Passionate journalist, for more than 10 years, I have been carrying out investigations, portraits, reports or interviews.
At the end of the 1970s, Caroline of Monaco, aged 21, married Philippe Junot, a playboy 17 years her senior. The marriage, which attracted the elite of Hollywood to Monaco, was unfortunately short-lived. Two years after their union, the couple divorced. Why such a rapid breakup? What has become of Philippe Junot since then? Purepeople returns to this love story.
Caroline of Monaco divorced from Philippe Junot: her first husband rebuilt his life several times
“At this very moment, Monsieur and Madame Junot are apparently at sea, an enchanting honeymoon but made almost obligatory since the boat which shelters them is one of the countless wedding gifts they received….” Thus opened on June 29, 1978 the last subject of the Television Journal of France 2. A sequence White Notebook broadcast only a few hours after Mme Junot, in other words, who celebrates his 68th birthday this January 23had united religiously with Philippe Junot, a famous banker. An event covered by cameras around the world since 1000 journalists were present to spread the good news.
Good news? Not for everyone. Although the sun may be bathing the Principality on this wedding day, huge stars like Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner et Cary Granthidden behind their dark glasses, may well anoint, with their august presence, this new love, in the small princely circle, some look grim. They take a dim view of the union of this young and beautiful princess, aged only 21 years oldto this man “of the common living from everything and nothing”, as would have been described Rainier himself, quoted in the special issue Legendary couplespublished by Paris Match in 2021. A couple that the Monegasque authorities would have liked to see break up before this marriage is celebrated. Alas, this will not be the case.
Philippe Junot, considered a Don Juan, is 17 years older than Caroline of Monaco
This man is Philippe Junot. He is a son of a good family. Father deputy, sub-prefect and former deputy mayor of Paris; mother: daughter of a Danish industrialist. However, it combines certain handicaps so that this union fulfills the Grimaldi family. First, his origins: he has no aristocratic ancestry. Then, his age: he is 17 years older than Caroline ! His job is not very appreciated either: he works in real estate with the hazards that this activity entails. To top it all off, — met and Rainier’s eldest daughter at a New York nightclub…
It is therefore in no way a coincidence that on this wedding day when everything seems perfect, Gotha observers note notable absentees… With the exception of the Count of Paris and the former King of Italy Humbert II, no crowned head made the trip…The prince pretended to have been “restrained by an obligation”. The royal representatives of the court of Norway, that of Denmark, the Netherlands, or the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, who nevertheless regularly welcomed Rainier and Grace, were conspicuous by their absence as were the princes of Liechtenstein.
What do these defections matter to the bride? For now, on this festive day, she enjoys her happiness with this man from whom she hopes to have children. That evening, she goes dancing, in love, forgetting the doubts of some, the resentments of others, and brushing aside the rumors circulating about her husband’s reputation as a business adventurer and runner. . The state of grace will be short-lived…
Two years, during which the couple takes his fame from Parisian evenings to posh ski resortsthis Don Juan, as the weekly describes him Paris Matchwill make life difficult for the young bride. A man a little too free on the one hand, a young woman bound by strict protocol: Caroline’s dreams of starting a family disappear. On October 9, 1980, the divorce of the one, is pronounced.
The divorce between Caroline of Monaco and Philippe Junot will take 12 years
End of story? Not quite. It would be necessary to wait twelve more years until, at the end of a long procedure, the Vatican, represented by the sovereign pontiff of the time, John Paul IIagrees to cancel the religious marriage. In the meantime, Caroline has of course rebuilt her life. With Stefano Casiraghifirst, that she can only marry civilly on December 29, 1983 at the Monaco palace. Then, near the father of , and , she will marry, in January 1999, with Ernst August of Hanoverand who is still her husband today.
And Philippe Junot? Of course, he also found love again. He remarried in 1988 to Nina Wendelboe-Larsen, a woman of Danish originwho gave him three children: Victoria, Alexis and Isabelle. The latter also imitated her father by reconnecting with aristocratic loves since she married Álvaro Falcó Chavarri, fourth Marquis of Cubas, in Spain in April 2022. A character from the Spanish nobility to whom she was going to give a daughter, baptized Philippa.
Philippe Junot, victim of Madoff
The latter’s grandfather, Philippe Junot, has in the meantime left Nina Wendelboe-Larsen to set up in a relationship with model Helen Wendel with whom he also has a child, Chloé, born in 2005.
However, he continued his business. We learned at the end of the 2000s, when the scandal broke, that he had connections with Bernard Madoff, the famous American businessman who was guilty of a gigantic fraud and who is. “Madoff fooled us“, proclaimed Junot in January 2009 in the pages of L’Expressexplaining how he had been deceived by the scammer.
Philippe Junot was fortunately able to console himself by devoting himself to his family. His daughters Chloé and Isabelle live near Marbella, in Spain, a sunny place where their father, now 84 years old,…
