Christian Louis | |||||
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Baron of Massy | |||||
Born |
Monaco |
17 January 1949 ||||
Spouse | María Marta Quintana y del Carril Anne Michelle Lütken Julia Lakschin Cécile Gelabale |
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Full name | |
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Christian Louis Rainier Baron de Massy |
Christian Louis de Massy (born 17 January 1949 in Monaco) is the son of Princess Antoinette of Monaco, Baroness de Massy, and her husband, international tennis champion Alexandre-Athenase Noghès. His grandfather, Antony Noghès, created the world-famous Monaco Grand Prix.
Massy is a first cousin of the reigning Prince Albert II and nephew of Prince Rainier III. He was born out of wedlock, his parents marrying in 1946. The second of three siblings, his two sisters are Elisabeth-Anne (born 1947) and Christine Alix (1951–1989).
By 1951, Rainier was the Prince of Monaco, but was unmarried and had no children. Some have reported that, citing the need for an heir to continue the throne of Monaco, Christian's mother Princess Antoinette sought to gauge support among Monegasque citizenry for a change to the constitution to place Christian upon the throne as a child, with his mother exercising sovereign authority as regent until his adulthood. The Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1918 already provided that a childless sovereign of Monaco could adopt an heir to the throne. Therefore, had Rainier then chosen to adopt Christian de Massy, that would have made Christian the heir presumptive (although he would lose his place in the order of succession to any children born of a subsequent marriage of Rainier).
Regardless, once Rainier married Grace Kelly and had children, Princess Antoinette's concern over succession waned and the possibility of Christian acceding to the throne became more remote. Princess Antoinette then threw her full support behind the succession of her brother. The family presented a unified front thenceforth, with Prince Rainier III granting his sister the title of Baroness of Massy, and young Christian de Massy serving as ring bearer at the marriage of his uncle to Grace Kelly.