Category Archives: Monaco Princely Family

Monaco Princely Family

H.R.H. Princess Caroline of Hanover Previews the New Exhibit ‘Fastes et Grandeur des Cours en Europe’ in Monaco

On July 10, 2011, H.R.H. Princess Caroline of Hanover previewed the latest exhibit at the Grimaldi Forum entitled, Fastes et Grandeur des Cours en Europe (Magnificence and Grandeur of the Royal Houses in Europe.)

Per the official website of the Grimaldi Forum:

Embarking on a veritable journey through the ages, visitors will for the first time enter 20 European courts and meet great imperial, royal and princely figures. In the course of this sumptuous journey – a European Tour of a very special kind – they will meet:

  • Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and elected King of Poland
  • Frederick I, first King of Prussia, and Queen Sophia Charlotte
  • Ludwig I, King of Bavaria, and his grandson, Ludwig II
  • Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elizabeth of Austria
  • the Danish kings Christian IV, a legendary monarch, and Christian IX, “the father-in-law of Europe” in the 19th century
  • Philip V, King of Spain and grandson of Louis XIV, and Elizabeth, heir to the fabulous Farnese collections
  • Napoleon and Josephine and the first French Empire
  • Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, a great collector and Joseph Haydn’s patron
  • Luís I, King of Portugal, and Queen Maria Pia
  • Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, “the grandmother of Europe”, and her consort Prince Albert
  • Gustavus III, King of Sweden
  • Tsar Alexander II, The Liberator, who launched the vogue for imperial Russian holidays on the French Riviera
  • Leopold I, first King of the Belgians
  • Haakon VII, elected first King of Norway following the dissolution of the union with Sweden
  • John III Sobieski, elected King of Poland, victor over the Turks at Vienna
  • Charles, King of Naples, who launched the excavations of Herculaneum and Pompey
  • Victor Amadeus II, King of Sicily then of Sardinia
  • Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
  • Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, whose role in the first part of the 20th century was so important
  • the Grimaldis, Princes of Monaco, from Honoré II in the 17th century through Charles III, founder of Monte-Carlo, to Rainier III and Princess Grace.

To illustrate this ambitious undertaking, the Grimaldi Forum Monaco is collecting together some 700 sumptuous or moving exhibits that plunge visitors into the very heart of the lives, roles and passions of these individuals and couples who marked the histories of their dynasties and countries. The exhibition will thus focus on their eras but no less on their accomplishments in the fields of the arts, history and science.

Portraits, sculptures, objets d’art, furniture, porcelain, silver and gold, costumes and jewellery will breathe new life into four centuries of history for a rich and unique experience. Historical films, both documentaries and fiction, complete this masterful exhibition bringing back to life these great figures who have often fired our dreams.

The Fastes et Grandeur des Cours en Europe exhibit runs through September 11, 2011, so if you happen to be in Monaco or nearby in the south of France why not stop by to see it.   🙂

To learn more about the Grimaldi Forum please visit their official website here.  To read an article about the exhibit via the French newspaper, Nice-Matin, please click here.

To view photos from today’s event please click here. 

Photo courtesy of: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images

Monaco Princely Family

A British Newspaper Has Finally Figured Out Why H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco agreed to Marry H.S.H. Prince Albert II

So, a genius reporter from the British newspaper, Express, has finally figured out  the reason why H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco married H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. His conclusion: A baby.

Per this award-winning newspaper:

Princess Charlene of Monaco has made a pact with her new husband Prince Albert to produce an heir – and then the couple can go their separate ways… according to French sources. ‘Once the succession of the dynasty is assured, each of them can be free again.  Divorce is a tradition in the Grimaldi family…’ says a source to VSD magazine. 

Huh.. m’kay.

To read this fantastic article by a soon-to-be Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Peter Allen, please click  here.  

Photo courtesy of: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Monaco Princely Family

H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco Finally Speaks Out Regarding The ‘Runaway Bride’ Rumors

A week after his religious wedding to his lovely bride, H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco, Prince Albert II finally addresses the allegations that his then fiancée tried to flee — or to be more dramatic about it “escape” — three times to head back home to South Africa:

[These rumors] are completely fabricated… It’s just to try to destabilise our marriage, it’s very unfair.  The rumours are completely unfounded, that’s why it’s easy for me to talk about them.’

And, there you have it… until the paternity tests.

Source:  iAfrica.com

Monaco Princely Family

H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco Pairs Up with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in Cape Town, South Africa

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On July 8, 2011, H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco became a patron of Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s charity, The Giving Trust, an organization, “…made up of 10 charities that focus on issues ranging from HIV to children and environmental protection.”

To read various articles about the princess and Archbishop Desmond Tutu please click the links here, here, and here.

To view photos please click the link here.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu jokes with Princess Charlene of Monaco during a visit to a clinic in Masiphelele township…

Monaco Princely Family

T.S.H.s Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco: The South African Wedding Reception

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This evening at the famous Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga, South Africa Their Serene Highnesses Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco had their wedding reception — again — for several of their closets friends who could not make it to Monaco last weekend.

Guests included South African president, Jacob Zuma, and his wife, loads of members from the International Olympic Committee, and some of the princess’s friends as well as family members.

To read an article from the Washington Post newspaper about the event please click here.  Another article.

To view photos please click the link here and look down.  More photos.  VIDEO!

And, an interesting, yet brief, commentary from a South African newspaper here.

Monaco Princely Family

‘Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess’ Exhibit Comes to Toronto, Canada. Plus Other News

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It was announced this afternoon that the exhibit, Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess, will be shown at the TIFF Bell Lightbox museum in Toronto, Canada.

Per the Hollywood Reporter:

Toronto’s TIFF Bell Lightbox will be busy this fall with the exclusive North American exhibit of Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess. The late princess of Monaco’s rarely viewed gowns and artifacts, from the palace where she married Prince Rainer III in 1956, will be on display.

The exhibition will also feature the princess and actress’ Van Cleef & Arpels tiara, her 1955 Oscar for The Country Girl, letters from Alfred Hitchcock, childhood scrapbooks, yearbooks, notes from Prince Rainier and Super-8 home videos she made.

The Lightbox show—which will run from November 4 through January 22, 2012.

Finally, on July 9, 2011, the Musée Océanographique de Monaco will open the exhibit L’Histoire du Mariage Princier by Stéphane Bern.

This exhibit focuses on the recent July 2 religious wedding between T.S.H.s Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco.  Per the official site for the Musée Océanographique de Monaco:

This exclusive exhibition offers a tour around objects particularly symbolic of marriage, previously unpublished photographs, the Lexus Hybrid car, gifts offered by Monaco and several outfits, presented to the public for the first time.

If you decide to waltz on over to the Musée Océanographique, whilst on vacation on Monaco, you will be able to gaze upon the Océan Tiara that was recently constructed for Princess Charlene by Van Cleef & Arpels.  The exhibit ends in November.

For more information please visit the Musée Océanographique de Monaco website here.  

For information about the Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess exhibit at the TIFF Bell Lightbox please click here.

Source: Hollywood Reporter and Oceano.mc

Photos courtesy of: Oceano.mc and The Star.com

Monaco Princely Family

T.S.H.s Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco Have Lunch with the President of South Africa

On July 6, 2011, T.S.H.s Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco had lunch with the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, and his lovely wife Thobeka Madiba, at the King’s House in Durban, South Africa.

The couple are in town for three reasons:  The IOC meetings in which H.S.H. Prince Albert II is a member, to throw another lavish wedding celebration, on Thursday at the famous Oyster Box hotel, in the princess’s former home country, and finally to begin their honeymoon.

To read more about the princely couple of Monaco’s lunch with President Zuma and to view photos please click the links here and  here.

Source and photo courtesy of: DM