Philippe Junot, First Husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, Dies at 85

Philippe Junot, the first husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, has died in Madrid, where he lived, at the age of 85. His eldest daughter, Victoria, shared the news of his passing on Thursday, January 8, via social media.

“It is with immense sadness that I announce the death of my father,” she wrote in a caption with a carousel of photos of Junot. “He departed this side of the world peacefully surrounded by family in Jan 8, 2026 in Madrid after a long beautiful adventurous life. A grandfather of 3 almost 4. To my legendary Papa, oh how we love you ❤️ we will miss you, no adequate words…”

She went on to thank her deceased father for “all the laughs and the adventures, showing us *your* world & the inspiration to reach greater heights,” as well as for “your love which will never leave us.”

Philippe Junot was the son of Congressman Michel Junot, and was descended from a family associated with the French nobility. An entrepreneur and a man of unquestionable charm, he was often in the spotlight even before becoming part of the royal family of Monaco. Junot had four children: Victoria, Isabelle, and Alexis, born of his 1987 marriage to Danish model and socialite Nina Wendelboe-Larsen (they divorced in 1997), as well as Chloé, 20, whom he shares with his current partner, Swedish model Helén Wendel.

The most famous chapter in Junot’s life, however, remains his brief marriage to Princess Caroline. In 1978, Caroline was 21 years old and already drawing plenty of international attention. She announced that she would marry Philippe Junot despite the doubts of her parents, Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, who considered him common, as well as skepticism from the press. Junot, 17 years her senior, was perceived as a Don Juan, entangled in shady affairs, but for the young princess love evidently overcame all misgivings.

The two were married in a civil ceremony on the Rocher de Monaco on June 28, 1978, followed by the religious ceremony the next day, all just a few months after the couple met at a nightclub. They honeymooned in Tahiti, their every move chronicled by the press.

Despite the harmony of the early days of their marriage, Junot soon returned to his playboy ways, and photos of Junot and another woman in America reached Caroline. The marriage lasted just two years: Caroline filed for divorce in October 1980. In 1992, Pope John Paul II annulled the marriage within the Catholic church, which does not allow divorce, citing “insufficient consent” and making the marriage as if it had never happened, in the Church’s view. Caroline first petitioned for the annulment in 1982. In 1983, she married Stefano Casiraghi in a civil ceremony, while the Church was still considering her case. Caroline and Casiraghi had three children, Andrea, Charlotte, and Pierre, before he died in a speedboat crash in 1990.

Originally published in Vanity Fair Italia.

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