300th Birthday of Prince Honoré III

Portrait of Prince Honoré III, with the inscription "Honoré III" to the left and the issuing state "MONACO" to the right. Below, the legend "1720 — Naissance — 2020" curves in a semicircle.

Honoré III reigned over the Principality of Monaco from 1733 to 1795 — one of the longest reigns in the history of the House of Grimaldi. Born in 1720 as the grandson of Prince Antoine I, he took power at a time when Monaco had to manoeuvre between the great powers of France and Sardinia. He strengthened the Monegasque administration and maintained close ties with the French court, thereby securing the continuity of Grimaldi rule through the politically turbulent 18th century. Toward the end of his reign, he was deposed by the National Convention in 1793 as a result of the French Revolution; Monaco was briefly incorporated into the Republic as part of the Alpes-Maritimes. Honoré III died in Paris in 1795, without ever seeing his rule restored.

For Monaco, Honoré III remains a central figure in its early modern state history: he embodies the era in which the small Principality preserved its independence through diplomatic skill, before the Napoleonic reordering of Europe fundamentally changed the borders of the region. In a broader context, his biography stands as an example of the position of small dynasties in pre-revolutionary Europe, seeking their own path amid the interests of the great powers. The year 2020 marked the 300th anniversary of Prince Honoré III's birth, which Monaco honoured with the issue of a 2-euro commemorative coin.