As most know, Pakistan has recently been devestated by massive flooding and the Principality of Monaco has joined other nations from around the world in sending help. Working through the World Health Organization Prince Albert II has sent one hundred thousand euros from the budget of the "Aide Humanitaire d'Urgence". More information (in French) can be found at the official website of telecom Monaco here.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monaco Rushes Help to Pakistan
As most know, Pakistan has recently been devestated by massive flooding and the Principality of Monaco has joined other nations from around the world in sending help. Working through the World Health Organization Prince Albert II has sent one hundred thousand euros from the budget of the "Aide Humanitaire d'Urgence". More information (in French) can be found at the official website of telecom Monaco here.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Photos from Singapore
Daniel Ducruet, Camille and Princess Stephanie show the Monegasque colors 
uncle Albert gives his support
Pauline fresh from the pool
sister, father, a worried mother and brother all look onThursday, August 26, 2010
The Code Louis
In December of 1678 HSH Prince Louis I enacted a four volume overhaul of the Monegasque legal system known officially as the “Statutes of the Principality” but also known simply as the “Code Louis”. Today Prince Louis I may be best remembered for his battlefield exploits and colorful personal life but for Monaco he was also a great lawgiver and his “Code Louis” merits his ranking as one of the most far-sighted monarchs of his time. In some ways the statutes were rather ordinary. They dealt with civil law, criminal law, regulations for the municipal police and rural police (in that time Monaco consisted largely of farmland) and many other items that would have been commonplace in most any legal code in Europe. However, what made the “Code Louis” stand out was that it forbade the use of torture, something which, while not as prevalent as in the past, was still considered a legitimate tool of the state at the time. Yet, Prince Louis I went even further than that and abolished all forms of corporal punishment, probably the most common of which at that time was public flogging. To give an example, Great Britain only totally abolished judicial corporal punishment in 1948 and such laws remained on the books at least in Canada until 1972. In the United States corporal punishment remained officially legal in the state of Delaware until 1952.
The "Code Louis" still exists in the archives of the Princely Palace and is a testament to the innovation of Prince Louis I. He also, in a way, looked forward to the land-reclaiming projects of Prince Rainier III. During his reign Louis I increased the territorial waters claimed by Monaco to 30 nautical miles in order to collect more shipping levies. When the French protested Louis I replied that, "My land is so small that I must take a bit from the sea". One wonders what he would have thought of Rainier III taking that idea so literally.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Happy Birthday Alexander!
Today Prince Albert's natural son Alexandre Coste celebrates his 7th birthday. Mad for Monaco wishes the little guy a very happy birthday!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Napoleon Museum
HSH Prince Louis II, a dedicated military man, was fascinated by the history of Imperial France and the career of Napoleon Bonaparte. During his reign he amassed a considerable collection of historical relics related to the period and to preserve and share this collection established the Napoleon Museum of Monaco. Most of the items came from Prince Louis II but the collection was also enlarged by his grandson and successor Prince Rainier III who moved the museum to the south wing of the Princely Palace in 1970. There are over a thousand pieces and documents related to the First Empire and the life, battles and exiles of the famed French conqueror. The collection includes many objects that belonged to Emperor Napoleon I, clothes worn by his son Napoleon II, King of Rome, and holy images from his exile on St Helena.
The Napoleonic epic is evoked through some very personal items such as the hat worn by the Emperor at Marengo, his red leather desk blotter, the watch he wore during the Russian campaign, his signature at the bottom of a letter and so on. As for the Napoleonic Wars there are numerous related items as well such as cannonballs from the battle of Austerlitz, a wide variety of weapons including the saber of Marshal Pierre Augereau and the battalion flag from the island of Elba. Aside from the Napoleonic items there is also a great deal of historical material related to Monaco itself. On the magnificent mezzanine floor there is, on display, the Charter of Independence of Monaco given by the royal assent of King Louis XII of France, a letter written by the famous French King Louis XIV to HSH Prince Antoine I of Monaco, a collection of rare coins from Monegasque history, a similar collection of stamps and a display of the various uniforms of the Prince of Monaco’s soldiers worn throughout the centuries.
The museum is located at the Princely Palace (not in Monte Carlo as is sometimes said) and is open most days other than holidays and is closed from November 12 to December 16. Current admission is 4 euros for adults and 2 euros for children ages 8-14. Groups have a special rate of 3 euros. A little money can also be saved by grouping admission to the museum together with the tour of the apartments of the Princely Palace. The Princely Family has a great deal of history in connection to Napoleon, several Princes of Monaco serving in the French Imperial Army and one, the future Prince Honore V, served as equerry to the Empress Josephine. The history of the Grimaldis and the Napoleonic era can be seen a little more detail in this post.
The Napoleonic epic is evoked through some very personal items such as the hat worn by the Emperor at Marengo, his red leather desk blotter, the watch he wore during the Russian campaign, his signature at the bottom of a letter and so on. As for the Napoleonic Wars there are numerous related items as well such as cannonballs from the battle of Austerlitz, a wide variety of weapons including the saber of Marshal Pierre Augereau and the battalion flag from the island of Elba. Aside from the Napoleonic items there is also a great deal of historical material related to Monaco itself. On the magnificent mezzanine floor there is, on display, the Charter of Independence of Monaco given by the royal assent of King Louis XII of France, a letter written by the famous French King Louis XIV to HSH Prince Antoine I of Monaco, a collection of rare coins from Monegasque history, a similar collection of stamps and a display of the various uniforms of the Prince of Monaco’s soldiers worn throughout the centuries.
The museum is located at the Princely Palace (not in Monte Carlo as is sometimes said) and is open most days other than holidays and is closed from November 12 to December 16. Current admission is 4 euros for adults and 2 euros for children ages 8-14. Groups have a special rate of 3 euros. A little money can also be saved by grouping admission to the museum together with the tour of the apartments of the Princely Palace. The Princely Family has a great deal of history in connection to Napoleon, several Princes of Monaco serving in the French Imperial Army and one, the future Prince Honore V, served as equerry to the Empress Josephine. The history of the Grimaldis and the Napoleonic era can be seen a little more detail in this post.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Because I Wanna Be A Cowboy Baby!
This was part of a photo-shoot on the occasion of Prince Albert's visit to Cody, Wyoming during which he visited the same stomping grounds of HSH Prince Albert I who was taken on a guided hunting trip by "Buffalo Bill" himself. The faux facial hair may have been a bit over the top but anyone can salute the effort.Prince of Monaco -'Gone Country'!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Monaco Defending the Faith
Monaco is on board with a plan to defend the Christian heritage of Europe. Metropolitan Hilarion, chairman of the Department of External Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, proposed the constitution of a “strategic alliance between Catholics and Orthodox” to defend the Christian traditions of Europe “against the secularism, liberalism and relativism that prevail in modern Europe”. The Russian Orthodox Church is not known for vague statements. This was prompted by the ruling last November against the display of crucifixes in Italian schools by the European Court of Human Rights. This has led to a coalition of some 20 countries from across Europe, Catholic and Orthodox, united in defense of the crucifix as a vital symbol of the religious heritage of the continent. Among those 20 is the Principality of Monaco which, while certainly allowing freedom of religion, recognizes the Roman Catholic Church as the official religion of the country as it always has been.
The ruling about crucifixes in Italian classrooms has taken on a much broader significance as people on both sides of the issue have seized on it as a symbolic struggle in the growing trend of secularization across Europe. Opponents of the ruling say that, since the court deemed that the state must be confessionally neutral the court effectively ruled that, regardless of history, heritage or the will of the popular majority, Europe must be entirely secular. The ruling means, rather oddly, that regardless of the democratic process any European country must be totally secular in order to be democratic. Supporters of the crucifix ban say that this issue is simply about religious freedom (the original lawsuit was brought by a Scottish convert to Islam living in Italy who objected to the presence of the crucifix in classrooms). However, while traditionally Catholic countries like France have officially become totally secular the neighboring Principality of Monaco has not and yet both have complete freedom of religion.
The Principality of Monaco was among the first ten countries to object to the court ruling alongside Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Russia and San Marino. Later on ten more countries; Albania, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldavia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and the Ukraine have also joined the opposition to the ruling. Obviously, this opposition cuts across the traditionally deep divisions between Catholic and Orthodox countries, united now in common defense of the Christian heritage of Europe. With Italy, almost half of the founding nations of the Council of Europe have now voiced disapproval of the secularist policy. Prince Albert II has not been totally uninvolved in the campaign for closer ties between the Catholic and Orthodox communities. Regular readers will remember the Sovereign Prince awarding His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I for his efforts in this regard.
The ruling about crucifixes in Italian classrooms has taken on a much broader significance as people on both sides of the issue have seized on it as a symbolic struggle in the growing trend of secularization across Europe. Opponents of the ruling say that, since the court deemed that the state must be confessionally neutral the court effectively ruled that, regardless of history, heritage or the will of the popular majority, Europe must be entirely secular. The ruling means, rather oddly, that regardless of the democratic process any European country must be totally secular in order to be democratic. Supporters of the crucifix ban say that this issue is simply about religious freedom (the original lawsuit was brought by a Scottish convert to Islam living in Italy who objected to the presence of the crucifix in classrooms). However, while traditionally Catholic countries like France have officially become totally secular the neighboring Principality of Monaco has not and yet both have complete freedom of religion.
The Principality of Monaco was among the first ten countries to object to the court ruling alongside Armenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Russia and San Marino. Later on ten more countries; Albania, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldavia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and the Ukraine have also joined the opposition to the ruling. Obviously, this opposition cuts across the traditionally deep divisions between Catholic and Orthodox countries, united now in common defense of the Christian heritage of Europe. With Italy, almost half of the founding nations of the Council of Europe have now voiced disapproval of the secularist policy. Prince Albert II has not been totally uninvolved in the campaign for closer ties between the Catholic and Orthodox communities. Regular readers will remember the Sovereign Prince awarding His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I for his efforts in this regard.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
American Visit and Home Again
Some more pictures are now out of Prince Albert's American vacation. Here an amused Sovereign Prince and fiance Charlene Wittstock are seen during their tour of Elvis Presley's Graceland estate in Memphis. The American trip was wrapped up and it was back to the principality for more princely duties.
Yesterday, Prince Albert II met with Prime Minister Najib Razak of the southeast Asian Kingdom of Malaysia at the Islamic Fashion Festival in Monte Carlo. Besides the Prime Minister and his wife other visiting dignitaries from the Islamic world includeed Maira Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and PrimeMinister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani of Qatar.
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