwakhwhdhgh
- Giovanna watching her brother die: he need some milk
- Everyone when giovanna learns fire spells: you BETTER STOP
- Giovanna: "oh, you know what that means!"
- Giovanna when her brother learns to apparate and decides it's his god given right to scare her (a la honey you got a big storm coming): bitch i hope the fuk u do
- Giovanna after she graduates: that one peppa pig vine about eating things like u have a disease and only one thing is the cure im not going to quote it
- Giovanna drinking from a straw: *tilts the cup back like she isn't drinking from a straw*
- Giovanna, who is rich: um, i never went to oovoo javer
- Giovanna to her parents who really hoped she would have kids: hey, im lesbian
- Giovanna trying to tie her own tie: *busy being the dog with the cord wrapped around its face and trying to chew it like an idiot*
- Giovanna: *is richard in what the fuck, richard vine*
- Giovanna's brother: "you think all this was an accident?" giovanna: "yes, yes you were"
- Giovanna: guy yelling fuk ur chicken strips
- Giovanna: the guy trying to describe surfing
- Giovanna's mom @ her only daughter whom she should love and cherish: hey duck! you're no good duck! you'll never be shit! you're just! like! your father!
- Giovanna skipping class again: i dont really wanna do the work today
The Magical Principality of Monaco was founded in 1645 with the coronation of Sovereign Princess Ottavia Grimaldi, and the Grimaldi family has ruled the country since. Since the reign of Princess Thérèse, true governing power has rested with le Conseil Supérieur des Affaires Magiques Monégasques, or the High Council of Magical Monegasque Affairs, which has twelve seats, each with equal power.
The magical portion of Monaco lies primarily below ground and under the harbour, but there are some homes and businesses above ground that are hidden from muggle eyes. A significant portion of the Prince's Palace is hidden in this way, even though the muggle head of state is aware of the existence of the magical country right under their nose. The magical city is not difficult to get into for wixkind, as the entrances require only a simple spell to open them, but muggles cannot enter, and squibs and nonhumans typically have to be accompanied by a wix to get in or out of the city. Despite the hassle entrance can be for some members of the magical community, the underground city is large and beautiful, and the cliffside properties offer an exquisite view at any time of day.
Maintenance of the protective and concealment charms around the palace and the city is one of if not the most revered profession in the country. Appointments to le Corps des Lanceurs de Sorts Royaux, or the Corps of Royal Spellcasters, require strength and consistency of both spellcasting and moral character, and corpsmen are audited once a year to ensure they are still deserving of the position.
As the Magical Principality of Monaco was founded in great part due to fear of witch trials, witch hunters, and general danger from their non-magical neighbors, those same ideas persist even today for much of the population, resulting in simple fear of muggles for some citizens, and full on hatred of them from others.
Just as muggle Monaco is well known for its Grand Prix, magical Monaco was known for its own version of the Grand Prix: a thrilling broomstick race through the narrow and twisting streets and tunnels of the underground city. This race was outlawed in 1993 after Princess Mattea pressured the High Council to put an end to it. The official statement at the time was that it was outlawed out of concern for racers' safety, but in reality, the death rate was less than one as of 1992. (The 27 deaths during the 1977 race are an outlier and were not counted.) There are rumors Princess Giovanna has requested the High Council look into reinstating the race, but those are yet to be confirmed by any official source.
Though Francesco Grimaldi first captured the Rock of Monaco in January of 1297, it was his cousin, Rainier I, who became Monaco's first ruler - but not for long. They were able to hold the fortress for only four years before conflict over the land resumed for just over another century. Jean I, Ambroise, and Antonie Grimaldi, the sons of Rainier II, purchased Monaco from Genoa on the fifth of June, 1419, thus restoring the Grimaldi family's official rule of Monaco.
The Grimaldi family has always had members with some level of magical ability - a small handful in every generation who lived and practiced magic around their muggle relatives without issue, for the most part. Most notably, Jean II was killed by his brother Lucien, a wizard, under questionable circumstances. Some royal historians maintain it was a tragic case of spell-gone-wrong, but others firmly believe it was murder, as Lucien was next in line for Lord of Monaco at the time. There are records of other, less deadly incidents - for instance, it is an ill-kept secret that the marriage of Lady Claudine to her cousin Lamberto in 1465 was under the influence of a love potion, and Bartholomew Doria, nephew to Lucien, had a hoof for a left foot from an improperly cast transfiguration spell.
Honoré I, the son of Lucien, is suspected to have been a squib, or at least had no skill with magic at all, due to his marriage to Isabella Grimaldi, the daughter of Giovanni Grimaldi, a known witch-hater. Honoré and Isabella had four sons, all of whom were wizards. Isabella was no fan of magic, but she was willing to make an exception for her own children - in fact, she went so far as to try and hide their abilities from her father, knowing he would react harshly if he knew. Any time her father or his known emissaries were in the palace, she tried to keep them away from her boys, and if she could not keep them away, she ensured her sons were in the company of other children to which any magical incidents could be attributed. Horace, a metamorphagus, was the first to die: he was found at the base of the palace walls come morning. He was just barely a year old.
After Horace's death, Isabella became desperate to protect her other sons, and she finally caved to her husband's suggestion of magical tutors for them so they could learn to control their magic. She also doubled her efforts to keep the boys out of range of her father's eyes and ears in the castle, with great success up until her death in 1583. Francois was next, lasting only three years after his mother died. His wine was poisoned, and an antidote could not be found in time to save his life. Charles II, the eldest son, was found dead in his bed three years after Francois' passing. He was a healthy man of only 34 years.
This left Hercule only, the youngest of Honoré's sons, who took after his father in the magic department. Hercule made it to the ripe old age of 42, when he was rather publicly murdered in front of his young children. Giovanni's grandson - the son of Isabella's younger brother - still had witch hunters watching the ruling family. He was a sick man; in his mind, emptying his coffers in exchange for some entertainment at the expense of his cousin's life was a great deal.
Honoré II, the only son of Hercule, became Lord of Monaco at the age of six, much to the chagrin of his older sister, Giovanna Maria Grimaldi, who aspired to rule Monaco even as a child.
Giovanna was the only witch out of Hercule's three children, and she understood she should hide that part of her from the world the moment it showed up when she was ten. Her father's murderer had loudly declared him a sorcerer before killing him, and she'd heard stories from her tutors about her deceased uncles as well, so it was not difficult for her to connect the dots.
She learned magic in secret, teaching herself from old spellbooks in the palace library, at the same time drawing up plans for a place for the magical population of Monaco to live openly and without fear. In 1615, she married Gian Giacomo Teodoro Trivulzio, a devout Catholic wizard who had embedded himself into the church for his own safety. Armed with her own history of caution and her new religious husband, Giovanna began reaching out to the magical community in Monaco, trying to learn how many of them there were and what methods they were using to hide currently.
Giovanna had three daughters with Gian before she contracted dragon pox in 1620. Her case was not so bad she died from it, but it was bad enough that any muggle would not have survived it, so her husband faked her death and secreted her into the care of a healer who nursed her back to health. Her scarring was extensive enough that she was almost unrecognizable without close study, and once she was completely recovered, she took on the role of nanny to her daughters so she could continue to raise them.
While she was certainly perturbed by her younger brother getting lordship over her, the eldest, she didn't dwell too much on it until said brother was recognized as the Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 1633. Driven by spite, she renewed her efforts to bring the magical community together, going so far as to stoke the fear of the witch trials of the era in order to gain support for her cause.
She gathered the most skilled magical architects and tasked them with creating an underground city, then she found the most skilled enchanters to cast protective charms on the city to ensure the safety of magical folk. She also found twelve of the most wise and trusted wizards and witches and formed a council to start drafting laws for their new magical society. As much as Giovanna wanted to simply declare herself Princess, she wasn't about to have her hard work fall apart.
Giovanna caught dragon pox again in 1643 and died before the council finished drafting the laws. As her plan had been to ascend the throne after the laws had been finalized, she never did get to be Princess like she wanted. Her oldest daughter, Ottavia, had the privilege of being the first Sovereign Princess of the Magical Principality of Monaco in 1645, marking the official separation of Magical and Muggle Monaco. Since Ottavia's rule, the magical Grimaldi line has been kept pure and no muggle blood has entered the direct line.
When muggle Monaco was annexed by France in 1793, Sovereign Princess Clémence reacted out of fear and ordered the nation's small military force to aid in retaking the country, resulting in the deaths of almost the entire military. The High Council, with the blessing of Clémence's heir, Thérèse, passed laws to restrict the monarch's power, rendering them primarily a figurehead with no power to order military action or singlehandedly pass or deny laws.
Princess Thérèse, near the end of her reign, decided to make the existence of Magical Monaco known to the muggle ruler, a tradition that still continues. Only the sovereign, the immediate heir, and the president of the council are aware, and they are all sworn to secrecy.
Mattea Grimaldi took the throne in 1990 after the death of her mother, Princess Charlotte. Mattea was 36 at the time and already married to Aloysius. They had no children yet, but they did plan to have them in the future - at least as many as it took to produce a female heir so she could ensure the throne would not pass to her younger sister if she died.
Princess Mattea was an expert on every law the High Council had written and she had a list of grievances to present them with at the first council session after her coronation. At the top of the list: limitations on the power of the sovereign, and right after it the limitations on length of rule that were instituted by Princess Thérèse after her mother Clémence became a vampire.
In 1995, Mattea and Aloysius decided it was time to have children. Around the same time, Mattea began an affair with a man named David. Later that same year, when she discovered she was pregnant, she was sincerely concerned who the father was. The last thing she needed so early in her rule was an illegitimate child - or two illegitimate children, as she would be having twins.
The twins were born on the 21st of August, 1996, Ambroise first and Giovanna shortly after. As they grew, it was clear to Mattea that Ambroise was David's child, but Giovanna was certainly Aloysius' - however, since they were twins, their paternity wasn't called into question. They were a rare case of heteropaternal superfecundation, when two eggs are fertilized by separate fathers in the same reproductive cycle.
Mattea did her level best to pit her children against eachother, both in her attempts to give Ambroise false hope that he may one day take the throne, and in her attempts to convince Giovanna she was competing against her brother for the throne once their mother was gone. In reality, Mattea's goal was to become immortal and remain in power forever, but even the best laid plans can fall through.
On 8 December 2018, Ambroise fell into a deep ditch that lead steeply to the often-treacherous ocean caves, and his body was never found. Stories from bystanders vary, some saying it was a simple slip, others saying Giovanna, who was with him at the time, pushed him off, but the reality is that she bumped into him by accident, and then he slipped and was gone. As no body was recovered and the investigator on the case firmly believes there is no way Ambroise could have survived, the prince was pronounced dead, and a royal funeral was held for him before the end of the year.
Tragedy struck the royal family again not even a year later: on 6 August 2019, Mattea and Aloysius were crushed by ceiling beams brought down by a stray spell at the dueling tournament they were attending. Princess Giovanna II was coronated 11 December 2019 and is the current sovereign.
The order of succession is the same today as it was when it was drawn up by Giovanna I in 1637 and it has a strong female-preference:
- The firstborn daughter is the immediate heir
- If there is a daughter, any sons are excluded regardless of age
- If there is no daughter, the immediate heir is the oldest sister of the sovereign
- If there are no sisters of the sovereign, the immediate heir is the oldest child of the sovereign
- If the sovereign has no children, the immediate heir is the closest blood relative of the sovereign
- If there are no sisters of the sovereign, the immediate heir is the oldest child of the sovereign
Monaco
London