AND died at 85 years old Philippe Junot, French entrepreneur known in the gossip columns above all for being the first husband of Caroline of Monaco. The news was shared via social media by one of the daughters, Victoria, who on Instagram published a series of shots of his father, who passed away in his home Madrid on January 8th.
Philippe Junot, the farewell message from his daughter Victoria
His, wrote Victoria Junot, was «a long and beautiful adventurous life», and for his “mythical dad” – as he defines him – he has only thanks.
«We will miss you, there are no adequate words… thank you for all the laughs and adventures, for showing us *your* world and the inspiration to reach greater heights, thank you for your love that will never leave us.” Junot’s daughter underlined what a privilege it was to live alongside her father, a «gentleman»explaining that it will be difficult to move forward, but that his family will continue «to smile and live and laugh to the fullest just like he would want us all to do. Until we meet again».
Victoria is Philippe Junot’s eldest daughter, born from the union with the Dane Nina Wendelboe-Larsen descended from an aristocratic family (he also had from her Isabelle And Alexis). The marriage failed in 1997 and subsequently Junot also had another daughter, Chloeborn from the bond with the Swedish model Helen Wendel.
Junot, a playboy from another time
The name of Philippe Junot also remains inextricably linked to that of Caroline of Monaco, who was his wife for a short period, from 1978 to 1980. A love story opposed by everyone in the Principality, Grace Kelly first and foremost, who did not look favorably on what was one of playboy best known of the time.
Furthermore, there was one significant age difference: the princess was just 21 years old and Junot 38, in addition to the fact that it was not very clear what his affairs consisted of. Son of the French deputy Michel Junot, who was also mayor of Paris, and of Lidya Thykjær, daughter of a Danish industrialist, Junot was a regular visitor to the high society and at a certain point her path crossed that of the princess, in Paris for study reasons.
Philippe and Carolina, the scandal and the wedding
At Casa Grimaldi they did a bit of everything to avoid the inevitable. Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly sent their daughter in first Ecuadorfor a cultural trip, and subsequently to Galapagos Islands, hoping that the distance could distance her from that story perceived as dangerous for the girl. However, nothing managed to hinder the two, who got married in a civil manner on June 28, 1978 and to church the next day. A union much followed by the press, also due to the presence of well-known faces from the entertainment industry, arriving from Hollywood: there were (among others) Agoes Gardner, Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant.
Caroline of Monaco and Philippe Junot on their wedding day (IPA)
The (announced) end of the marriage
Time (a little, in reality) would have proved the Grimaldis’ apprehensions right. Once the euphoria of the beginning had passed, things began to go badly between Junot and the princess, also because of the his betrayals. On 9 October 1980 the couple divorced, but the princess would have to wait until 1992 for the annulment of the wedding at the Sacra Rota. She was the first to remarry, on December 29, 1983, with Stefano Casiraghifather of her three children: Andrea, Charlotte and Pierrewhile Junot would have said “yes” to his second wife in 1987.
Caroline of Monaco after Philippe Junot
In Carolina’s life there would then be the great tragedy of her husband’s death in 1990 (in an accident that occurred during the offshore world championships in Monte Carlo) and her wedding to the prince Ernst of Hanoverthe man that Grace Kelly would have liked to see at her eldest daughter’s side from the beginning. The princess, who had her fourth child with him Alexandra, she’s still married to him, although they have been separated for years now. An issue that has always remained pending (it seems) to protect the daughter on the inheritance front. Another intricate story, one of those that have never been lacking in the Principality.