Queenship of Mary

Today the Catholic Church (the state religion of Monaco) celebrates the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. This image of the Blessed Virgin, Queen of Heaven, can be found in St Nicholas Cathedral in Monte Carlo. A nice holiday and further proof that God is a monarchist -His mother is a Queen!

Video: Princess Stephanie's "Flash"

A little 80's nostalgia, what a great decade, and we saw alot of Princess Stephanie -what a cutie...

Charlotte Casiraghi on the Cover of Vogue

They just can't resist her...

Anti-Monaco Blogger Busted!

Justice has been served on the now legally certified liar and professional pain in the gluteus maximus from Los Angeles who has spent his retirement harassing the Prince of Monaco and pretty much anyone in any way connected with him. You may recall, the fellow in question tried to extort a million dollars from the Prince (claiming to be a “spy”) and then sued the Prince for breach of contract, a lawsuit that was swiftly slapped down. Since then this cranky old man with no life and a severe case of the ‘not gays’ with a burning obsession over our Sovereign Prince devoted his every waking hour to insulting, smearing and besmirching the character of the Prince and any and everyone around him. He also ‘carpet bombed’ every blog, forum and message board dealing with Monaco in an effort to spread his hate-filled rants and fling juvenile insults at anyone who dared to disagree with his accusations.

Well, the Prince kept it on the down low, as they say, but the story has now come out that Monaco’s most persistent internet enemy has been ordered by a French court (the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris) to pay Prince Albert 20,000 euros in damages and 7,000 euros in legal fees “for the publication of false and libelous materials”. In a separate case the crazed crank was ordered to pay 60,000 euros for six libelous attacks on Claude Palmero plus 3,000 euros in legal fees. In addition, he’s also been ordered to pay over 15,000 euros to Thierry Lacoste, personal lawyer of Prince Albert II, for the same reason. He was also ordered to pay 20,000 euros for two counts of slander against Andre Muhlberger along with 3,000 euros in legal fees. Three additional judgments were made against him to a tune of 30,000 euros in damages plus 9,000 in legal fees for attacks against Claudio Marzocco, Thierry Lacoste and Prince Albert II.

More judgments are to be expected in September, October and December, delayed so that the mud-slinger in question can present himself to the court and make his case. However, don’t hold your breath for that to happen as he’s ducked into his shell like a frightened turtle. Since the court ruled that he would have to pay an additional 5,000 euros per day for any offending material remaining on his blog he quickly removed it but while still protesting his innocence of course and how, despite the legal findings, still claiming everything he says is “true”. His blog now mostly consists of advertisements for his own books. He has also refused to accept his summons to court and refused every effort at communication by the court. Which of course is exactly what someone would do who is being unjustly accused right? No, there is no way this guy is getting anywhere near a court of law unless he is dragged in in handcuffs. However, it is safe to say that he will not be visiting the continent of Europe any time soon -at least not willingly, and his war of insults against the Principality of Monaco has been muzzled.

The leading liar and captain in the tin-foil hat brigade seems very worried about the findings against him despite his assertions that it is all false and the courts have no jurisdiction over him (why remove the stuff from the website then?) and has put a halt to his war of words with Monaco. However, that does not mean he has turned over a new leaf and decided to become a happy, laid back retired gentlemen. No, it just means he has taken to flinging juvenile insults at the news outlet which released the information about the judgments against him. That would be the article here. As they say, a leopard cannot change his spots and neither can a cranky old man with skin thin enough to see through. To sum up: Prince Albert -1, cranky media whore -0.

MM Video: Princess Grace and Prince Rainier

Princess Charlene, Nicole and Gossip

I dislike even discussing these sorts of things but, as usual, there is no let up in the rumor mill regarding Princess Charlene. The latest rumor (from the usual anonymous sources -not worth a dime, keep that in mind) is that Princess Charlene has forbidden Prince Albert to have any contact with his past girlfriends. Of course, as with such gossip, you can take it for what it is worth (which isn’t much). I remain indifferent on the subject. I certainly would not object to Princess Charlene putting her foot down on this issue, they are a married couple now and different rules apply. A husband and wife have every right to want each other completely to themselves. Much of the tongue-wagging has focused on the absence of Nicole Coste (mother of the Prince’s natural son Alexandre) from the recent Red Cross ball which she had attended in the past. She certainly has not been bashful about being seen.

All of this may be completely untrue (and probably is I would think) but as I, or anyone else who runs a weblog, forum, chat room, message board or what have you on the subject of Monaco can tell you, the former flight attendant from Togo has a handful of very committed fans on the internet with a great deal of free time on their hands. Any time Nicole or Alexandre is mentioned they come out of the wood work to plead her cause, trash the Prince and the new Princess and to moan endlessly about little Alexandre as if he were some poor, victimized, neglected child in an uncaring world. Spare me the drama (and thanks to upgrading screening measures taken a few months ago I am), this is simply ridiculous and I will take this opportunity to explain exactly why.

Nicole does not have a very illustrious reputation and most of it began when the general public first learned she even existed, when she went public with her son, announcing to the media that Prince Albert was the father, mere days after the death of HSH Prince Rainier III when all of Monaco was still deep in mourning. Alexandre was born in 2003 and yet she said nothing until 2005 until there was a death in the family and all eyes were on Monaco to go public with her “revelation”. That did nothing to endear her to the general public from the very start. She has also been rather forward with herself, such as when she decided to go strolling through the streets of Monte Carlo the very day before Prince Albert and Princess Charlene were to be married. A rather odd time to visit the country to say the least. Neither was she some empty-headed girl who was taken advantage of by a dashing prince. She was a grown woman when they had their “relationship”, already divorced with two children. In short, she had been around the block and knew how the world worked. She has cashed-in big time because of her fling with the Prince, a fling she had to know would go nowhere.

Finally, as to Alexandre himself, he is the one totally innocent party in all of this. His parents made the bad decisions and he has to live with the consequences. Everyone wishes the very best for him, I certainly do and I have never come across anyone who does not. What I will not do is feel sorry for him. This may come as a surprise to some people but, in the grand scheme of the history of the Grimaldi dynasty, Alexandre is nothing special. Illegitimate children are nothing new, in fact they have been rather common. None ever became princes of Monaco, nor did any ever expect to be, though some certainly rose to positions of great importance in the principality. This was the case in royal houses all across Europe. Alexandre is not unique in being the natural son of a prince, nor is he being treated any better or any worse than any other. He is not a child to feel sorry for. He is very well cared for, can do and become anything he likes and he will never have to work a day in his life if he doesn’t choose to. Just because he may not see his father as often as some people think he should (and rest assured these people have no idea how often the Prince sees Alexandre) that is nothing to moan and groan about. Feel sorry for children who have no parents or who have abusive parents, who are sick or starving. Do not feel sorry for Alexandre. He is better off than the vast majority of children on this planet, he wants for nothing and he has the world at his feet. He’s a good kid and can live whatever sort of life he chooses.

Now, let’s move on shall we…

Princess Caroline: A Work of Art

MM Video: Albert and Charlene

Red Cross Ball 2011

The dust has now settled from the annual Red Cross Ball, the first major social function for the Monegasque newlyweds, held last night at the Monte-Carlo Sporting Club and it was a resounding success. Obviously, there was a greater amount of public attention paid to the event this year and no one seemed disappointed. The entertainment guest was British singer Joe Cocker and the customary donation of artwork to the Monaco Red Cross was by Peter Wüthrich. The collection was titled "Collection Mondo" and the tombola winnings were handed out by Dame Shirley Bassey (who organized the event) and Sandrine Quétier. The garden-paradise theme was enhanced by huge numbers of flowers decorating the Salle des Etolies of the Monte-Carlo Sporting Club. About 800 guests attended this, the 63rd annual Red Cross Ball, paying 1,000 euros each with all proceeds, of course, going to the Red Cross.

All the Grimaldi girls turned heads, though Princess Caroline's rather colorful choice of dress took a few people by surprise. Perhaps she and her sister mixed up their wardrobes?

The Princely party arrives. Princess Charlene was wearing her new Ocean tiara-necklace.

Left to right: Melanie de Massy, Princess Stephanie, Prince Albert II, Princess Charlene, Princess Caroline and Elisabeth-Ann de Massy. The Princely Family was out in full force!

Princess Caroline and cousin Elisabeth-Ann look as if they're having a good chuckle

The Sovereign Prince takes a turn on the dance floor.

The Prince and Princess of Monaco. How long have we waited for this picture?

Video: Grace Kelly/Princess Grace of Monaco

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

Yes, it was on this day in 1986 that HSH Princess Caroline of Monaco and Stefano Casiraghi welcomed their lovely daughter Charlotte into the world at the Princess Grace Hospital in Monte Carlo. What has she been up to lately? One of the recent events she graced with her presence was the Islamic Fashion Festival in London, called "Discover the Beauty of Modesty" (Monaco hosted a similar event here a while back). Mad for Monaco wishes our Charlie a very happy 25th birthday and many, many more to come.

Knights of Malta in Monaco

Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco have hosted their first official visit by a foreign dignitary to Monaco. That honor went to His Most Eminent Highness Fra' Matthew Festing (seen above with the Princely couple) the 79th Prince and Grand Master of the Knights of Malta or (officially) the "Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta". Prince Albert II has long been a member of the Knights of Malta, something which, I will admit, rather surprised me given his rather "colorful" personal history but since Rupert Murdoch was given a papal knighthood (the Order of St Gregory or something I think) nothing should really come as a surprise in that department I suppose.

However, the Grand Master was in Monaco to give the Sovereign Prince something of a promotion. I will admit, I don't know how these sorts of things are decided, I do know membership in the Knights of Malta is by invitation only (which basically means if you are prominent enough or know the right people you get asked), but other than that, I have no idea how one moves up in the ranks. Perhaps it is seniority, automatic promotion, donations to the order (and I don't mean to sound too cynical as the order does do some very good work around the world) or perhaps our Albie is just an outstandingly chivalrous Catholic. We may never know. In any event, the Grand Master bestowed upon our Sovereign Prince the rank of "Honorary Bailiff Grand Cross" and the visit was quite a grand occasion.

The Princely Rifles turned out, smart as usual, to welcome the Grand Master with full military honors and all the pomp and ceremony the tiny Monegasque army could muster. Minister of State Roger and the Prince's Chamberlain were also on hand, along with the Prince and Princess to welcome the distinguished visitor. After the official greeting was done the Archbishop of Monaco celebrated a special mass in the palace chapel which all attended. There was a private dinner, a meeting with the Minister of State and Princess Charlene joined the Grand Master for a special concert in the palace courtyard (right where a wedding was recently held you might have heard of) to benefit the many charities which are supported by the Knights of Malta. It was all very glamorous but, alas, it seems I will still have to wait to see Prince Albert in all his Hospitaller finery. In all seriousness though, I do love this sort of stuff and it is good to see two representatives of such ancient historical presence in Mare Nostrum get together once in a while.