House of Grimaldi

House of Grimaldi
Country	Genoa, Monaco, France
Place of origin	Genoa, Italy
Founded	1160; 864 years ago (1160)
Founder	Grimaldo Canella
Current head	Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Titles	Prince of Monaco Doge of Genoa (non hereditary) Duke of Valentinois Marquess of Baux Lord of Monaco
Style(s)	Most Serene Highness
Estate(s)	Prince's Palace of Monaco
Cadet branches	Grimaldi de Puget

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The House of Grimaldi is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297.

Since then, every Prince of Monaco has been a member of the House of Grimaldi. However, since the 18th century the princes have been agnatic descendants of other families that have inherited through the female line and adopted the Grimaldi name. In 1715, Jacques Goyon de Matignon married the last Grimaldi agnatic heir. He and his male line descendants, adopting the Grimaldi name, ruled as princes of Monaco from 1731 to 1949. Since then, the princes have been male line descendants of the Polignac family. Rainier III, son of Pierre de Polignac, inherited the title through his mother in 1949 and adopted the Grimaldi name. During much of the Ancien Régime, the family resided in the French court, where from 1642 to 1715 they used the title of Duke of Valentinois.

The current head of the house is Albert II of Monaco, Sovereign Prince of Monaco, who is the son and successor of Prince Rainier III and the Princess consort Grace of Monaco, formerly known as Grace Kelly.