Baby on the Way - At Last!

It has just been announced that Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene are expecting their first child! The newest member of the Grimaldi dynasty is scheduled to be born at the end of the year. A boy or girl? What will the name be? Time for all sorts of speculation I'm sure. In any event, congratulations to the happy couple, congratulations to the Princely Family and congratulations to Monaco on this happy occasion.

Long live the Prince!

Prince Honors the Legion

Recently, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco was in Aubagne as guest of honor for the commemoration of the battle of Camerone, the official holiday of the French Foreign Legion. This marks a battle fought in Mexico in which a small band of less than a hundred legionnaires fought to the death against a Mexican republican army that numbered in the thousands. This was during the intervention of Emperor Napoleon III, just prior to the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire. The Sovereign Prince was very honored to participate and recalled the proud stories of his great-grandfather, HSH Prince Louis II, who served in the Foreign Legion in North Africa. Members of the Prince's carabinieri still train with the Legion from time to time as part of the military cooperation between France and Monaco. Andrea and Pierre Casiraghi have both participated in such exercises in the past.

Stylish Ladies

HSH Princess Charlene wearing the famous

"Ocean Tiara"

Jazmin Grace Grimaldi at the premier of the

Nicholas Cage film "Joe" in New York

Rose Ball 2014

The Princely Family was out in force for this year's Rose Ball, though Andrea and Tatiana were absent, with HSH Prince Albert II, HSH Princess Charlene, HRH Princess Caroline and the other 2/3 of the Casiraghi trio showing up. Karl Lagerfeld, long-time family friend, was prominently featured as his ideas were behind the decoration and "theme" for the Rose Ball this year.

Casanova and the Prince of Monaco

HSH Prince Honore III of Monaco had quite a colorful life being an accomplished soldier, a foresighted leader and even something of a political reformer. However, things at the royal court in France never seemed to be dull and the Prince of Monaco had quite a time when his paths crossed with the famous Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova. One thing the court was never short on was gossip of a romantic nature and it is not surprising that Casanova generated his share. Apparently there came to be problems when both the Venetian author and the Prince of Monaco became fascinated by the same woman; an actress. Even today the very name of Casanova brings to mind someone who is ultimately charming and a master of romance and seduction and, while not as pronounced, he had a bit of that reputation in his own time as well. However, he had encountered a more clever romantic rival with Prince Honore III. Casanova was observed by the Prince to be something of a 'social climber', rather on the snobby side we might say today and always looking to advance himself by conquests amongst high society. The Prince of Monaco determined to use this to his advantage and so, to distract the charming Italian from the actress he had his own eye on, he promised to introduce Casanova to an eligible duchess.

Casanova jumped at the opportunity and, to be fair, the Prince of Monaco was as good as his word. He did indeed introduce Casanova to a duchess who was looking for love and who was instantly smitten with the dashing Venetian, however, he rather neglected to mention that she was considerably older than the Italian heartthrob and not terribly attractive at all. Casanova had been beaten and far from being able to compete with Honore III for the affections of the actress, it was all he could do to stay one step ahead of the man-hungry duchess who pursued him relentlessly. The story goes that Casanova eventually had to lie and tell the duchess he suffered from some terrible venereal disease before she was put off of him, which, true or not, probably did his reputation no good. Supposedly, he never forgave Prince Honore III for having lured him in to such a position but, as the English say, 'all is fair in love and war'.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

There is no better way to mark St Patrick's Day than with a stunning picture of everyone's favorite Irish-American Princess of Monaco, taken on St Patrick's Day in 1954, here via The Royal Digest. Princess Grace was very proud of her Irish heritage, visited the country on several occasions and established, as part of her legacy, the Princess Grace Irish Library. Check up on past posts about the Irish-Monegasque connections here.

Charlotte, Out with Baby

Who just had a baby? It certainly doesn't show...

out for a family stroll

mom pushes for a while

a peek at baby Raphael

perhaps Gad is running a new joke by Charlie?

St David's Day in Monaco

Recently it was St David's day again, the feast day of the patron saint of Wales. TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene marked the occasion by attending the St David's Day Charity Dinner at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo.

Prince Albert at the Olympics

HSH Prince Albert II talking with Thomas Bach, IOC President

HSH Prince Albert II giving encouragement to skier Olivier

Jeunot of Team Monaco

And another shot of the Prince & Princess with all the athletes of Team Monaco

A Tiara of Princess Grace

The Royal Digest recently featured a post on the Van Cleef & Arpel's tiara of HSH Princess Grace of Monaco. Made in 1976 the Princess wore it only once for the pre-wedding festivities of Princess Caroline and Philippe Junot. Check it out.

Married - Again!

This past weekend it was all glitz and glamour for the second wedding of Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana (technically Casiraghi now) Santo Domingo. It was a far cry from their first, low-key, exchange of vows in Monaco. The reception was held at a Swiss resort with a star-studded guest list and such activities as a fondu party and a torch-lit ski down the mountain. Tatiana wore a Valentino wedding dress and both returned to the hotel wrapped in white furs in a horse-drawn carriage. The bride walked down the isle in an 11th Century convent founded by the Order of Cluny on a carpet of rose petals to the serene sound of “Ave Maria”. The day before the ceremony the couple also appeared at the church of St Joseph to have their son Sacha baptized into the Catholic Church. Congratulations to the new little Christian. The wedding sounds (no photos so far) like a great mixing of Old World charm and modern day celebrity. I was rather surprised at how traditional it all seemed for a couple that has mostly been known for doing things in their own way, and it sounded lovely ("traditional" is not a bad word around here). Princely uncle and aunt Albert II and Charlene were there of course as was little brother Pierre, sister and new mother herself Charlotte Casiraghi (along with her baby-daddy Gad) but of course pride of place went to the mother of the groom HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover. Others on the guest list included royals and celebrities from Prince Nicholas of Greece to Hollywood star Uma Thurmon. We wish them the best, especially since Andrea is next in line to the throne of Monaco until Prince Albert and Princess Charlene get busy and do their duty. And, yes, that was a not-at-all subtle hint!

Monaco's Olympians

Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, both former Olympians themselves, attended a special 'send-off' event for the Monegasque Olympic Team that will shortly be heading to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. Wish them the best!