200 Years of the Prince's Carabiniers

Carabiniers of the Prince shown in characteristic poses, with the Palace of Monaco in the background. Above: the country name “MONACO”, flanked by the mintmark and the mint master's mark. Below: the dates “1817-2017” and, beneath them, the inscription “CARABINIERS DU PRINCE”.

The Prince's Company of Carabinieri of Monaco - officially the Carabiniers du Prince - was founded in 1817 by Prince Honoré IV and is thus one of the oldest units of its kind still active in Europe. Its original task was the personal protection of the princely family and the guarding of the palace on the Rock of Monaco. Over the 19th and 20th centuries, the company developed from a small bodyguard into a regular security force of the city-state, today reporting directly to the Prince of Monaco. Its uniform, with a dark green tunic and distinctive rank insignia, has remained almost unchanged for generations and is regarded as a visual symbol of the continuity of the Monegasque princely house.

Monaco is a sovereign small state on the Côte d'Azur with a population of around 37,000 on barely two square kilometres - and yet one of the older constitutional monarchies in Europe. The House of Grimaldi has ruled the principality since the late Middle Ages, and despite the country's small size its state institutions are fully developed. These include administration and justice as well as its own armed and security forces, among which the Carabiniers du Prince are the oldest formation. On the occasion of the company's 200th founding anniversary, Monaco issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2017 recalling this long institutional tradition.