Caroline Doing What Royals Do

On Friday HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover was in Nice, France in her role as President of the Princess Grace Foundation for the formal inauguration of a new psychiatric medical center for children, the 'Costanzo Center'. The Princess was joined by Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice, and Eric Ciotti the President of the Alpes Maritimes General Council. The Princess Grace Foundation was a primary financial contributer to the Lenval Foundation which was in charge of the establishment of the new medical center. I am extremely proud that Princess Caroline and the Princess Grace Foundation she manages undertook this. Mental health issues are certainly some of, if not the, most neglected aspects of modern medical science and, maybe it's just me, but it seems like more and more children are falling victim as well. Psychiatric problems have been on the rise in a big way in recent years and I am always glad to see something done to help in that area and to see royals drawing attention to such an important subject.

Ever the Sport Lover

In the Ardèche region of France at the 100th anniversary of the Rallye Monte-Carlo on the 21st, HSH Prince Albert II congratulates the winners; Bryan Bouffier and his co-driver Xavier Panseri, on their victory. The Sovereign Prince has himself participated in this race quite a number of times in his youth and despite no longer being part of the world championships the Prince said it is still a very important event on the sporting calendar of Monaco. Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane...

And this last Friday the Sovereign Prince was in St Moritz, Switzerland where he competed in the Bobsleigh Monaco Historic race at the Olympia Run, which must have been quite a familiar feeling for Albert II.

Honoring Saint Devote

HSH Prince Albert II, joined by fiance Charlene Wittstock, sets fire to a boat to be cast out to sea in the traditional ceremony closing the days festivities honoring St Devote, patron of Monaco and the House of Grimaldi. This particular tradition dates back to 1924 when first performed by Prince Louis II (Albert's great-grandfather). The event commemorates the theft of the relics of St Devote with the robber trying to escape by boat only to be captured by local fishermen and brought back to shore. His boat was then burned as an offering. HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover was also present for the festivities, making it a much more 'family affair' than was the case last year.

Charlene Celebrates St Devote

Showing again how Charlene is becoming more and more an official member of the family in the lead-up to their wedding, today Charlene joined in the official celebrations marking the feast of St Devote, patron saint of Monaco and special protector of the Princely Family. Dressing very traditionally (good to see) Charlene joined her Prince at St Nicholas Cathedral for mass. It was expected the couple would marry in this cathedral as Rainier III and Grace did but it was announced they would instead have an outdoor wedding at the palace. Armani has also said he will be designing the wedding gown. In any event, it is good to see Charlene taking part in the traditional life of Monaco and becoming more involved with Monegasque culture as she prepares to become Princess of this jewel on the Mediterranean.

A mantilla at church always looks good to me.
Charlene and Prince Albert II at mass

The Prince and future Princess of Monaco greet the crowds at the palace gathered to honor their patron Saint Devote.

Grimaldi Days

It has been 'all hands on deck' for Monaco at the 35th International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo. Princely fiance Charlene Wittstock was just on hand with HSH Prince Albert II for the awards ceremony at the Big Top in Fontvieille.

HSH Princess Stephanie of Monaco was, of course, also attending as was daughter Pauline Ducruet. Also close at hand were Grimaldi cousins Keith Sebastian Knecht and Laetitia de Massy Brouwer. Over the past week Pierre Casiraghi and long-time girlfriend Beatrice Borromeo appeared on the scene, with Beatrice starting to look more like just another girlfriend these days. Pierre's uncle Marco Casiraghi was also spotted as was little Princess Alexandra of Hanover but none of these returned for the awards ceremony.

Princess Caroline was not to be seen, but that is no surprise. The circus has always been more the domain of Princess Stephanie and, in any event, Princess Caroline had other business to attend to. On Thursday she was in Brussels for a charity luncheon organized by her foundation AMADE to raise money for orphans in Burundi. Several members of the Belgian Royal Family also attended the event (Burundi was formerly a Belgian colony) and announced their own support for the project "AMADE Burundi" which was launched by Princess Caroline in cooperation with sister Stephanie's charity Fight AIDS Monaco. Charlotte Casiraghi also commanded a great deal of attention when she appeared a couple days ago sitting with Kate Moss at a lingerie fashion show by Etam at Paris Fashion Week.

Family fun at the circus, helping the less fortunate and high society glamor all in the week or so, which pretty well sums up the Princely Family of Monaco and what they do.

Caro's Birthday

Yesterday, HRH the Princess of Hanover (Caroline of Monaco to you and me) celebrated her 54th birthday. A very happy occasion but, as we have mentioned before, it is also the anniversary of her marriage to Prince Ernst August V which I'm sure is not seen as quite the happy occasion now that it once was. There has been no news on that front, the 'married in name only' situation still seems to prevail but, the important thing is that Caroline seems to be taking it all in stride, little Princess Alexandra is back in school in Monaco and they all seem to be doing well. Mad for Monaco wishes Princess Caroline a very happy birthday with many more to come. Even with the upcoming marriage of her little brother, it is safe to say that no matter who the 'first lady' of Monaco is, Princess Caroline will always hold a unique place in the hearts of her people and many fans around the world. Like her mother before her, others may take over some of her duties, but her shoes will never be filled. She is one of a kind and has always been a class act. Vive l'Princesse!

MM Video: Charlotte of Monaco

Circus in Monte Carlo

The Circus is in town! Thursday night saw the opening of the 35th International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo with Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II, Princess Stephanie and Pauline Ducruet attending the opening ceremony. For the next ten days circus troops from all over the world will be in Monaco showing off their entertainment talents and competing in a number of tests of skill, daring and artistry. HSH Princess Stephanie of Monaco, long known for her love of the circus (even joining up for a time) is the patron of the festival and the Princess has spent the last week preparing for the event. The festival was first started in 1974 by HSH Prince Rainier III and has become quite a beloved and colorful tradition in Monaco. In an interview, Princess Stephanie said, “I have the eye of a child who grew up in the circus. The clowns always moved me so much. But now I also see the numbers with my professional eye. We have a quality to meet in Monaco. The public, accustomed for 35 years in Monaco has become a connoisseur and we have no room for error”.

Princess Stephanie herself has some experience with the circus, traveling with them while married to her second husband (for about five minutes) who was a circus performer. She has talked to many of the troops from around the world who have come to Monte Carlo to compete and she knows quality when she sees it. “There are a lot of circus schools [in Russia] and in this country, there is a real potential,” the Princess said. “Many directors, choreographers working in this country and present original numbers with traditional disciplines. That said, China also, the practice of the circus is very strong. In Shanghai, I met with circus schools some young people working with the single goal to go to the Festival in Monaco. It is unfortunate that in France, there is no culture. Perhaps due to a lack of circus schools”. Among those troops Princess Stephanie met with were the Americans. The Princess inspected their elephants and was given a ride while feeding them.

The treatment of animals has been a cause for some controversy and criticism of the circus but Princess Stephanie, a modern-minded woman if ever there was one, remains a staunch defender of the greatest show on earth in this, as in every other, area. “I find the debate on animals ridiculous. Zoos and circuses do much for the preservation of endangered species. The circus animals are treated as artists in their own right” the Princess said.

The Death of a King

It was on this day in 1793 that His Most Christian Majesty, King Louis XVI of France and Navarre was executed guillotine after being declared a "traitor" by the French Convention. As had been the case since the reign of King Louis XIII, the King of France was the official protector of the Principality of Monaco and feudal overlord of her princes. Now the Bourbon monarchy had been abolished and Louis XVI was sent to his death for his royal blood. In time his wife would follow him, also sent to the guillotine, and his little son and heir, the Dauphin, would be starved to death in a revolutionary prison. This news undoubtedly sent shock waves throughout the House of Grimaldi. If the French revolutionaries would kill their own king, whose person was once held sacred, what mercy could a deposed monarch of a foreign princely family expect? At the time, HSH Prince Honore III was himself in a revolutionary prison, his country had been torn from him and in due time would be absorbed completely by the French Republic. What horror Prince Honore III and his son Hereditary Prince Honore IV must have felt when this news reached their ears. No doubt they wondered when their own turn to face Madame Guiolltine would come. Thankfully, that day did not come save for the tragic Princess Francoise-Therese de Choiseul-Satinville, wife of Prince Joseph of Monaco.

Although they may not have felt it as severely as the Princes of Monaco sitting in prison in Paris, the whole world was shocked the regicide of Louis XVI and none moreso than the remaining crowned heads of Europe. However, the United States was also not without outrage on the occasion. It had, oddly enough, been Thomas Paine of Pennsylvania, the famous propagandist of the American Revolution who had really sold the American public on dropping their loyalty to the King of England, who was the single member of the Convention to vote against the execution of the King. Paine warned his fellow revolutionaries that America had not forgotten that it had been the intervention of King Louis XVI which had ensured their victory in the war for independence. As Paine said, 'The man you have condemned to death is regarded by the people of the United States as their best friend, the founder of their freedom'. He warned them that by killing King Louis they would instantly turn the United States from a friend to a foe of the Revolution. Although some supporters remained, by and large he was correct.

When Republicanism Came to Monaco

It was on this day in 1793 that the communes of Monaco, Menton and Roquebrune declared themselves a republic having previously declared themselves "free towns" in 1792. Only the previous week the revolutionary clubs had deposed HSH Prince Honore III (who was in France desperately trying to save his estates there from the revolutionary crowd). They were, obviously, following the example of the gang in power in Paris which was working feverishly to tear down the Bourbon monarchy and the Kingdom of France. However, if the new "Republic of Monaco" thought they were going to be close allies and best buddies with the new France (as the Principality of Monaco and the Kingdom of France had been) they were sorely mistaken. Even at the time observers noted how comical the whole act seemed to be.

Three deputies from the Republic of Monaco came to the National Assembly in France to seek the confirmation of the Franco-Monegasque alliance with them. The two articles in the new treaty stated, "There shall be peace and alliance between the French Republic and the Republic of Monaco" and, "The French Republic is delighted to make the acquaintance of the Republic of Monaco". That sounds all nice and friendly but, as Louis XVI or Honore III could have told them, the revolutionary regime was not exactly noted for honesty and fair-dealing. If Monaco thought that by following their republican example they could continue on as they had before only with their own political clique holding power rather than the House of Grimaldi they were very much mistaken. It would not be long (less than a month) before the French Republic decided to annex the whole of Monaco (Menton and Roquebrune included at that time) and the former principality became simply a forgotten little corner of the French Republic, renamed Fort Hercules just so there would be no lingering memories of the past Grimaldi glories of the Principality of Monaco.

Thankfully, although it would take time, this situation was not to be permanent. Like their Bourbon friends the Grimaldis were finally restored to their throne, though unlike the Bourbons they have managed to remain ever since with absolutely no nostalgia for the republican era when independence was lost.

Favorite Grimaldi Images

Princess Grace and Princess Caroline -two big winners of the genetic lottery.

Prince in the Middle East

Despite the recent troubles there, HSH Prince Albert II was not put off from visiting Lebanon, arriving late Wednesday. Information Minister Tareq Mitri met him at the airport and there was a review of the guard of honor with Defense Minister Elias al-Murr. Later, the Prince met with the Prime Minister, Saad al-Hariri and the Cardinal Patriarch of the Maronite Christian community. Later the Prince visited the UNRWA at the ESCWA building in Beirut. Monaco and Lebanon have more in common than most might think. As a French mandate, Lebanon was once a protectorate of France as Monaco has long been and both are members of the community of French speaking countries. The fleets of Charles Grimaldi also once raided Venetian shipping off the Lebanese and Syrian coasts.

Sister's Seal of Approval

According to a story yesterday in People magazine, HSH Princess Stephanie of Monaco fully approves of her big brother's choice of wife. In an interview with Le Parisien newspaper Princess Stephanie said that she and Charlene have, "very, very good relations. I couldn't dream of a better sister-in-law". It is worth noting that Princess Stephanie and Prince Albert have always been very close, though Steph also told the paper she is not directly involved in any of the wedding plans; a smart move without doubt. When asked if her brother or sister-in-law-to-be had come to her for any advice the Princess admitted with a smile, "Well, no. But that's okay".

According to her, the Prince and Charlene, "are taking care of it all," and when asked of her part in things Steph said, "Me? I'm planning on enjoying this great moment of happiness for my country, my brother and for all the Monégasque people."

The Princess went on to say, "I'm very happy for him. Like all little sisters, I want to see my brother happy. It's a demonstration of their love and happiness that I'm seeing, which has been theirs for a while now."

Of course, as with any press encounter for Princess Stephanie, it seems no one can resist asking about her rather colorful past along with her current, extensive, charity work. They of course have to point out the two divorces, the "wild child" image, all the tabloid scandals and so on but, Steph kept her cool saying, "I don't regret a second of my life, good or bad, because they've made me the woman I am today. And I'm comfortable with her." That's our Stephanie, and that's why we love her.

A Sad Day in History

It was on this day in 1793 that HSH Prince Honore III was deposed as Sovereign Prince as the French Revolution overflowed into Monaco. The Prince had rushed to Paris in 1790 when the trouble there began to try (unsuccessfully) to safeguard his lands and titles in the French aristocracy (as the Duke of Valentinois). In 1792 French revolutionaries and those whipped into a frenzy by them had already declared Monaco, Menton and Roquebrune "Free Towns" before, on January 13th, deposing Honore III and declaring, "the perpetual downfall of the sovereignty of the House of Grimaldi". The Prince of Monaco had already been thwarted in his efforts in Paris following the imprisonment of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette in the Tuileries. The Assembly had recognized that he had a case but nothing was done about it and as the Assembly had turned on their own monarch and were treating their own Royal Family as political prisoners, the foreign Prince of Monaco seemed totally out of luck. His only remaining hope was that the more moderate faction of Mirabeau could make France a constitutional monarchy and some level of normalcy could be restored. However, in the meantime, the so-called "People's Councils" of Monaco, Menton and Roquebrune had formed a Conventional Assembly and deposed Prince Honore III. So it was that while he was trying to restore his properties in France, the Prince had lost his very throne in his own country.

We can at least be thankful that this outbreak of revolution in Monaco was not accompanied by the sort of horrific bloodlust that was seen in France. Nonetheless, it was a terrible blow to the Princely Family and the start of what would be a long, dark period in the history of Monaco. No longer having a place in their own country, the Grimaldis were at the mercy of the increasingly radical "government" in France which soon saw them arrested (even the elderly Honore III) and in real fear of their lives as a succession of French aristocrats were sent to the guilotine. Helpless in a foreign land, Honore III tried to gain the good graces of those in power but it was to no avail. The French revolutionary madness was not to be turned back and little Monaco had been swamped by the flood that had burst through in Paris. It would be twenty years before the Prince of Monaco (by that time Honore IV) would be restored to his country and Monaco again restored to the status of a sovereign country.

Honoring Antoinette

The 90th birthday of HSH Princess Antoinette was marked again when the matriarch of the Grimaldi clan, along with Princess Caroline, Elisabeth-Anne de Massy and Melanie de Massy, at the Union of Monegasque Women annual meeting of which Princess Antoinette is the honorary president. Given her age and infirmity, Princess Antoinette does not get out much so it was a pleasant surprise to see her out and about again, even at 90 years old.

Constitutional Anniversary

Last wednesday, HSH Prince Albert II joined Princess Caroline and representatives of the government in marking the 100th anniversary of the Monegasque constitution. Minister of State Michel Roger unveiled a commemorative plaque honoring the occasion on January 5, 1911 when HSH Prince Albert I formally made Monaco a constitutional monarchy following calls for political reform by the public. The Sovereign Prince made a speech to the 'four corners of the rock' in which he said that the adoption of the 1911 constitution was an important first step in the political evolution of government in Monaco to the state that it is today; a very free and open society with representative government all under the watchful eye of the Sovereign Prince. Of course, being the sort that does not put faith in any document by any government, I cannot help but wonder on this occasion if Albert II will become the first Prince of Monaco since the adoption of the constitution to allow it to function throughout his reign without interruption. I vote "no", it is a fine thing to celebrate and all, but at some point I think he should suspend the constitution, if only for a day, just to keep from breaking tradition and just so everyone knows who's in charge!

Shameless Plug

Louis Joseph, Prince de Condé

Louis Joseph, Prince de Condé, had more than a few connections with the Grimaldi Princely Family during the tumultuous period of the French Revolution which saw the Kingdom of France destroyed and the Principality of Monaco annexed to the French Republic. He was born Louis Joseph de Bourbon on August 9, 1736 to Louis Henri Duc d’Bourbon and Landgravine Caroline of Hesse-Rotenburg. As a prince of the blood he was a member of the very highest echelon of French society. His grandmother, in fact, was the daughter of King Louis XIV by his famous mistress Madame de Montespan. His father died in 1740 and his mother the following year and Louis Joseph was raised by his uncle the Comte d’Clermont. By his mother he was related to the House of Savoy and to a whole horde of French royals and aristocrats on the side of his father. On May 3, 1753 he married Charlotte Elisabeth Godefride de Rohan, granddaughter of the Duc d’Bouillon at Versailles.

Soon the father of three (though one daughter did not long survive) the Prince de Condé busied himself with building projects, attending court and overseeing the upbringing and beneficial marriages of his children. His was a very familiar face at the courts of King Louis XV and King Louis XVI as well where he held the rank of Grand Maître de France in the King’s household. The military was also a long established duty and the Prince de Condé saw action in the Seven Years’ War (known in America as the French and Indian War) and rose to the rank of general, also serving for a time as Governor of Burgundy. However, life in France was soon to take a very dark turn with the growing discontent that eventually led to the outbreak of the French Revolution. Up to this point there was not much of a connection between the Prince de Condé and the House of Grimaldi. They would have met at court where the Prince of Monaco was well known and since the Princes of Monaco were also members of the French aristocracy. The Revolution, however, would bring the Grimaldi and the Condé together.

Sensing the trouble to come, when the Paris mob stormed the Bastille in 1789 the Prince de Condé went into exile, saving himself from what would surely have been certain death in the Reign of Terror that followed. To be a Bourbon in France at the height of the terror was almost as good as a death sentence. The King, the Queen and even the Duc d’Orleans were executed in 1793. That same year Prince Honore III of Monaco was deposed and later arrested, his country annexed to the French Republic and renamed Fort Hercules. His son and heir, Honore IV, was arrested in Paris with his father, but his second son, Prince Joseph of Monaco had fled with his wife into exile. While in exile Prince Joseph of Monaco made common cause with Prince Louis Joseph de Condé who was organizing a royalist army at Coblenz in 1791, made up mostly of French exiles, with the aim of returning to France to liberate their country from the forces of the revolution and the rule of Madame Guillotine.

The Army of Condé, as it came to be called, included a long list of famous names from the French aristocracy and Royal Family. Aside from the Prince de Condé and Prince Joseph of Monaco there was the Duc d’Enghien (grandson of the Prince de Condé), the Comte d’Artois (brother of the late King Louis XVI), the Duc d’Richelieu, the Duc d’Blacas and Chateaubriand and so on. Originally they fought alongside the imperial forces of Austria until squabbling between the two forces compelled the Prince de Condé to transfer his men to the British jurisdiction in 1795. However, that year was to see the last of Prince Joseph in the ranks, though his presence had already cost him dearly. Word that he had joined the counter-revolutionary forces of the Prince de Condé reached Paris and when his wife returned to France to see about their children she was discovered, arrested and sent to the guillotine in 1794. She was the last victim of the terror and the more moderate forces that took charge after allowed Prince Joseph to return to France to take charge of family affairs after the death of his father.

The Prince de Condé, however, continued onward with his mission, fighting in Swabia in 1796 before being forced to transfer to Poland and join with the Imperial Russian Army when Austria made peace with the republic in 1797. When Russia left the allied camp in 1800 the Prince returned his forces to the British camp, undoubtedly not an easy thing to do for a man who was a veteran of the Seven Years’ War. The Prince and his army fought in Bavaria but was disbanded in 1801 without ever seeing their dream of the liberation of France and the restoration of the monarchy come to fruition. The Prince de Condé went into exile in England where he lived with his second wife, none other than Marie Catherine de Brignole-Sale, the ex-wife of Prince Honore III of Monaco, whom he had married in 1798. In fact, it was the Prince de Condé, already the smitten kitten, who had helped obtain the final break between the then Princess of Monaco and her husband while she had taken refuge in a convent following after Honore III had been driven to fury by the affair his wife had been having with the Prince de Condé in Paris.

In any event, the former Princess of Monaco spent herself into poverty supporting French royalists and their cause, which was also the cause of her husband, until her death in 1813, so much so in fact that the British Royal Family had to step in to help with the funeral expenses. When Napoleon Bonaparte was finally defeated the Prince de Condé was able to return to Paris and take up his place again in the French court after the restoration of King Louis XVIII. He died in 1818 leaving two children; his son who succeeded to his title and his daughter who had taken vows and risen to become abbess of Remiremont Abbey. He was buried in St Denis Basilica.

MM Video: The Casiraghi Trio

Rainier II and the Western Schism

The Western Schism was one of the most traumatic events suffered by Christendom during the Middle Ages and was at least one of the reasons for the eventual outbreak of Protestantism in the years to come. For some years the Popes had left behind the crime and pestilence of Rome to settle in the Papal city of Avignon in France. A succession of French popes were elected and this period, which so angered the Italians and the Romans in particular, was referred to as the “Babylonian Captivity”. Pope Gregory XI was finally persuaded by St Catherine of Sienna to return to Rome but only a little more than a year later died in 1378. It was hardly a good omen for the assembled cardinals, mostly French, who were very nervous about being back in Rome to begin with and anxious to return to Avignon. Tensions increased when the Sacred College gathered at the Vatican were surrounded by an angry Roman mob demanding that one of their countrymen be elected. The choice was finally made, though it was a Neapolitan rather than a Roman, and Pope Urban VI was elected.

Once back in Avignon, however, the cardinals said they had acted under duress and that the election was invalid and promptly elected another cardinal (French this time -Robert of Geneva) who took the name and title of Pope Clement VII. Soon all of Europe was divided into two camps; pope and anti-pope, both disagreeing on which was which. England, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and the north Italian states sided with Pope Urban VI. France, Spain, Naples and Scotland sided with Clement VII with Portugal and the German Holy Roman Empire shifting between the two. Today, historians can look back and judge dispassionately who the pope and who the anti-pope were, however, at the time it was no simple matter. Both had arguments in their favor. Surely a decision made under threat could not be valid, yet just as surely there would be perpetual chaos in Christianity if cardinals could ‘take back’ their decision once a pope had been elected and accepted the throne.

One of those who first welcomed the election of the Neapolitan Pope Urban VI was of course Queen Joan I of Naples. However, Urban (the legitimate pope but a rather unsavory character) turned against the Queen and declared her deposed and absolved her subjects of their allegiance to her, joining in common cause with her primary enemy Charles Durazzo, later King Charles III. At this time, during a period of Genoese triumph over Monaco, Lord Rainier II has Queen Joan I as his own overlord in the feudal hierarchy of the time. As was to be expected, Rainier II was then also originally on the side of Pope Urban VI, in fact when the French cardinals fled Rome to return to Avignon and elevate another pope, Rainier II had actually taken some of the rebel cardinals prisoner in Menton (the seat of Grimaldi power since the Genoese had exiled them from Monaco in 1357). However, things began to change when Queen Joan angrily removed her rival Charles of Durazzo from the succession and proclaimed Louis of Anjou as her heir. In retaliation Pope Urban VI had Charles crowned King of Naples and preached a crusade against Joan I.

This put Joan I and the Kingdom of Naples firmly in the French camp of Anti-Pope Clement VII (Louis of Anjou being the younger son of the King of France) and Lord Rainier II along with them. However, Charles III quickly moved to invade Naples with Pope Urban VI elevating it to the status of a crusade and declaring Joan a heretic. The forces led by her husband were few and no match for Charles III who was soon victorious and had Joan (his cousin) imprisoned and finally murdered in 1382. Rainier II had not forgotten Queen Joan and a fleet of galleys from Provence (from whence came the ties between the Anjou house of Naples and the Grimaldis) were dispatched to her aid but they did not arrive in time. In time the Pope and Charles were enemies as well and, several years after the death of Joan, Pope Urban VI died, legitimate but distrusted and unpopular, in 1389. Clement VII lived on until 1394 but Lord Rainier II survived them all, going to his eternal reward in 1407.

Princely New Year's Address

(an imperfect translation)

"Dear compatriots, dear friends,
I am pleased to express warm wishes I form for each and everyone of you, at the dawn of the new year.

In this period plagued by signs of economic recovery and where environmental concerns are now better understood, I would hope that we all recognize the need to adopt a lifestyle looking to the future. Together, demonstrating our confidence in the future and witness a real solidarity, both with our loved ones in our country and beyond our borders, with the disadvantaged.
The crisis has undoubtedly had the merit to show the collective dimension of ethical issues and to remind us that we must all work together. The uncertain financial environment and, in general, the tests require us to put our collective intelligence to build a more harmonious and just.

"Our upcoming projects or efface the past, nor extend the présent.Ils"
In a few days, we commemorate the centennial of the 1911 Constitution. I wanted to surround the celebration of a certain solemnity, but also a certain proximity, so that we remember that the Principality has always built on the union of the prince of Monaco and even in troubled times or difficult. In our country, every generation has always added a stone to those posed by its predecessors, our institutions are in cement. It is in this line that the Principality part, aware of its limitations, but animated by the desire to overcome them. Our future projects or efface the past nor the present. They extend.

1 and 2 July, the population of Monaco and Charlene accompany myself to celebrate our marriage, expressing publicly the union between our dynasty and the people of Monaco, which contemplates the continuity of the Principality.

And will open in the shared joy, a new page in our common history.

Youth in the Principality, whose desire for the future unfolds in a world of investing, I wish them fully done and find, through effort, training and work, the place they aspire to occupy at the heart of society.

To our seniors, to whom we owe much, I express my gratitude, especially for transmission paths they trace for generations to come. I also express to them the hope of health and serenity.
To all those and all those who, in Monaco, by their company, their action or work, realized a project which contributes to the economic and social life of our country, I hope that their forces thrive in this achievement.

To each and everyone of you who live in our country or made an impact abroad, I repeat: "Very Happy New Year 2011". "

(original)

"Chers compatriotes, chers amis,
Je suis heureux de vous exprimer les souhaits chaleureux que je forme à l’intention de chacune et chacun d’entre vous, à l’aube de la nouvelle année.

En cette période où se multiplient les signes de reprise économique et où les préoccupations environnementales sont désormais mieux comprises, je formule le vœu que nous prenions tous conscience de la nécessité d’adopter un mode de vie résolument tourné vers l’avenir. Ensemble, manifestons notre confiance dans le futur et témoignons d’une réelle solidarité, tant avec nos proches, dans notre pays, qu’au-delà de nos frontières, avec les populations moins favorisées.
La crise aura sans doute eu le mérite de faire apparaître la dimension collective des questions éthiques et de nous rappeler que nous devons tous travailler ensemble. Le contexte financier incertain et, de manière générale, les épreuves nous imposent de placer notre intelligence collective au service de l’édification d’une société plus harmonieuse et plus juste.

« Nos projets à venir n’effaceront ni le passé, ni le présent.Ils les prolongeront »

Dans quelques jours, nous commémorerons le centenaire de la Constitution de 1911. J’ai tenu à entourer cette célébration d’une certaine solennité, mais aussi d’une certaine proximité, afin que nous nous souvenions que la Principauté s’est toujours bâtie sur l’union du prince et des Monégasques, même dans les périodes troublées ou difficiles. Dans notre pays, chaque génération a toujours ajouté une pierre sur celles posées par ses prédécesseurs, nos institutions en étant le ciment. C’est dans cette lignée que la Principauté s’inscrit, consciente de ses limites, mais animée du désir de les surmonter. Nos projets à venir n’effaceront ni le passé, ni le présent. Ils les prolongeront.

Les 1er et 2 juillet, la population de Monaco accompagnera Charlène et moi-même pour la célébration de notre mariage, manifestant publiquement l’union entre notre dynastie et le peuple monégasque, laquelle fonde la pérennité de la Principauté.

Ainsi s’ouvrira, dans la joie partagée, une nouvelle page de notre histoire commune.
Aux jeunes de la Principauté, dont le désir d’avenir se déploie dans un monde à investir, je leur souhaite de s’accomplir pleinement et de trouver, par l’effort, la formation et le travail, la place qu’ils aspirent à occuper au cœur de la société.

À nos aînés, auxquels nous devons beaucoup, j’exprime ma reconnaissance, notamment pour les chemins de transmission qu’ils tracent aux générations qui arrivent. Je forme aussi, pour eux, le vœu de la santé et de la sérénité.

À toutes celles et tous ceux qui, à Monaco, par leur entreprise, leur action ou leur travail, concrétisent un projet qui contribue à la vie économique et sociale de notre pays, je souhaite que leurs forces vives s’épanouissent dans cette réalisation.
À chacune et à chacun d’entre vous, qui vivez dans notre pays ou le faites rayonner à l’étranger, je redis : “Très heureuse année 2011” ».

Happy New Year!