Prince of Monaco in Haiti

HSH Prince Albert II, after a visit to Brazil, stopped in at the struggling island nation of Haiti where he met with President Martelly and then visited the "Prince Albert II of Monaco" kindergarten and elementary school, named in his honor, which opened recently for the 2012-2013 school year. It serves a student body of 160 "particularly disadvantaged children" with a goal of 290 students expected to be met soon. The school was opened thanks to the cooperation of the "Monaco Collectif Haiti". In the wake of the earthquake disaster, Prince Albert II and the Monegasque government acted quickly to send assistance to Haiti and set up programs to aid the country which are now obviously bearing fruit. Haiti and Monaco are both members of the Francophone community of nations, a representative of which Albert II will also be meeting with. During his visit the Sovereign Prince also met with Haiti native and former Governor-General of Canada Michaelle Jean who is a special UN ambassador for UNESCO as well as a pioneer in research for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Prince Reacts to Papal Resignation

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco has been visiting Brazil lately and was there when he learned, along with the rest of the world, that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will resign from his office at the end of the month. Monaco has a long and close history with the papacy and the Principality is one of the last remaining officially Catholic monarchies in the world. Prince Albert II, who attended the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI, was quick to release a statement saying that he was emotional upon hearing the news that the Pope would be stepping down but called the decision "courageous". The Sovereign Prince praised the Pope and spoke of his most recent visit to the Vatican with HSH Princess Charlene, which was the first time the Princess had met the Pontiff. Prince Albert also assured the Pope that he would remain in the prayers of the House of Grimaldi. Pope Benedict XVI cited his age and physical weakness as the reason for his resignation. The Pope had planned to visit the Principality of Monaco last year but it never came about, possibly due to the Pontiff's increasing frailty. The Principality of Monaco has maintained diplomatic relations with the Holy See longer than almost any other existing country and Prince Albert II is a high ranking member of the Knights of Malta and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Princess and the Junior Rugby Team

Last Saturday, HSH Princess Charlene took in a junior rugby game at the Louis II Stadium. For the benefit of American readers, rugby is a little like American football but without all of the starting and stopping. After the game was over the Princess awarded the trophy to the Monegasque junior rugby team. Way to go guys! The Princess looked radiant and, surrounding by sports and children, she was certainly in her element.

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

Happy Birthday Princess Stephanie, the "People's Princess" of Monaco!

Sweet Caroline

Circus in Town (Again)

Legal Victory for the Prince

TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco have won a legal victory in the court case against the Sunday Times, News International, over a false and slanderous article printed in July of 2011 just two days after the princely wedding. The Sunday Times has had to deliver a formal apology in court and pay three hundred thousand pounds in damages as well as covering the cost of the Prince's legal team. This was part of a slew of such articles, full of malicious gossip rather than facts, that came out around the time of the princely wedding in a despicable effort to ruin that happy occasion. They included a range of accusations, each more ridiculous than the last and each one conveniently lacking any sort of verifiable evidence. The court found than none of the allegations were true (no surprise there) and Prince Albert has another lawsuit against the Sunday Times over stories printed about his marriage, in particular against the editor, John Witherow, and the author of the article in question which is being heard in France where the paper is distributed. Hopefully, a few more rulings like this will make newspaper editors change their ways and, oh, I don't know, maybe verify their facts before printing wild rumors dreamed up by some nut with an ax to grind and too much free time? Let's hope so.

Palace Drops Support for Film

The upcoming film "Grace of Monaco" has been creating a great deal of buzz and, previously, seemed to have the full support of the Princely Family with TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene even attending the U.S. Academy Awards last year to draw attention to the film and the late, beloved Princess Grace, herself an Oscar-winner as I'm sure everyone knows. However, all of that seems to have changed and whatever support the House of Grimaldi had for the film has been withdrawn. A statement from the Princely Palace, endorsed by HSH Prince Albert II, HRH Princess Caroline and HSH Princess Stephanie said that the Princely Family was not endorsing the film, that it is not a biopic, was overly glamorized and contained many falsehoods about the family and the Principality of Monaco. They stress it is "purely fictional". Those behind the film said that the Palace had, in the past, made some suggestions related to the film, including corrections about certain people and historical events but admitted that they paid little attention to what the Palace told them and more or less made it clear that truth and accuracy is not their primary goal in making this movie about Princess Grace.

Considering how supportive the Grimaldis seemed to be in the past toward the film, this came as a surprise to me. However, perhaps it should not be as the time period the film is focused on; when relations between France and Monaco were extremely tense over French citizens relocating to Monaco to avoid taxes and when Princess Grace was invited back into the movie business by her former director (and admirer) Alfred Hitchcock. It is a sensitive period to look at it and, perhaps, it should not be surprising that filmmakers would disregard the truth and the wishes of the family in an effort to make an even more dramatic story. That is quite normal, however, speaking for myself, I am far less interested in seeing this movie if it is just going to be another carbon-copy Hollywood drama rather than the real story of what actually happened to Princess Grace in Monaco at that time.

The Pontiff and the Princely Couple

HSH Princess Charlene (Catholic convert) looking pretty and proper in a veil

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI welcomed TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene to the Vatican for a private audience at the Apostolic Palace. I believe this was the first time Princess Charlene has met the Pontiff and it was an occasion to renew and highlight the very long history of close relations between the Principality of Monaco and the Holy See.

Les vœux du Nouvel an du Couple Princier

Happy Christmas

A happy and blessed Christmas to all from Mad for Monaco

SAS Prince Albert II et Dmitry Rybolovlev en visite à La Turbie