Love Ball

 Recently there was a special celebration called the "Love Ball" at the Opera of Monte Carlo, appropriately attended by TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene. Ms. Natalia Vodianova (of the Naked Heart foundation) organized the event and HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover also attended as part of the proceeds from the evening will go to benefit her charity AMADE.

Galerie des pêcheurs : Exposition du Programme Alimentaire Mondial

Busy Days for the Grimaldis

On Wednesday, Prince Albert II was at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco for a special conference on Antarctica where the Sovereign Prince discussed his favorite subject, climate change, and how that is impacting the south polar region as well as new innovations and marking the 100th anniversary of Roald Amundsen reaching the South Pole (something Prince Albert did in 2009). Meanwhile, on Friday, Princess Charlene dropped by to visit the students at Charles III College before attending a special mass at the college and then having the students and staff over to the Princely Palace for a little Christmas party. A very special holiday event, no doubt.

It was also recently announced that the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation will be teaming up with the American Museum of Natural History to support conservation efforts in the Solomon Islands (a Commonwealth Realm in the Pacific near New Guinea which saw some fierce battles with the Japanese in World War II). There is evidently some concern over the preservation of the bio-diversity of the region due to the islands being at the center of the crossroads of oil exploration and maritime trade. We will have to wait and see how that develops.

And finally, Princess Charlene was in Germany yesterday where she attended the "Heart for the Children" charity gala in Berlin (and there's nothing the Grimaldis love more than a good gala). This is one of the biggest television-charity events in Germany and Princess Charlene had a number of friends among the group. As well as being there to support their efforts, Princess Charlene was honored herself, being awarded the "Golden Heart" for her charity work and devotion to humanitarian causes. The Princess of Monaco said she accepted the award on behalf of all the volunteers who devote their time to helping children. Good works connected with the little ones have always been at the top of Charlene's priorities as Princess of Monaco and it was nice to see her recognized for this. Keep up the good work!

Albert and Caroline, Doing Good

The Prince and Princess of Monaco are home again from their ‘green-themed’ visit to South Africa and everyone is feeling charitable and in the Christmas spirit. On Monday the Sovereign Prince made his way to Residence Cap Fleuri to hand out a pile of presents to the local residents for Noel Croix Rouge. Everyone looked pleased to see him and it is always nice to see the personal touch Prince Albert has always displayed toward the neighbors of Monaco. And, while Prince Albert was getting into the Christmas spirit, HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover was attending the Menschen in Europa Charity Awards at the Media Centre of Passau in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Princess spoke to the assembled dignitaries about her deep-seated commitment to Amade Mondiale, the World Association of Children’s Friends which is the one charitable organization most near and dear to her heart.

More Green News and a New Foundation

Still in South Africa, on Thursday, TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene met with Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in Cape Town. After exchanging greetings Princess Charlene presented the archbishop with a check for one million Rand (South African dollars) for his charity The Giving Organization; a group Princess Charlene has had an interest in for some time. Afterwards the Princely couple were off to the Cape Town Clock Tower to attend the Polaris Climate Change Observatory hosted by the Polar International Foundation. I hope that all went well (what do you say to that? "I hope you observe alot of climate change" doesn't really sound right does it?).

In other news, people have been talking about it for quite a while and now (fanfare here) it has been announced officially. Starting next year the new Princess consort will have her very own charitable foundation called (are you ready for this?) The Princess Charlene Foundation. She'll have her own website and everything, it's going to be terrific. According to the official announcement details about what the foundation will actually do will be forthcoming in 2012 when it all gets started. However, I think it would be safe to say that, knowing Princess Charlene as we do, we can probably expect it to involve children and sports to a large extent. Good for her. There is no better sign that you are getting into the 'groove' of being royalty than establishing your own charitable foundation. I'm sure it will be a great source of good to many people.

Princely Couple Visit Nepal

There Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco slipped away from New Zealand and have been making a short visit to Nepal where they have checked in on a school in the Himalayan country (formerly the last Hindu monarchy in the world) which was built by Monaco Aide et Présence and which is now one of the best schools in the country. The Sovereign Prince will then lay the corner stones for some more schools to be built by the Nepal-Monaco Cultural Association and visit some other clinics and workshops built with aid from France. But wait! I know what you're thinking: Nepal had a revolution, they tossed out their terrible king and the Maoists took over (Maoists so hard-core they even freaked out the Red Chinese) so surely they have spread the wealth around and made sure there are no more poor in Nepal...right? Yeah, not so much, seems they still need a great deal of help from wealthy western nations where capitalism holds a little sway. Imagine that. Message to Nepal - It's not working. Just tell the King you're sorry and ask him to come back, we won't tell anyone, we'll just pretend the whole thing never happened. Okay? Good. Moving on then...

Charlene Swims for Charity

HSH Prince Albert II's fiancée Charlene Wittstock (a former Olympic swimmer as we know) wrapped up her visit to her former homeland of South Africa by participating in the 38th aQuelle Midmar Mile Race at Midmar Mile Dam in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa on Saturday morning. She had never participated in the race before but took part this year to raise money for the Special Olympics and was pleased to visit South Africa and see some old friends and family whom she has been apart from for some time. The race was held Saturday and Sunday and marked the end of Charlene's week-long visit home where she certainly attracted more attention, or at the least a different sort of attention than in the past -before she was engaged to marry the Prince of Monaco.

Prior to the race she attended several charitable activities to raise money for the Special Olympics; a very worthy cause. On Friday she was at St. John’s Diocesan School in Pietermaritzburg to host a charity breakfast that raised $2,300. Afterwards she cut the ribbon to open a new pool at the school for competitive swimmers and unveiled a plaque commemorating the occasion. The future Princess of Monaco spoke of her hope that the new facilities would see the school produce some future Olympic swimmers. The Games are clearly very dear to Charlene and Prince Albert who are both veteran Olympians (though in very different sports. That evening she attended the launch of the “Nelson Mandela Intimate Moments Exhibition” by Kerry Muldoun at Liberty Midlands Mall.

Now, it is back to Monaco, surely for more wedding plans for the future Princess of Monaco but she will be back in South Africa again after her marriage where the Prince and new Princess will both attend a meeting of the International Olympic Committee; something so important to both of them that they changed the original date of their wedding so that certain guests would not have to choose between attending to their Olympic duties and attending the wedding. "Nice guy" Albert II, always thoughtful...

Charlene Giving Back

When word first came that Charlene would be the next Princess of Monaco there was talk about what charitable causes she would champion. This, of course, is something not required but widely expected and, given her background, it was assumed that for Charlene the former Olympian something in the area of sports could be expected. It turns out that such predictions were pretty much spot-on. Next Saturday Charlene will be visiting South Africa to swim the Midmar Mile to benefit charity and make a few other appearances. The proceeds will go to benefit the South African Special Olympics. Many disabled swimmers will themselves also be participating in the event. Charlene said she was very excited to be returning to South Africa, looking forward to seeing friends and so on but also warned that she is not exactly in Olympic-quality shape anymore. It has been reported that Charlene has already raised some 60,000 euros for the Special Olympics. She first started considering swimming the Midmar Mile when she happened to meet the director of the event in Monaco. It seems a very good way for Charlene to do what she does best and to benefit a very worthy charity.

Charlotte Dazzles for Heart Health

Yesterday, Charlotte Casiraghi and boyfriend Alex Dellal lent their presence to the Love Ball London at the Roundhouse, held to raise money for The Naked Heart Foundation. The ball was organized by Russian model Natalia Vodianova in cooperation with De Beers and Harper's Bazaar. This was the second such event, the first being held earlier in Moscow. Charlotte was as radiant as ever and Alex, as usual, looked like he was barely there...

Annual Christmas Charity Swim

On the 20th HSH Prince Albert II, girlfriend Charlene Wittstock and nephew Pierre Casiraghi all participated in the annual Charity Christmas Swim for TATSA association in Monaco. At about 57 degrees it was certainly a 'brisk' dip as usual but the participants were all smiles and it was all for a worthy cause.

Andrea Active for Charity

Yesterday, Andrea Casiraghi appeared with the French deputy of Beaune Alain Suguenot, the French singer and actor Patrick Bruel and the President of the Cotes d'Or Francois Sauvadet at the 149th edition of the Hospices de Beaune charity auction wine sale, the best known part of the most famous Burgundian festival and the greatest charity sale of its kind in the world which has attracted the biggest names and experts in wine for the past 80 years. It was a very grand event and all for a very good cause and Andrea seemed to have a good time lending his name and celebrity to the cause. Andrea Casiraghi is the eldest son of HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover and currently second in line to the Monegasque throne.

Princess Stephanie Starts the Race

HSH Princess Stephanie of Monaco fired the starting pistol today to set off the runners of the "No Finish Line" foot race in Monaco on the 10th anniversary of the event which is held by the Children & Future charity. 1.10 euros is raised for every kilometer run, last year making 115,000 euros with hopes that this year's event well top that sum. The money raised will go to the Monaco Collectif Humanitaire which helps children with deformed hearts, a financial co-op for the theatre in Mauritania and Princess Stephanie's group Fight AIDS Monaco. Princess Stephanie's children Louis Ducruet and Camille Gottlieb were also on hand for the event. If Her Serene Highness looks a little apprehensive about the starting pistol -she was!