Happy Halloween!

From Mad for Monaco!

Prince Albert - Peace Through Sports

Yesterday HSH Prince Albert II attended the 2011 Peace and Sport International Forum in Monaco. Government leaders, businessmen and sports enthusiasts came together to discuss how sports can be used to foster dialogue and peace among the nations of the world. Right up the Prince's alley to be sure, and a fine cause. There is nothing like a little friendly competition to bring people together. Among the foreign dignitaries on hand for the event was His Majesty King Letsie III of the south African Kingdom of Lesotho. This is a great forum with a lot of great ideas, I just wonder if they invited anyone from El Salvador and Honduras? Nah, that probably wouldn't look good ... anyone remember the Football War? I jest of course...

Princess Caroline, Fun with Photos

This is actually taken from the Greta Garbo movie "Queen Christina" (my review here)

I don't know where this came from, but I feel like I should. Any ideas?

This, of course, from the Andy Warhol collection (see some of his other royals here)

And finally what looks like someone having fun with "Photoshop". I like it.

Prince Pierre of Monaco

On the occasion of his birthday, Mad for Monaco remembers Prince Pierre, beloved father of HSH Prince Rainier III.

Princely Couple Visit Nepal

There Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco slipped away from New Zealand and have been making a short visit to Nepal where they have checked in on a school in the Himalayan country (formerly the last Hindu monarchy in the world) which was built by Monaco Aide et Présence and which is now one of the best schools in the country. The Sovereign Prince will then lay the corner stones for some more schools to be built by the Nepal-Monaco Cultural Association and visit some other clinics and workshops built with aid from France. But wait! I know what you're thinking: Nepal had a revolution, they tossed out their terrible king and the Maoists took over (Maoists so hard-core they even freaked out the Red Chinese) so surely they have spread the wealth around and made sure there are no more poor in Nepal...right? Yeah, not so much, seems they still need a great deal of help from wealthy western nations where capitalism holds a little sway. Imagine that. Message to Nepal - It's not working. Just tell the King you're sorry and ask him to come back, we won't tell anyone, we'll just pretend the whole thing never happened. Okay? Good. Moving on then...

MM Video: Prince Albert in Uniform

The Marriage of Prince Jacques I

It was on this day in 1715 that Princess Louise-Hippolyte of Monaco married Jacques Francois Leonor Goyon de Matignon. As we have discussed previously, it was not quite a match made in heaven. Still, all parties agreed and, as it was shortly after the death of His Most Christian Majesty King Louis XIV, the marriage contract was signed by the regent, the Duke of Orleans, and the child King Louis XV. Yet, there were problems for the couple from the outset. In their first year of marriage they suffered the lost of their first child and they had to move to Paris to escape the volatile Prince Antoine I who was infuriated when he learned how he had been maneuvered into accepting Jacques as his son-in-law. For his part, Jacques was not pleased about having to give up his own family name and coat of arms to take those of the House of Grimaldi as he was rather proud of his own lineage. Prince Antoine was also broke by a legal dispute with his own daughter after the death of his ex-wife, Marie de Lorraine, who left her fortune entirely to her daughter. The proud old Prince had to suffer the indignity of asking his rather despised but well-to-do son-in-law for assistance.

“You mention the state of your affairs,” Jacques, then the Duke of Valentinois, wrote back, “as though you wish me to do all I can to ease your situation. I will willingly help…on condition, if you please, that you take no steps to prejudice the future interests of your grandson [the future Prince Honore III who would inherit the fortune from his mother one day]…He is such a [good natured] boy that nobody could think of playing a dirty trick on him”. In other words, stop trying to get your hands on my wife’s money and I will toss a few bucks your way. Prince Antoine, the old “Goliath” was not just furious, he was FURIOUS! As he predicted, he later died still in a rage over his treatment by his son-in-law and daughter though most probably still directed at Marie de Lorraine, his late wife, who he regarded as the author of all his misfortunes. It was then that Princess Louise-Hippolyte became Sovereign Princess of Monaco and Jacques the “Sovereign Consort”. However, that situation did not last long either as the beloved Princess was carried away by smallpox just under a year after taking the throne.

That unhappy event marked the start of the brief reign of Prince Jacques I of Monaco. He was opposed from the very start by Princess Isenghien, his sister-in-law, the second daughter of Prince Antoine I. She tried to rally her Grimaldi cousins in the wider family (in Genoa and elsewhere) to challenge her dead sister’s husband. She claimed, not without some justification, that the Monegasque would never submit to a Sovereign Prince who had not a drop of Grimaldi blood in his veins and, indeed, Prince Jacques I was never widely popular. However, he was no fool and tried to foil his sister-in-law by appointed the Chevalier de Grimaldi, an illegitimate son of Prince Antoine I, as Governor of Monaco who would, effectively, rule the principality on his behalf. As it turned out, this was a smart move as the Chevalier was quite a talented individual who ended up governing Monaco for most of the next fifty years with considerable ability.

Prince Jacques I was never fully accepted by the Monegasque population, tolerated might be a better word, but he was not often in Monaco to bother them anyway. Knowing the temperament of the public, and being more at home in France anyway, he spent most of his short reign in Paris. In 1733 he abdicated in favor of his son, Prince Honore III, while the Chevalier de Grimaldi continued to manage the affairs of the principality quite adeptly throughout the boy’s minority and during his service with the French army. He, along with his brother Prince Charles Maurice of the Knights of Malta, renewed the family tradition of fighting England in the employ of the King of France such as at the battle of Fontenoy. Prince Jacques I retired to Versailles and Paris and died in 1751. His line would continue to provide the Princes of Monaco until the accession of Prince Rainier III. And it all started with a controversial marriage on October 20, 1715.

Princely Couple in New Zealand

Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco are currently in New Zealand attending the 2011 Rugby World Cup in Auckland. Mixing business with pleasure, the Sovereign Prince will meet with the Prime Minister to discuss Kiwi-Monegasque economic ties, cooperation on environmental issues and general diplomatic 'stuff'. On Thursday the Princely couple will attend a special centenary dinner for the New Zealand Olympic Committee and they will also visit Christchurch. There the Prince will visit with some collaborators in Antarctic research. Next month Prince Albert and Princess Charlene are set to visit Toronto, Canada to open an exhibition on the late Princess Grace of Monaco.

Monaco and the Papacy

Recently “Rome Reports” (a good place to get news about the Pope and news concerning the Holy See) stated that HSH Prince Albert II had visited the Pope once but that he was planning to visit the Vatican again to introduce his wife Princess Charlene (a Catholic convert) to the Pontiff. I’m not sure where they came up with Prince Albert only visiting the Pope once unless that is to say he has only made one formal visit, as Sovereign Prince, to the Pope following his enthronement. Prince Albert has visited the Vatican many times, prior to his succession, he met Pope John Paul II on more than one occasion and the Prince was present at the enthronement of HH Pope Benedict XVI. It has also been said that the Supreme Pontiff will make a historic visit to Monaco sometime next year. However, this provides an opportunity to talk about the long and close ties between the Holy See and the Principality of Monaco. The diplomatic ties between Monaco and the Holy See are some of the oldest in Catholic history.

As we know, the Grimaldi family first left Genoa and came to Monaco as a result of the Guelf-Ghibelline feud that once raged across northern Italy. Eventually, this became simply a feud but the original reason for it was a clash between the Pope on one side and the Holy Roman Emperor (basically the ruler of Germany) on the other. The Guelf faction (to which the Grimaldis adhered) supported the Pope while the Ghibellines supported the Emperor. So, the House of Grimaldi has been on the side of the Pope from the very beginning of the history of Monaco. From the very beginning the official state religion of Monaco has been the Christian religion as taught by the Roman Catholic Church. One of the most significant figures in the history of Monaco was a Catholic bishop, Bishop Agustin Grimaldi, regent for Lord Honore I. It was Lord Honore I who welcomed Pope Paul III to Monaco, the first time a Pontiff ever visited the country. Numerous members of the Grimaldi family joined the Church, such as HSH Princess Charlotte, daughter of HSH Prince Jacques I of Monaco, joined the Order of the Visitation as a nun.

Even members of the Grimaldi House one might not ordinarily consider the “religious types” have supported the Church such as Princess Catherine-Charlotte founded the Convent of the Visitation in Monaco. There were, of course, occasions in history when there were tensions such as when Prince Charles III expelled the Jesuits for their opposition to his establishment of the Monte Carlo Casino. However, hard feelings never lasted long. After the fall of the Papal States and the formation of the Kingdom of Italy, the Principality of Monaco was a haven for many of the veterans of the former papal army who were sheltered in Monaco and paid as their own unique military unit, a sort of Catholic addition to the Princely Rifles. There is even a street named after them in Monaco. The Princes of Monaco have a long history of generous support for the Church, even though there were occasional bumps in the road, usually due to the rocky record of marriage in the Grimaldi family, but Church law has always been respected.

Most recently, Prince Albert II has had to walk a rather fine line between the Catholic tradition of Monaco and the secularism that dominates modern western Europe. One area that has caused some friction is abortion. Prince Rainier III was adamant in completely banning the practice in Monaco but Prince Albert, as part of standards required by the European community, did not stop a law going through allowing for abortion in cases of rape, fetal illness or deformity or if the life of the mother is imperiled. However, as those are the only exceptions, Monaco is still regarded as one of the few western European countries where abortion is illegal. In 2009 Prince Albert II served as patron of a conference organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life, among others, to promote adult stem-cell research which does not involve the destruction of human embryos. In 2010 the Prince signed on to a coalition of twenty Catholic and Orthodox countries to defend the Christian tradition of Europe, “against the secularism, liberalism and relativism that prevail in modern Europe”. HSH Prince Rainier III, a devout Catholic who sought the Papal blessing at every major event of his reign, was a high-ranking member of the Knights of Malta and held the Papal honors of the Order of the Golden Spur and the Order of the Seraphs. Likewise, Prince Albert II is one of the highest ranking members of the Knights of Malta and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, a Catholic order under Papal protection, of which he has been a member since 1983.

Don't Mess with Prince Albert!

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco is world famous for being a nice guy, but it is just plain rude to insult a man in his own home and the Monegasque don't take kindly to rudeness and when it comes to Monaco, a Prince's Principality is his castle. Around midnight on Tuesday a very intoxicated Frenchman came into a Monaco bar demanding a drink. The establishment would not serve the man as he was clearly drunk. At that point the man became insulting and a bit hostile so the police were called (and it never takes them long to arrive in Monaco) at which time the man began insulting the police and in general behaving badly. Had he stopped there he might have gotten off with a night in the Monte Carlo 'drunk tank' but he proceeded to insult Prince Albert. As with a number of monarchies AND republics, such behavior is against the law. So, the man was taken into custody and charged with insulting the Sovereign Prince. Once he had sobered up the man said he had no memory of the event and that he was actually quite fond of the Prince of Monaco. But, the man should have considered the consequences before over-indulging in adult beverages. He is currently serving six days in jail for his tirade against the Sovereign Prince. Time, perhaps, to reflect on his poor choices. The man should be grateful that the police got to him before some very patriotic Monegasque citizens did otherwise he might be serving his time in the Princess Grace Hospital instead of the local jail.

New Book on the Princely Wedding

Prince Albert II has been busy lately with awards ceremonies but royalist romantics will be pleased to know that the official Princely Wedding book is now finished and will go on sale next Thursday in France, Monaco and will be available on the French Amazon on-line store. The book is very well done, quite to my taste, and features black and white photos of all the behind-the-scenes preparations, the wedding and the Jean Michel Jarre concert. It looks to be a spectacular piece of work.

Birthday of Princess Ghislaine

On this day in history the late Dowager Princess Ghislaine of Monaco was born, consort to HSH Prince Louis II. The photo above is from Prince Rainier III's enthronement ceremony, you can see (from left to right) Princess Antoinette, Princess Charlotte, Prince Rainier III, Prince Pierre and Princess Ghislaine in St Nicholas Cathedral.