1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:04,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:08,480 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey listener discretion advised, 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: Hey guys, this is Danish Swartz, the host of Noble Blood. One. 4 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,759 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening. But second, this is 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,320 Speaker 1: a very annoying announcement. But I wrote this book called Anatomy, 6 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 1: a Love Story, which is about a young woman who 7 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: wants to be a surgeon in eighteen hundred Scotland. And 8 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: I wrote a sequel that is coming out in February. 9 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:32,559 Speaker 1: It's called Immortality, a Love Story. And I think if 10 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: you like Noble Blood, you will really like both of 11 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: these books. Really, my publishers are telling me that pre 12 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: orders are like the most important thing when it comes 13 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: to book publishing. So if you are intrigued or interested 14 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,239 Speaker 1: at all, it would mean so much to me if 15 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: you took a look and possibly pre ordered Immortality. But 16 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: you know, just thank you so much for listening to 17 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: the show, and sorry to be making a plug back 18 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: to our podcast. In eighteen fifty five, a regal woman 19 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: summoned her closest adviser to a secret meeting. She was 20 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: in her mid sixties, once a self styled countess, in Paris, 21 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: but now a real royal of a country in peril. 22 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,759 Speaker 1: Her adviser was a French lawyer, and she needed him 23 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: to do something for her, make the journey north to 24 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: hesse Homberg, a small but sovereign state along the Rhine River, 25 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: bring her news of its casino. She was Princess Maria 26 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:46,640 Speaker 1: Caroline of Monaco, usually known as Princess Caroline, not to 27 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: be confused with Monaco's current princess of the same name. 28 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: It was eighteen fifty five and her tiny country was 29 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: not the paradise of millionaires that we know it as today. 30 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: In fact, Monico's finances were in dire straits. The casino 31 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: at Monte Carlo had not yet even been imagined. The 32 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 1: citrus trade that had kept the Monte Carlo economy propped 33 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 1: up was gone. Princess Caroline's husband, Floriston, had no interest 34 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: in running a country. Caroline's son Charles found her pushy 35 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: and overbearing, a presumptuous woman meddling in men's affairs. Less 36 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: than a hundred years prior Monico had been absorbed by 37 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: the neighboring French. There was always a feeling of threat 38 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: from the neighboring Sardinians. Monico's future as an independent state 39 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: was uncertain, and there in the north of Europe was 40 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:51,919 Speaker 1: bad Home board, a casino making what Princess Caroline assumed 41 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: was an immense amount of cash for the state. Her 42 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: adviser returned from his reconnaissance mission with gleaming eyes. The 43 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: Grand Duke von Hesse Homburg was earning three hundred and 44 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 1: fifty thousand francs per year from his casino. Hundreds of 45 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: thousands of tourists flocked to the spa town flanking the 46 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: gambling halls. Princess Caroline's mind started spinning. At this time, 47 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: there was no home for gambling in all of southern Europe, 48 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: no casinos anywhere along the French Riviera. Francois Blanc, the 49 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: visionary who operated bad Omberg, could likely be convinced to 50 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: venture south. But gambling is a messy business, maybe not 51 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: suited for a woman, maybe not suited for a country. 52 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: Someday there would be lists of Monte Carlo suicides published 53 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: in the papers, reports of people pushed to financial and 54 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: moral ruin. There would also be gatherings of the wealthiest 55 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: people in the world in their white sun hats and 56 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 1: designer bikinis sunbathing on the Azure coastline. If you think 57 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: of Monaco today, maybe you think of that coastline. Maybe 58 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: you picture the beautiful American actress Grace Kelly, who became 59 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: the principality's most famous princess in nineteen fifty six. Maybe 60 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: you envisioned the race car zooming past the docked yachts 61 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: at the Monaco Grand Prix. Maybe you know that Monaco 62 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: is the second smallest sovereign state on Earth, after Vatican City. 63 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: At point eight one square miles, it is a little 64 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: more than half the size of New York City's Central Park. 65 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,440 Speaker 1: At a little over thirty nine thousand residents, it has 66 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: the population of West Fargo, North Dakota, not Fargo, which 67 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 1: is bigger. Certainly you think of the casino Monte Carlo, 68 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:07,479 Speaker 1: arguably the most famous casino in the world. It sits 69 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: in a resort town nestled along the French Riviera, surrounded 70 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: by France and near the border with Italy. Income from 71 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: the casino has made the place a tax haven for millionaires, who, 72 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,479 Speaker 1: along with the rest of the Monaco population, pay no 73 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 1: income taxes. Nearly one out of three residents of Monaco 74 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:33,280 Speaker 1: is a millionaire. The thirty three percent, we might say 75 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: that means Monaco has over twelve thousand millionaires in less 76 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: than one square mile. The poverty rate is zero percent. 77 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: Of its thirty nine thousand and change residents, only about 78 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 1: nine thousand are Monogusque, people who are native to Monaco. 79 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: In an economy built on gambling, the monogusque are subject 80 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 1: to a strange rule. They are not allowed to enter 81 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,480 Speaker 1: the casino at Monte Carlo unless they are an employee. 82 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 1: It is an unusual rule that is part of the 83 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: unlikely story of how tiny, vulnerable Monico has managed to 84 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: survive as an independent nation century after century. The name 85 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: Monte Carlo means Mount Charles, named for the Princess Caroline's son, 86 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:34,239 Speaker 1: but the brains behind the operation were hers, because back 87 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: in eighteen Monico was approaching the kind of financial misfortune 88 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: that could only mean the risk of losing independence, and 89 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 1: one woman who would have to hide her actions behind 90 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 1: the name of a man, looked into her advisor's eyes 91 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 1: and thought of the desperation of the gambler at the table, 92 00:06:56,600 --> 00:07:01,039 Speaker 1: the roulette wheel flashing before him there and thrown on 93 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 1: the table, The despair and alcohol in the open, empty wallets, 94 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: and she saw the path to saving her country. I'm 95 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood. In January, a 96 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: man dressed in the brown, humble robe and hood of 97 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: a Franciscan monk arrived at the entrance of the Castle 98 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: of the Gibeline, a group of genuine who held the 99 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: fortress at Monaco. The monk's hands were hidden under his robes, 100 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: surely devoutly clasped. The time of year was around the 101 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: Christmas season, a welcoming religious spirit was in the air. 102 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: The monk was granted admittance, but the was no monk. 103 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: The man in the brown robes was Francesco Grimaldi, known 104 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: as ill Malitzia mal as in bad, cunning, spiteful also, 105 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: it turns out violent. No sooner did these seemingly innocent 106 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: monk enter the castle than he revealed that in his 107 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: clasped hands was held a dagger. Joined by followers he 108 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: had planted in advance, he stabbed his way through the 109 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: fortress until he had claimed Monaco for himself, with occasional breaks. 110 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: The Grimaldi's have held the country ever since. And this 111 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 1: is a tip for anyone playing trivial pursuit. The Grimaldi's 112 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:51,560 Speaker 1: are the longest reigning royal family centuries later. It was 113 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 1: this line that would produce Honor A the fourth, crowned 114 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: Prince of Monaco in eighteen fourteen, who fathered two sons, 115 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:05,199 Speaker 1: first another Honore, and then seven years later Floriston. Both 116 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 1: boys were born in France. Honore the fourth died at 117 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:14,280 Speaker 1: age sixty, officially by drowning in the Seine, but as 118 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 1: he was at least partially paralyzed at the time of 119 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,720 Speaker 1: his death, a casual swim in the river seemed unlikely. 120 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: Rumors swirled that it was a suicide. His eldest son, 121 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,319 Speaker 1: Honore five, took over as prince, while the new prince's 122 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: younger brother, Floriston, continued to live in Paris, where he'd 123 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 1: gone to become an actor and wound up marrying a 124 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: well off frenchwoman named Maria Caroline Gilbert. Every source I 125 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,720 Speaker 1: could find it takes a certain, let's say, tone in 126 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 1: its description of this woman, Maria Caroline, usually known as 127 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: Caroline the Kindest source. A contemporary one calls her quote 128 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:04,480 Speaker 1: a striking Mediterranean beauty with a strong personality unquote. The 129 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 1: descriptions at the time were slightly less circumspect about their 130 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: views of the gender politics between husband and wife. One 131 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: history from eighteen sixty seven writes that quote weak and vacillating, 132 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 1: Floriston allowed himself to fall at once under the dominion 133 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: of his wife unquote. Other sources portray her as pushy 134 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 1: and domineering, an over ambitious woman meddling in a man's world. 135 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: Who knows how we would view her in the twenty 136 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:43,560 Speaker 1: one century. The image of the overbearing, nagging wife certainly 137 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:49,120 Speaker 1: still persists today. Probably she was rather pushy. Certainly she 138 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:53,839 Speaker 1: was ambitious, But likely she was also a sharp businesswoman 139 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: with a somewhat duller husband, and well, somebody had to 140 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:03,720 Speaker 1: figure out how to handle their personal finances. She took 141 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 1: over the logistics of Floriston's life. He had no complaints 142 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 1: about it. They had two children, a son, Charles, followed 143 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 1: by a daughter. They bought a mansion in France, called 144 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: themselves the Comte and Comtesse de Grimaldi, and rented a 145 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: wing of the house, the spare one you know, with 146 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,720 Speaker 1: the ballroom, to a local poet and politician who helped 147 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 1: found the Second Republic of France. In the meantime, back 148 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 1: in Monaco, forever bachelor Honor A five was struggling to 149 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: come up with a way to improve Monico's fortunes, anyway 150 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 1: to improve Monico's fortunes. Historian Mark Brede lists Honore's desperate 151 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,599 Speaker 1: attempts to lift up the economy of his impoverished country 152 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:52,559 Speaker 1: with a quote lace making factory, a perfumery, a distillery, 153 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:57,000 Speaker 1: a hat making workshop, and a plant for making false 154 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:01,319 Speaker 1: teeth end quote. His failure is at them all came 155 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: to an unhappy end on October second, eighteen forty one, 156 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 1: when he died the death of the single person that 157 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: Liz lemon feared on thirty Rock. While eating alone, he 158 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:19,440 Speaker 1: choked to death, so his younger brother, Floriston, inherited the 159 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 1: throne of Monaco, having never actually lived in Monaco. Maria 160 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: Carolina arranged a golden carriage to bring the family to 161 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,680 Speaker 1: their new home so the people could adore them in 162 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 1: the streets. The people, for their part, seemed not to 163 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:39,199 Speaker 1: know what to do with them. Maybe the Grimaldi's weren't 164 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:44,200 Speaker 1: great at ruling. Monico was in serious financial trouble, but 165 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:49,199 Speaker 1: also Monica was still independent, and perhaps this brother would 166 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:53,920 Speaker 1: get his act together On behalf of the state. He didn't. 167 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 1: The eighteen sixty seven History of Monaco describes Floriston as 168 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 1: quote a man utterly unsuited for the task before him. 169 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 1: From education and temperament, he was incapable of governing. He 170 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,719 Speaker 1: had resided in Paris, where he lived in complete obscurity 171 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: and heedless of the future, till his brother's death called 172 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: him to Monaco and placed him in a position necessitating 173 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: a life little compatible with his tastes end quote. He 174 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: inspired a satirical book published in eighteen seventy four titled 175 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 1: quote the Fall of Prince Floriston of Monaco by himself 176 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: end quote the fall of me by me essentially, not 177 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 1: a guy who was taken particularly seriously so behind the scenes, 178 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:47,480 Speaker 1: Princess Caroline took the reins of ruling, and her son 179 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:52,320 Speaker 1: Charles immediately tried to wrest them from her. He wanted 180 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,680 Speaker 1: to take over from his father. He took this desire 181 00:13:55,840 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: so far so publicly that in eighteen forty two, Princess 182 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: Caroline wrote her son the following letter, I was chosen 183 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: by your father to enter one of the highest placed families. 184 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,080 Speaker 1: In spite of my sex. I became head of a 185 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 1: family and had to fulfill the obligations attached. You can 186 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: imagine that in a very small place where people have 187 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 1: been used to the strong will of one person, they 188 00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,800 Speaker 1: must have been greatly astonished to see a prince letting 189 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 1: himself be maneuvered, the wife poking her finger into everything, 190 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,720 Speaker 1: and a son apparently going his own particular way, and 191 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: often lacking in respect and even consideration where they are due. 192 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: End quote. The letter continues, warning her son that if 193 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:46,920 Speaker 1: he was in fact saying that he should rule instead 194 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 1: of his father, quote, what you would be saying, in effect, 195 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: is I love and respect my mother enough to leave 196 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,640 Speaker 1: her some of the authority she seems to like so much, 197 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: but only on condition that she leaves me the rest. 198 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 1: Oh no, my young friend, I shall not agree to 199 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: a deal like that, Having no rights myself. I'm under 200 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:11,520 Speaker 1: the cover of your father. End quote. Charles left to 201 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: go to Turinn, where he failed to gain support to 202 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 1: take over Monaco. In the meantime, whether under Caroline's direction 203 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 1: or Floristin's, the country's fortunes were spiraling downward. In eighteen 204 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: forty eight, a secessionist movement succeeded in areas called mentone 205 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:36,360 Speaker 1: and Roccobruna, and Monaco lost four fifths of its territories, 206 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: as well as one of its key industries, the citrus trade. 207 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: The Palace's income slowed to a trickle. France and Sardinia 208 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: seemed to be growing more threatening every day. Quote. I 209 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 1: am an unfortunate little sovereign, said Floristin, crushed between two 210 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 1: big neighbors who only hesitate as to the saw us 211 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 1: with which they will devour me end quote. Monico was small, 212 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: now growing ever smaller and vulnerable. And how do you 213 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 1: get out of a position of vulnerability. Well, Princess Caroline 214 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: had spent a lot of time controlling the family's finances, 215 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: and she had an idea money. Princess Caroline had already 216 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 1: visited hess Hamburg, a spa town near present day Frankfurt. 217 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 1: She had already noted the similarities between that small sovereign 218 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 1: state and her own. She must have passed bob Omberg 219 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: the casino. Maybe she heard the joyful shouts of the 220 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: winners or the moaning laments of the losers. Surely she 221 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: knew one thing. The house always wins, and the house 222 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 1: had to answer to its nobility. If the casino house 223 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: could win, in Monaco. She thought, then, so too could 224 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: the house grow albi. She dispatched her lawyer and waited 225 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,480 Speaker 1: anxiously for his return. Maybe she looked at her son 226 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:11,880 Speaker 1: Charles with a wary eye. Maybe she comforted her husband 227 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,480 Speaker 1: with the promise of fine clothes and visits to the 228 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:19,439 Speaker 1: theater once they increased their fortune. Maybe she worried her 229 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 1: lawyer would get caught up in a round of whist himself, 230 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:26,160 Speaker 1: though probably not. He had been loyal to her since 231 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:30,639 Speaker 1: her days running the mansion back in France. The news 232 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 1: he brought back to Monico was what she had expected. 233 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 1: The casino at bad Amberg supported the Grand Duke. The 234 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: Grand Duke supported the casino. It was the solution Monico needed, 235 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:50,200 Speaker 1: but it wouldn't be easy or without risk. At the time, 236 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 1: a few casinos could be found in Switzerland, Belgium, Northern Spain, 237 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,439 Speaker 1: and a few German speaking territories, but there were none 238 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:04,119 Speaker 1: in other in Europe. In Monico's neighbor Sardinia, games of 239 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: chance were illegal. Even if she took her lawyer's advice, 240 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,640 Speaker 1: which was to play up the spa town angle and 241 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: played down the gambling angle, Floriston could easily be seen 242 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:21,960 Speaker 1: as provoking his more powerful neighbors if he allowed a 243 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:26,720 Speaker 1: casino to open in Monaco. But Floriston was not the 244 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: one in charge of such decisions, not really. Princess Caroline 245 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: wanted a casino, Floriston signed on. One year later, in 246 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty six, Floriston was dead. His son inherited the 247 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 1: throne he had always believed he deserved more than his father. 248 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:55,040 Speaker 1: In the local tongue, Charles has another name Carlo. Before 249 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: Floriston died, he made one last terrible decision that almost 250 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:04,159 Speaker 1: arrailed the future Monte Carlo. He offered the rights for 251 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 1: the spa and casino development to two men, Albert Albert 252 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 1: and Napoleon Lingua, who wound up being con artists. The 253 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:17,600 Speaker 1: two had no money, they had never built or run 254 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,439 Speaker 1: a casino, but they were the two who had been 255 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:24,800 Speaker 1: willing to take a risky bet on Monaco. The brains 256 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: behind bad Amberg, Francois Blanc had wanted nothing to do 257 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:33,160 Speaker 1: with it. What if Sardinia or France decided to crack down. 258 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 1: No not worth the gamble, So Charles inherited an exclusive 259 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,120 Speaker 1: deal with two grifters who promised to build the casino 260 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:48,360 Speaker 1: that was supposed to save the country from an economic quagmire. 261 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:52,720 Speaker 1: Princess Caroline insisted that the gambling hall be far from 262 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:56,199 Speaker 1: her family's palace, so the two broke ground in a 263 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 1: largely abandoned area and opened Monico's first casino on November 264 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty six. The casino was called Vila Bellevue. It 265 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 1: was not arousing success. Villa Bellevue had so little money 266 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: that if a patron placed a high bet and one big, 267 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:22,159 Speaker 1: he could have won more money than the house could pay. 268 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:26,400 Speaker 1: The casino's cafe was more planned than reality. It had 269 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:30,320 Speaker 1: a fifteen piece orchestra that quickly ate the budget and 270 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:34,520 Speaker 1: played for virtually no one. They had a telescope so 271 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 1: that dealers could see if anyone was actually coming that day, 272 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,199 Speaker 1: at which point they would snuff their cigarettes out and 273 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 1: run back to the roulette wheel or their table and 274 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,679 Speaker 1: cross their fingers that no one would win enough to 275 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:51,840 Speaker 1: break the bank. The word casino comes from the Italian casa, 276 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: meaning house. A casino is a little house, but Villa 277 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:01,480 Speaker 1: Bellevue was more like a stanza Italian for or stopping place, 278 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:05,919 Speaker 1: more a little room to stop into than a lovely 279 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:10,199 Speaker 1: home to spend a lavish weekend with little poetry or 280 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: beauty to be found. The casino changed hands twice quickly, 281 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,320 Speaker 1: but no one seemed able to help it. It's not 282 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:23,639 Speaker 1: hard to imagine Princess Caroline's embarrassment and disappointment at the 283 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: lackluster little house that was supposed to be her grand 284 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:34,240 Speaker 1: idea to save her country. Luckily for her, bad Omberg 285 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:38,439 Speaker 1: was starting to feel to Francois Blanc like a bad bet. 286 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:44,000 Speaker 1: By the early eighteen sixties, hess Omberg was looking likely 287 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: to be absorbed into a unified Germany, which might change 288 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 1: its opinion about the legality and morality of gambling. Blanc 289 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,920 Speaker 1: met Caroline's lawyer and the latest owner of the Monico 290 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,640 Speaker 1: casino in Paris in a arming little anecdote during which 291 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,520 Speaker 1: Blanc claimed he had to stand while the other sat 292 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:09,159 Speaker 1: because he had a boil in an unmentionable location. Weird 293 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 1: power play, but all right. The truth was Blanc couldn't lose. 294 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:17,879 Speaker 1: He'd been the guy Princess Caroline and her lawyer wanted 295 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: from the start, and Charles was already on board. Blanc 296 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: won the contract in eighteen sixty three, a fifty year 297 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:30,280 Speaker 1: exclusive deal to build up the spa and casino to 298 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:35,879 Speaker 1: support the monogusque with utilities to convey tourists between Niece 299 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:40,119 Speaker 1: and Monico, and to pay Charles and his descendants a 300 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:44,119 Speaker 1: royal kickback for the rest of time. Blanc opened a 301 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: new casino and immediately set about making it opulent, grand, 302 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:54,200 Speaker 1: a true luxury resort. On July one, eighteen sixty six, 303 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:57,639 Speaker 1: the final piece of this story was put in place. 304 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: Charles re christened the area Courtier de Monte Carlo, Mount 305 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: Charles named for himself. Princess Caroline's name was nowhere to 306 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,119 Speaker 1: be found in the title of the new casino, but 307 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: she had achieved her vision under the name of her 308 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 1: obstinate son, just as she used to work behind her husband, 309 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:24,560 Speaker 1: and so Monte Carlo, the second Charles and Princess Caroline's 310 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:32,879 Speaker 1: life was officially born. Monte Carlo flourished, and with it 311 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:37,160 Speaker 1: the country. Blanc built to train station to connect Monico 312 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 1: to the world and to invite the world's wealth in houses, shops, 313 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:46,160 Speaker 1: and hotels were built and opened faster than anyone could 314 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 1: keep track of them. Potential gamblers had to be dressed 315 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,400 Speaker 1: well or they would be turned away at the door. 316 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: It was like a thrilling. Exclusive club writers described the 317 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: beauty of the casino in glowing herms. Books were published 318 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:06,400 Speaker 1: with titles like Monaco, the Beauty Spot of the Riviera 319 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:12,359 Speaker 1: in two tract that contains descriptions like quote, the splendor 320 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 1: of the concert room too many persons may seem exaggerated 321 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,639 Speaker 1: for the abundance of ornamentation, the glare and glitter of 322 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: the gold and bronze, The rich reflections of the ruby 323 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:30,919 Speaker 1: velvet hangings are perhaps too dazzling. End quote. The plight 324 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: of a once financially imperiled Monaco seemed lifetimes away. The 325 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:43,320 Speaker 1: country was now making money hand over fist. On February eighth, 326 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:49,480 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty nine, Charles abolished income taxes for all citizens 327 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:54,600 Speaker 1: of Monaco. It all seemed like an economic coop, but 328 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 1: the Palace was not insensitive to the potential dark sides 329 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:04,879 Speaker 1: of gambling, the addiction, the ruin, the risk. Charles decreed 330 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,000 Speaker 1: that it would be the foreigners who risked their moral 331 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: lives in the casino. The Montegusque would be forbidden to 332 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:17,120 Speaker 1: enter the gambling halls except to work there. At first blush, 333 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 1: this seems unfair, It is unfair, but see it another 334 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,080 Speaker 1: way too. Here in the United States, we often see 335 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:29,720 Speaker 1: ballot measures in which cities in economic distress want to 336 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:34,160 Speaker 1: open casinos as a way to get revenue. It rarely works. 337 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,040 Speaker 1: More often than not, the casino will take money from 338 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:42,520 Speaker 1: their state's own residents, often the poorest, instead of earning 339 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:46,400 Speaker 1: money from outside state borders that they could then keep inside. 340 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:51,880 Speaker 1: Via Charles Decree, Monaco avoided this problem. They would make 341 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:58,639 Speaker 1: money from tourists only the country prospered. All the while, 342 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:02,919 Speaker 1: of course, the question of moral vice lingered. The press 343 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:06,520 Speaker 1: talked in outrage terms about the men and women who 344 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 1: lingered together in the gambling halls. Rumors circulated about old 345 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:15,240 Speaker 1: women having lost it all given fair for a one 346 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:20,040 Speaker 1: way train ride home. Describing this period from the advantage 347 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:25,600 Speaker 1: of the historian Ethel Colburn Maine wrote, quote, I now 348 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:30,840 Speaker 1: enter a region of such wild invective, such unbridled scandal, 349 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 1: that the very ink turns pale to no one is 350 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:39,280 Speaker 1: left a shred of character past present or to come 351 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:45,160 Speaker 1: end quote, perhaps a little dramatic. In eighteen seventy six, 352 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:48,760 Speaker 1: a pamphlet and niece listed Monte Carlo's losers at the 353 00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:54,240 Speaker 1: gambling tables who became Monte Carlo's suicides, A pistol bullet 354 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:58,480 Speaker 1: in his heart, a head severed from the trunk by 355 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:03,159 Speaker 1: the train between two tunnels at Monaco. A book in 356 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:07,119 Speaker 1: the pocket of a corpse, inscribed, Monico will be the 357 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:12,920 Speaker 1: destruction of many others end quote. Were these vicious violent 358 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:19,000 Speaker 1: rumors drew? Were they exaggerated by moralists? Probably a little 359 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,800 Speaker 1: bit of both. None of the moral problems hampered the 360 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:27,600 Speaker 1: casino's growth and reputation on the world stage. Carl Marks 361 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:31,919 Speaker 1: visited Monte Carlo in eight two. Edward Monk painted it 362 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 1: in two. F Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda were 363 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:41,480 Speaker 1: frequent visitors. In the nineteen twenties. American actress Grace Kelly 364 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:46,560 Speaker 1: became its most famous princess when she married Princess Carolines 365 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:51,840 Speaker 1: great great great grandson were near the third in nineteen 366 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 1: fifty six. The brains of the operation were gone long 367 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 1: before that. France Sua Blanc died a multi millionaire on 368 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: July seventy seven. Princess Caroline outlived him by two years, 369 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:11,200 Speaker 1: dying in eighteen seventy nine, assured that she had done 370 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:15,399 Speaker 1: all she could to set her country and family on 371 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:20,639 Speaker 1: a safe path. For the future. Monico's current coat of 372 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:25,480 Speaker 1: arms is a suit of red diamonds on white, flanked 373 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:30,480 Speaker 1: by two men dressed in friar's robes brandishing swords. The 374 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:36,960 Speaker 1: virtuous with an edge, all a gamble, all a cunning play. 375 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 1: If you squint, the coat of arms looks like a 376 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:44,760 Speaker 1: playing card. As for hess Homburg, the home of bad 377 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:49,080 Speaker 1: Omburg casino, the bet Francois Blanc was willing to take first, 378 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: it was absorbed into Germany. Monico remains an independent state. 379 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:15,040 Speaker 1: That's the story of how Princess Maria Caroline of Monaco 380 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 1: had the idea for a casino to save her country, 381 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 1: but stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear 382 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: a little bit more about the legacy of the Blanc 383 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:37,800 Speaker 1: family fortune. Francois Blanc, designer of the modern Monte Carlo, 384 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:41,280 Speaker 1: died with the equivalent of eighty eight million francs to 385 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:45,120 Speaker 1: leave his family. Though the money diminished over time, there 386 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: was still a substantial sum left for his granddaughter, Marie Bonaparte, 387 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 1: yes related to that Bonaparte. In nine seven she married 388 00:29:55,720 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 1: Prince George of Greece and Denmark and became Princess, But 389 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 1: the marriage had a problem. Prince George was almost certainly gay. 390 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:10,640 Speaker 1: Almost two decades into the marriage. Having lived apart from 391 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:14,400 Speaker 1: her husband for the majority of it, Blanc's granddaughter sought 392 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:18,960 Speaker 1: help for her own black luster sexual experiences in the 393 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:23,960 Speaker 1: form of a brand new field psycho analysis. She wound 394 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: up on the couch of a very famous Jewish psychoanalyst, 395 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:33,200 Speaker 1: one who would ultimately need a ransom page to the 396 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:38,840 Speaker 1: Nazis in order to escape. Maria Bonaparte used some of 397 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,520 Speaker 1: the fortune that she had inherited from the founding of 398 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 1: Monte Carlo to pay that ransom and save the life 399 00:30:46,600 --> 00:31:09,840 Speaker 1: of her psychoanalyst, Siegmund Freud. Noble Blood is a production 400 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,200 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. 401 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is hosted by me Danish Wartz. Additional writing 402 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:22,040 Speaker 1: and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Mirra Hayward, 403 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:25,880 Speaker 1: Courtney Sunder, and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by 404 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:30,920 Speaker 1: rema Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thaine and executive 405 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:35,240 Speaker 1: producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more 406 00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart radio, app, 407 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.