Nicole Tossou

Albert II (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, reigning since 2005. Born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, Albert is the second child and only son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. He attended the Lycée Albert Premier before studying political science at Amherst College. He is an Olympian, having competed in bobsleigh at multiple Winter Olympic...

Albert II (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, reigning since 2005. Born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, Albert is the second child and only son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. He attended the Lycée Albert Premier before studying political science at Amherst College. He is an Olympian, having competed in bobsleigh at multiple Winter Olympic Games from 1988 until his retirement in 2002. Albert was appointed regent in March 2005 after his father fell ill, and became sovereign prince upon his father's death a week later. Since his accession, he has been outspoken in the field of environmentalism and an advocate of ocean conservation and the adoption of renewable energy sources to address global climate change, and founded the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation in 2006 to raise funds and initiate action for such causes and broader ecological preservation. With assets valued in 2010 at US$1 billion, Albert owns shares in the Société des Bains de Mer, which operates Monaco's casino and other entertainment properties in the Principality. In July 2011, Albert married South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock. He is the father of Gabriella and Jacques, the latter his heir presumptive. Prior to his marriage, he had a daughter and a son, Jazmin and Alexandre, both from different unions. Albert recognizes four children, although he has been the subject of multiple paternity claims. Early life Albert was born on 14 March 1958 in the Prince's Palace of Monaco, the second child of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. At the time of his birth, he was heir apparent to the throne. Albert was a dual citizen of both the Principality of Monaco and the United States of America by birth, before renouncing his American citizenship in early adulthood. He was baptized on 20 April 1958, by Monsignor Jean Delay, Archbishop of Marseille, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Monaco. His godparents were Prince Louis de Polignac and Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain. Hereditary Prince Military service Albert spent a year training in princely duties before enrolling at Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1977 as Albert Grimaldi. He joined Chi Psi fraternity and lived in the Alpha Chi Lodge. Albert spent mid-1979 touring Europe and the Middle East with the Amherst College Glee Club, and also undertook an exchange program with the University of Bristol at the Alfred Marshall School of Economics and Management in 1979. He graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He speaks French, German, Italian, and English. From September 1981 to April 1982, Albert trained on board the French Navy's helicopter cruiser Jeanne d'Arc , attaining the rank of Ship-of-the-Line Ensign (2nd class), and is currently a reserve Lieutenant Commander. From 1983 to 1985, he took training courses with companies J.P. Morgan & Co, Louis Vuitton, Rogers & Wells, and Wells, Rich and Greene in the United States and Europe, studying financial management, communication, and marketing. Since May 1993, he has led the Monegasque delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations. In 2004, he presided over the delegation of Monaco in Strasbourg, France, for the Principality's official accession to the Council of Europe. Albert's mother, Grace, died at age 52 as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident in 1982. In 2017, he stated in an interview that his mother's death was a traumatic event for him and his family, revealing that his father was "never the same man" after the loss. Sports career Albert was an enthusiastic sportsman, participating in cross-country, javelin throwing, handball, judo, swimming, tennis, rowing, sailing, skiing, squash, and fencing. He became a judo black belt in 1985. Albert competed in bobsleigh at five consecutive Winter Olympic Games for Monaco, taking part in both the two-man and four-man events. In the two-man bobsleigh, Albert finished 25th at the 1988 games in Calgary, 43rd at the 1992 games in Albertville, and 31st at the 1994 games in Lillehammer. In the four-man bobsleigh, he finished 27th in 1992, 26th at the 1994 games in Lillehammer, and 28th at both the 1998 games in Nagano and the 2002 games in Salt Lake City. Albert was Monaco's flag bearer at the 1988, 1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics. He also took part in the 1985 Paris–Dakar Rally but did not complete it. Albert has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1985, and his maternal grandfather, John B. Kelly Sr., and maternal uncle, John B. Kelly Jr., were both Olympic medalists in rowing. In 2017, Albert gained OLY post-nominal status under his competition name of Albert Grimaldi. On 31 March 2005, following consultation with the Crown Council of Monaco, the Palais Princier announced that Albert would take over his father's duties as regent since Rainier was no longer able to exercise his princely functions. Reign Accession The first part of Albert's enthronement as ruler of the Principality took place on 12 July 2005, after the end of the three-month mourning period for his father. A morning Mass at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, presided over by the archbishop of Monaco, the Most Reverend Bernard Barsi, formally marked the beginning of his reign. Afterward, Albert returned to the Palace to host a garden party for 7,000 Monégasques born in the Principality. In the courtyard, he was presented with two keys to the city as a symbol of his investiture, and subsequently gave a speech. The evening ended with a fireworks display on the waterfront. The second part of his investiture took place on 19 November 2005. Albert was enthroned at Saint Nicholas Cathedral. The Princely family was in attendance, including his elder sister, Princess Caroline with her husband Ernst, Prince of Hanover and three of her four children, Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte; as well as his younger sister Princess Stéphanie, his paternal aunt Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy, his godson, Jean-Léonard Taubert de Massy, and his cousin Elisabeth-Anne de Massy. Royalty from 16 delegations were present for the festivities throughout the country. The evening ended with a dedicated performance at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Succession issues As Rainier III's health declined, Albert's lack of legitimate children became a matter of public and political concern owing to the legal and international consequences. Had Albert succeeded his father and died without lawful heirs, it would have triggered Article 3 of the 1918 Franco-Monegasque Treaty, according to which the Principality of Monaco would become a protectorate of the French Republic. Prior to 2002, Monaco's constitution stipulated that only the last reigning prince's "direct and legitimate" descendants could inherit the crown. On 2 April 2002, Monaco promulgated Princely Law 1.249, which provides that if a reigning prince dies without surviving legitimate issue, the throne passes to his legitimate siblings and their legitimate descendants of both sexes, according to the principle of male-preference primogeniture. Under the current constitution, neither Jazmin nor Alexandre is in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, as they are not Albert's legitimate children, and he emphasized their ineligibility to inherit the throne in statements confirming his paternity. Monegasque law stipulates that any non-adulterine illegitimate child is legitimized by the eventual marriage of his/her parents, thereby obtaining the rights to which that child would have been entitled if born in lawful marriage. Thus Alexandre would have become Monaco's heir apparent under current law if Albert were to marry Alexandre's mother. In a 2005 exchange with American reporter Larry King, Albert stated that this would not happen. Prior to the birth of Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques, Albert's elder sister, Caroline, Princess of Hanover, was heir presumptive and, according to the Grimaldi house law, bore the traditional title of Hereditary Princess of Monaco. Following their births, she is now third in line. Princely activities In the early years of his reign, Albert oversaw multiple judicial and legal reforms, including the regulation of custody, protections of individual privacy in the face of technological growth, freedom of the press, legislative gender equality, and the protection of children's rights and disabled students. In July 2005, in echo of Albert I, his great-great-grandfather, he travelled to Spitsbergen, Norway. During this trip, he visited the glaciers Lilliehöökbreen and Monacobreen. Albert also engaged in a Russian Arctic expedition, reaching the North Pole on Easter, 16 April 2006. Since his ascension, Albert has overseen the construction of various community facilities, including social housing, railway infrastructure, educational institutes for the hospitality industry, and secondary education. He currently heads an initiative to promote ethical economic activity, criminal liability, systems to combat money laundering and organized crime, and the introduction of tax fraud into Monegasque criminal law. In 2006, Albert created the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which continues Monaco's commitment to supporting sustainable and ethical projects around the world. The foundation's focus has three main objectives: climate change and renewable energy development, combating the loss of biodiversity, and improving universal access to clean water. On 27 August 2015, Albert apologized for Monaco's role in facilitating the deportation of a total of 90 Jews and resistance fighters to the Nazis in 1942, of whom only nine survived. "We committed the irreparable in handing over to the neighboring authorities women, men, and a child who had taken refuge with us to escape the persecutions they had suffered in France," Albert said at a ceremony in which a monument to the victims was unveiled at the Monaco Cemetery. "In distress, they came specifically to take shelter with us, thinking they would find neutrality." Between 2006 and 2022, Albert's chief of cabinet was Georges Lisimachio. In June 2023, Albert dismissed Claude Palmero, the manager of the Prince of Monaco's assets who had served for over two decades. Albert said of the decision, "I exercised my right to choose the asset manager of my choice. Events have shown how much this decision was the right one." Palmero proceeded to sue Albert for €1 million and leaked information about the palace's spending to the French media. Personal life In 2016, Albert purchased his mother's childhood home in East Falls, Philadelphia, which was originally built by her father Jack Kelly Sr. Upon acquiring it, he stated that the house might be used as a museum space or as offices for the Princess Grace Foundation. Albert does not have direct ownership of the Prince's Palace, but he does possess personal homes in both La Turbie and Marchais. Albert, a well-known automotive enthusiast, owns vehicles such as the BMW Hydrogen 7, the Lexus LS 600h, the Lexus RX 400h, and the Toyota Prius PHV. He also owns a Dassault Aviation Falcon 7X, a 14-passenger leisure jet currently stationed at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport. Albert was close friends with the artist Nall and owns some of his works. On 19 March 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, it was announced that Albert had tested positive for COVID-19, making him the first monarch and head of state to have contracted the virus. It was reported that he had begun to self-quarantine in his apartment, performing his work and duties from there. On 31 March, it was announced that he had made a full recovery. In April 2022, he tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time and observed a brief period of self-isolation. In 2021, Albert became the first head of state to fly in an electric plane, flying on 14 September 2021, in a Pipistrel Velis128 operated by Elektropostal with pilot Raphaël Domjan from Nice Airport in France