In The Man who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo I briefly mention (in a footnote) that our present monarch, King Charles III, is related – albeit distantly – to the Blanc family who founded the Casino at Monte Carlo. I decided to investigate further and discovered that our present King’s great uncle, Prince George of Greece and Denmark (1869-1962), was married to Marie Bonaparte, the grand-daughter of François Blanc, who founded the famous casino in 1865. (I did say they were distantly related!)
The vital link between the two families was Marie Bonaparte who – as her name suggests – was also related to the Emperor Napoleon. (She was the great grand-daughter of Lucien Bonaparte, brother of the Emperor Bonaparte).