Relations du voyage du prince Honoré II de Monaco à la cour de France (octobre 1646-mai 1647)

A protectorate that had become intrusive and the decline of the Habsburgs led to the Grimaldis of Monaco leaving Spanish rule and placing themselves under the protection of the king of France in 1641. Application of the accord called for four sojourns at court in ten years. The trip of 1646–47, in the middle of the Fronde, was primarily justified by the grievances with respect to royal engagements. The small princely suite’s pilgrimage to Paris was also the chance of a pilgrimage to the French fiefs, real and mythical, of the Grimaldi. The pace of travel was dependent on the route, the modes of transport, the stops chosen, the incidents on route, the health, and the use or not of disguises. At the court, Honoré II of Monaco endeavoured to get close to the royal family, but he had to lodge himself. If insignia favours seemed to be granted to the new “king’s cousin” and his people, the social circle of the small peripheral sovereign was limited to a few ministers, parental figures, some elderly great figures and the Italian diaspora. A New Man by his rank and naturalization, the Prince of Monaco tried, above all, to compensate for his lack of fame and, through his purchases and orders, to become Frenchified