Is Charlotte a Romanov Fan?

Check out the buttons on her dress from this year's National Day (you may have to click for the full size) and you tell me; could our Charlie be a Romanov lover? Of course, either way she still looks ridiculously gorgeous as always.

Princess Caroline in the Middle East

Last Tuesday HRH the Princess of Hanover was in Dubai where she met with Princess Haya, wife of the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. The two princesses met to discuss humanitarian issues and their shared concerns on the subject. Princess Caroline then went to a luncheon hosted by the Young President's Organization which is a forum for young presidents of companies to meet, exchange ideas and dialogue. Many of the most preeminent finance leaders in the world were present. The following day the Princess went to another luncheon hosted by the Rotary Club of Dubai at the U.A.E.'s World Trade Center. All in all a fairly typical trip for the Princess, but royal watchers could not help but notice that it happened to coincide with the trial of her husband HRH Prince Ernst August V in Germany where she had been expected to appear to give testimony. The couple have not been seen in public together for many months and this has caused speculation of an impending divorce to increase despite a recent denial that there are any such plans by the Princely Palace of Monaco.

Happy Birthday Louis!

Today is the 17th birthday of Louis Ducruet, son of HSH Princess Stephanie of Monaco and her former bodyguard Daniel Ducruet. Louis was born at the Princess Grace Hospital in Monte Carlo and is currently 7th in line to the Monegasque throne. A longtime soccer enthusiast Louis always cheers for the home team, in his case the AS Monaco FC. It does not seem possible that 17 years have passed since he was born, but regardless, a happy birthday Louis and may you have many more.

H.S.H. Prince Joseph of Monaco

H.S.H. Prince Joseph Marie Jerome Grimaldi of Monaco was born on September 10, 1763 in Paris, France to Prince Honore III and Princess Marie-Catherine. By the time he was born his parents were already drifting a part and it set the stage for Prince Joseph having to depend on his own wits to survive. On April 6, 1782 he married Françoise-Thérèse de Choiseul-Stainville. In what was rather a change for the Grimaldis of Monaco the marriage was a happy one and seemed to be the perfect match. However, disaster was soon visited on the couple with the outbreak of the French Revolution. Seeing the old order threatened Prince Joseph joined with the royalist counterrevolutionaries rising up against the republicans. While away his wife was arrested and eventually sent to the guillotine where she met her death on July 26, 1794. Prince Joseph, a public enemy of the revolution, was forced to go into exile in England for a time when the royalist uprising failed.

When friendly faces came to power Prince Joseph was exonerated from all charges and returned to France at the end of 1795 when, upon the death of his father, he took charge of the family estates on behalf of his ailing brother Prince Honore IV. The new (nominal) Sovereign Prince upset his children by this measure but it was a time of crisis for the family and it fell to Prince Joseph to a large extent to see them through it. With Monaco already taken over by France and a regime change underway with the coming to power of the young army officer Napoleon Bonaparte, Prince Joseph had to see to it that the Princely Family of Monaco was able to stay in the good graces of the new government and powers-that-be. While Honore IV recovered and joined the French army, serving under the famous Joachim Murat, Joseph handled affairs on the homefront.

Whereas Honore IV could not fit in with the new empire society, Prince Joseph made it his business to do so. He had to make a number of tough decisions, such as selling the large family house in Paris to cover mounting debts and taxes (it is now a residence for the French government). The family estates in Valmont and Thorigny had to be put up for auction and the Grimaldis were preyed upon by dishonest speculators, making the struggle for survival almost constant. However, the Bonapartist empire finally came to an end and Prince Joseph used his royalist connections to see to it that the position of the family, the principality and the protectorate were restored by Talleyrand after the return of King Louis XVIII. With the health of Honore IV worse than ever, Prince Joseph went to see him and persuaded his brother to abdicate his French noble titles to his son while he took over the government of Monaco as regent.

This greatly upset Prince Honore-Gabriel (future Honore V) who felt that it was his right to be regent in Monaco rather than his uncle. In the meantime, however, Monaco was returned to the Grimaldi family, Italian became the official language (as it had been before the French takeover) when Prince Joseph arrived to oversee the transition. He had a monumental task on his hands as the French occupation and the disruption of the revolution had left the economy in shambles and the people began to refuse to pay their taxes. In January, 1815 Prince Joseph returned to Paris to try to raise money to stave off disaster and in his absence there was near chaos in Monaco with no prince, no regent and no French troops for the first time in many, many years. Perhaps fortunately for Prince Joseph his nephew took this opportunity to make his bid for the regency and using his mother's family connections tried to enlist the King on his side. Prince Joseph, possibly relieved to escape the post, wrote to his brother and advised him to hand power over to Prince Honore-Gabriel. Prince Joseph died a year later on June 28, 1816.

Back to Routine

Only one day after the National Day celebrations Charlotte was away at another equestrian competition and yesterday Prince Albert had a busy schedule as he resumed his normal routine. He was on hand for the end of the "No Finish Line" annual event, dressed in his jogging gear and took some time to be included in the final leg as well before giving a speech and then racing off (no pun intended) to another athletic event (of sorts) at the Sporting Club in Monaco. The occasion was the Iaaf World Athletics Gala. Today he was in Hamburg, Germany at the city hall where he was presented with the BAUM award for his environmental work. In his speech he praised the Germans and Chancellor Merkel for being on the cutting edge of environmental protection and awareness.

Christian Louis Baron de Massy

Christian Louis, Baron de Massy, a first cousin of the current Princely Family of Monaco, was born on January 17, 1949 to HSH Princess Antoinette of Monaco (elder sister of Rainier III) and her paramour of the time Alexandre-Athenase Noghes. Born out of wedlock he was later legitimized by the Catholic Church in 1951 when his parents married which put him in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne. As a result, as a small boy, he was at the center of the rumored effort of his mother to depose his uncle Rainier and place him on the throne instead with Princess Antoinette as regent and the real power. He had two other sisters, Elisabeth-Anne de Massy and Christine Alix de Massy but because of his gender he was to take center stage in the alleged conspiracy.

At the time Christian was legitimized Prince Rainier III was unmarried and had no children and this was supposed to be the key for Princess Antoinette to take back the place she lost when her younger brother was born. However, as we all know, Rainier III married Grace Kelly and had three children, including a son and heir, and the idea of Christian becoming "Louis III of Monaco" evaporated. Needless to say this caused problems within the ranks of the Princely Family and for a time Rainier III banished his sister from the Principality. However, according to Christian's own account, Princess Grace was always very kind to him and when the marital problems of his mother drove him to distraction he said that Princess Grace always made time for him, comforted him and tried to help him along. It should be kept in mind though that his book "Palace" was not looked on kindly by Rainier III who banned it and banished Christian himself from Monaco in 1986 for it and other problems and is widely viewed as an effort to "cash-in" on his family connections by spreading rumors.

In 2002 when the laws of succession were revised Christian again entered the ranks though as 11th in line. However, when Rainier III died and Albert II became Sovereign Prince Christian again lost his place, though if some major disaster were to befall the current crop of Grimaldis Baron de Massy would still be eligible for selection by the Crown Council. In his own life, Christian has had a tumultuous time. His family life was chaotic, he didn't do well in school and was known for his casual relationships, risky behavior and car racing. After being educated in England Christian followed in his mother's footsteps with a succession of failed marriages. First, in 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina he married Maria Marta Quintana y del Carril who, one year later, gave birth to Christian's first child Laetizia de Massy but in 1978 the couple divorced.

He has had three more marriages since, now married to his fourth wife, and has had two other children, sons, Brice Baron de Massy and Antoine Baron de Massy. Information on his life since writing his "tell all" book has been rather sketchy though, so keep that in mind. By and large, from what I have heard, he is still largely looked down on in Monaco. Whereas other members of the de Massy clan have made up with their Grimaldi cousins and are often seen at social events and the like, Christian is usually nowhere to be seen.

St Rainier of Pisa

Given the recent celebration of Monaco Day, held on the feast of St Rainier whose name has been that of three Monegasque monarchs over the centuries it is fitting to take a look back at exactly who was the St Rainier that Lords Rainier I, Rainier II and Prince Rainier III was named after. St Rainier of Pisa was born sometime in the 12th Century (possibly 1117). His father was a wealthy merchant and shipowner and young Rainier grew up to be a very sinful and indulgent youth. He loved music and was a wandering mistrel and musician devoted to nothing so much as enjoying himself. He would drink, play music and basically party all night and sleep it off during the day. Typical spoiled rich boy - until someone set an example.

One night Rainier was at a castle playing for a crowd of people at a party; all very joyful and merry. It was then and there that he met a very holy man who happened to passing through. Rainier was drawn to the man and the two had a long conversation. Rainier asked the man to pray for him and the result was a conversion. Rainier burned his fiddle, gave up his high life and became a devout Christian. Who was the man who had such an impact on the sinful youth? We will never know as his name has been lost to history but he gave the first helping hand to Rainier on his path to sainthood. However, Rainier was not completely out of the woods yet. He tried to be more responsible, going into his father's trading business with the Mediterranean sailors and journeying from port to port. He was living a better life but he still was not saintly.

Rainier was so devoted to his work and business that he became a very wealthy man but found no satisfaction in it. One day he noticed that his money had a rotten smell to it and this struck him as a sign from God that he would find no happiness with earthly wealth. He immediately gave his entire fortune to the poor and took up the life of a penitential monk. Rainier went on pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem and other famous shrines and destinations. In 1153 he became the Conventual oblate of the Benedictine abbey of St Andrew in Pisa and later oblate of the abbey of St Vito. He was a noted Bible scholar and could be a good preacher when telling others of his life story. He was also known for healing people with holy water, driving out demons and other miracles. He is the patron saint of Pisa and travellers.

MM Video: National Day 2009

National Day 2009

The day's festivities began with a mass at St Nicholas Cathedral for St Rainier Day

The Princely Family faces the crowd
No matter the occasion Princess Stephanie cannot help 'touching up' her big brother. She's always been the little mother hen to Albert.
Cousin Melanie de Massy joined the "Casiraghi Trio" and Princess Alexandra on the balcony

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco; fatherly Mediterranean monarch

The Sovereign Prince salutes his soldiers as they march past the Princely Family on the palace steps.

Happy National Day!

Today is the National Day of Monaco. A special mass is being held in St Nicholas Cathedral and on hand are the Sovereign Prince, Princess Caroline, Princess Stephanie, Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte Casiraghi, Elisabeth-Anne de Massy and Melanie de Massy. Other events are planned and hopefully by tomorrow I can post some more pictures of the festivities.

The Celebrations Have Begun!

With the National Day of Monaco upon us the festivities in the principality are well underway. National Day has been celebrated since 1857 when it was held on the feast day of St Devote, Monaco's patron. However, it has since been moved to November 19 in honor of St Rainier, the namesake of the first Grimaldi Lord of Monaco and the previous Sovereign Prince. The Princely Family has been out in force in the last couple of days to celebrate the occasion. HSH Prince Albert II handed out medals of honor at the Princely Palace to champions of various causes. One of those honored was cousin Elisabeth Anne de Massy. Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie were both on hand for the event and Princess Caroline later visited a nursery school. Yesterday, Princess Stephanie and the Sovereign Prince were at Red Cross headquarters to hand out gifts to Monaco residents. There has been a spectacular fireworks display over the harbor of Hercules with many more events, celebrations and ceremonies still to come.

Andrea Active for Charity

Yesterday, Andrea Casiraghi appeared with the French deputy of Beaune Alain Suguenot, the French singer and actor Patrick Bruel and the President of the Cotes d'Or Francois Sauvadet at the 149th edition of the Hospices de Beaune charity auction wine sale, the best known part of the most famous Burgundian festival and the greatest charity sale of its kind in the world which has attracted the biggest names and experts in wine for the past 80 years. It was a very grand event and all for a very good cause and Andrea seemed to have a good time lending his name and celebrity to the cause. Andrea Casiraghi is the eldest son of HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover and currently second in line to the Monegasque throne.