Albert II (Monaco)

Albert II of Monaco, 2008

Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Rainier Grimaldi (born March 14, 1958 in Monaco ) has been since the death of his father Rainier III. on April 6, 2005 the reigning Prince of Monaco and head of the Grimaldi family .

Life

Monegasque princely family

SD Prince Albert II of Monaco ID Princess Charlène of Monaco SD Hereditary Prince Jacques ID Princess Gabriella HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover Andrea Casiraghi Alexandre Casiraghi Maximilian Casiraghi India Casiraghi Pierre Casiraghi Stefano Casiraghi Francesco Casiraghi Charlotte Casiraghi HRH Princess Alexandra of Hanover ID Princess Stéphanie of Monaco Louis Ducruet Pauline Ducruet

childhood and education

Albert II was the son of Prince Rainier III. and Princess Gracia Patricia . Although he was the second-born after his sister Caroline , since Monaco knows the patrilineal primogeniture , i.e. the preference for the male line, he became heir to the throne with the title of Hereditary Prince of Monaco, Marquis of Baux . His younger sister is Stéphanie .

Albert graduated from the Albert-I ^er -Gymnasium in Monaco and then studied politics at Amherst College in Amherst (Massachusetts) . In addition to French , he speaks English and German .

Family and possible succession

Prince Albert II has been married to the former South African swimmer Charlene Wittstock since July 1, 2011 . The church wedding took place the following day. The couple had been engaged since June 23, 2010. On May 30, 2014 the court announced that the royal couple was expecting offspring. The twins, Princess Gabriella of Monaco and Hereditary Prince Jacques Honoré Rainier, Marquis des Baux , were born in Monaco on December 10, 2014.

Albert has an illegitimate daughter named Jazmin Grace Grimaldi and an illegitimate son named Eric Alexandre Coste. Both children are excluded from the line of succession, because in 2002 their grandfather Prince Rainier , himself the son of a legitimate illegitimate daughter of Prince Louis II of Monaco , changed the constitution so that only children from one marriage can inherit.

Tasks and interests

As heir to the throne

Before his accession to the throne, Prince Albert represented his country five times ( 1988 to 2002 ) at the Winter Olympics , in which he participated as a bobsleigh driver . His best placement was a 25th place in 1988 in the two-man bobsleigh with Gilbert Bessi . He has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1985 and chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Monaco since 1994. His grandfather John B. Kelly senior and uncle John B. Kelly junior were Olympic medalists in rowing. He also has a black belt in judo .

Reign

On March 31, 2005, Albert was appointed regent by the seven-member Privy Council . He ascended the throne of Monaco after the death of his father as Albert II on April 6, 2005. The official enthronement as the 30th Prince of Monaco took place after the almost three months of mourning that began with the funeral of Rainier III. started on April 15, on July 12, 2005.

In April 2006, Albert II took. Part in a North Pole expedition to mark the 100th anniversary of the Arctic expedition of his great-grandfather, Prince Albert I was organized. Albert II used the international attention that his participation aroused to draw attention to the dangers for the Arctic region caused by global warming . Albert II reached the North Pole on Easter Sunday (April 16) 2006 at 3:45 p.m. CEST . He is the first incumbent head of state to step onto the North Pole . In early 2009 he also reached the South Pole.

Public engagements

Prince Albert II supports the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society , which actively combats the hunt for whales , sharks and seals as well as the overfishing of the seas. In 2008 he was awarded the Champions of Earth Award and in 2018 the European Taurus Culture Prize .

Title and salutation

Standard of Albert II.

His full title is: Albert II. Grimaldi, par la Grâce de Dieu Prince de Monaco, Duc de Valentinois , Marquis des Baux , Comte de Carladès , Baron du Buis , Seigneur de Saint-Rémy , Sire de Matignon , Comte de Torigni , Baron de Saint-Lô , de la Luthumière et de Hambye , Duc d'Estouteville , de Mazarin et de Mayenne , Prince de Château-Porcien , Comte de Ferrette , de Belfort , de Thann et de Rosemont , Baron d ' Altkirch , Seigneur d' Isenheim , Marquis de Chilly , Comte de Longjumeau , Baron de Massy , Marquis de Guiscard .

The official salutation of the prince is Son Altesse Sérénissime le Prince Albert II , abbreviated as SAS le Prince Albert II (German: His Highness (SD) Prince Albert II.). The personal address is Monseigneur , which, like the Italian monsignor, means "my lord ".

coat of arms

Shield of red and silver in three rows one below the other, each with five adjoining red spaces; Shield holder : two monks , wielding a bare sword in their free hand ; Motto : Deo Juvante ( God willing ); Grand Duke crown and purple , ermine-lined crests coat .

Awards and honors

• Grand Officer, 2006 Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor (France)
• 1979 Grand Cross of the Order of St. Charles (Monaco)
• 1958 Grand Cross of the Grimaldi Order (Monaco)
• 2005 Grand Master of the Order of the Crown (Monaco)
• 2009 Grand Cross of the Order of King Tomislav (Croatia)
• 1997 Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (France)
• 2009 Commander of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques (France)
• 2015 Commander of the Order of Maritime Merit (France)
• Commander of the Order for Merit to Education (France)
• 2005 Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy
• 1983 Grand Cross of the Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (Vatican)
• 1977 Grand Officer of the Order of Lions (Senegal)
• Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Mauritius and Lazarus ( House of Savoy )
• Grand Cross of the Order of Danilos I.
• 1998 Grand Cross of the Order of the Republic (Niger)
• 2002 Grand Cross of the Order of the Slave Liberator José Simeón Cañas (El Salvador)
• Grand Cross of the Renaissance Order (Jordan)
• Grand Order on the ribbon of the Order of November 7th (Tunisia)
• 2002 Grand Cross of the Order of Vasco Nuñez de Balboa (Panama)
• Medal First Class of the Order of Merit (Bulgaria)
• 2009 Collane of the Star of Romania
• 2003 Grand Cross of the Sun Order (Peru)
• 1997 Knight of Honor and Devotion Grand Cross of the Sovereign Order of Malta (October 15)
• Great Order of Merit on Ribbon (Lebanon)
• 2003 Golden Grand Cross of the Order of Juan Mora Fernández (Costa Rica)
• Grand Cross of the Order of St. Agatha (San Marino)
• 2009 Collane of the Pro Merito Melitensi Order of Merit
• 2009 BAUM environmental award
• 2012 Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
• 2012 Grand Cross of the Vytautas Magnus Order
• 2014 Honorary doctorate from the University of Bern (Switzerland)
• 2016 German Ocean Prize
• 2017 Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sorbonne (France)
• 2020 Media Freedom Prize (Ludwig Erhard Summit)

ancestors

Pedigree of Prince Albert II of Monaco
Old parents	Count Charles de Polignac (1824–1881) ⚭ 1851 Josephine Lenormand de Morando (1828–1883)	Isidro Fernando de La Torre y Gil (1816–?) ⚭ Luisa de Mier y Celis (1830–?)	Prince Albert I (1848–1922) ⚭ 1869 Princess Mary Victoria Hamilton (1850–1922)	Jacques Henri Louvet (1830–1910) ⚭ 1852 Joséphine Elmire Piedefer (1828–1871)	Brian Kelly (1804–1889) ⚭ 1849 Honora Margaret McLaughlin (1821–1884)	Walter Costello (1832–1910) ⚭ 1851 Anne Burke (1833–1882)	Johann Christian Karl Majer (1837–1885) ⚭ 1860 Luise Wilhelmine Mathilde Adam (1837–1904)	Georg Berg (1841–1908) ⚭ 1868 Elisabetha Röhrig (1843–1886)
Great grandparents	Count Maxence de Polignac (1857–1936) ⚭ 1881 Suzanne de La Torre y Mier (1858–1913)		Prince Ludwig II. (1870–1949) + Marie Juliette Louvet (1867–1930)		John Henry Kelly (1847–1897) ⚭ 1867 Mary Costello (1852–1926)		Karl Majer (1863–1922) ⚭ 1896 Margaretha Berg (1870–1949)
Grandparents	Count Pierre de Polignac (1895–1964) ⚭ 1920 Hereditary Princess Charlotte of Monaco (1898–1977)				John Brendan Kelly (1889–1960) ⚭ 1924 Margaret Katherine Majer (1898–1990)
parents	Prince Rainier III. (1923–2005) ⚭ 1956 Grace Patricia Kelly (1929–1982)
Prince Albert II of Monaco (* 1958)

literature

• Genealogical handbook of the nobility , complete series vol. 114, Princely houses vol. XV, Limburg a. d. Lahn 1997, pp. 68-71

Web links

Commons : Albert II.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

 Wikinews: Albert II  - on the news

• Website of the Princely Palace of Monaco (French, English)
• Official Biography (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Official biography ( memento of August 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (French)
2. ^ Monaco: Albert and Charlene are married at focus.de, July 1, 2011 (accessed July 1, 2011).
3. ↑ Announcement of the engagement ( Memento from January 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ Yeah, she's finally pregnant! , Bunte, Retrieved May 30, 2014
5. ↑ Naissances Princières . Princely Palace of Monaco. December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
6. ↑ n-tv.de on June 12, 2014, The Prince's illegitimate child, Albert II has to accept revelations (accessed on December 14, 2014)
7. ↑ focus.de on June 23, 2010, Prince Albert II., No heir to the throne, but children (accessed on December 14, 2014)
8. ↑ Albert Grimaldi in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
9. ↑ Results for Monaco in bobsleigh in 1988 in Calgary on Sports-Reference.com
10. ↑ Biography at the IOC
11. ^ Prince Albert II is an honorary doctor from the University of Bern . Retrieved December 13, 2019 . 
12. ↑ UPMC Awards Prince Albert II of Monaco a Docteur Honoris Causa ( Memento from June 25, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) ( English )

predecessor	Office	successor
Rainier III.	Prince of Monaco 2005 – today	-