Succession to the Monegasque throne

The list below includes only persons eligible to succeed to the throne (numbered 1 to 18) and the illegitimate children who would enter the line if their parents ever married.

A person born to a dynast who was not married to the other parent at the time of birth (such as Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, Camille Gottlieb or Raphaël Elmaleh) does not have any succession rights unless legitimized by his or her parents' subsequent marriage (Civil Code 229 states: "Les enfants légitimés par le mariage subséquent auront les mêmes droits que s'ils étaient nés de ce mariage").

Louis and Pauline Ducruet, Alexandre (Sasha) Casiraghi and Balthazar Rassam have been legitimised by their parents' subsequent marriages.

[citation needed] Until 2002, the crown of Monaco could pass only to the direct descendants, including adopted children, of the reigning prince.

This possibility had two implications, namely that a) the throne might fall vacant and Monaco might officially become a protectorate of France should Prince Albert inherit the crown and then die without fathering or adopting a legitimate heir or b) Prince Albert might adopt an unrelated person as his heir, thereby breaking the genealogical line of the House of Grimaldi.