Flashback – Albert of Monaco: a look back at the first year of his reign
The prince celebrates his 64th birthday on March 14, 2022. Back to his first steps as sovereign prince of the Rock.
On March 31, 2005, terrible news spread in the Principality of Monaco. Prince Rainier III is seriously ill and this time the doctors are not very optimistic. Without conviction, the courtiers exchange in low voices the latest information on the prince’s worsening condition and nodding their heads, they whisper their desolation. Undoubtedly, the end is near.
A long-time smoker, his last years of life were particularly trying. The husband of actress Grace Kelly has a chain of bronchopulmonary infections and during the month of March 2005, he is hospitalized several times. Fortunately, for some time now, he has been preparing his son Albert to succeed him on the throne of the principality. When his condition became critical, the young man became regent at the request of the Crown Council.
In the midst of chaos, the hereditary prince represents a beacon of hope for helpless Monegasques, as well as the promise of a smooth transition between father and son. On April 6, 2005, Prince Rainier III dies at dawn and after a few days as interim head of state, Albert becomes the fourteenth sovereign prince of the principality of Monaco.
A national mourning is declared on the Rock in homage to the fifty-five years of reign of the prince nicknamed “the builder”. At the end of it, the prince’s accession to the throne is designated with great pomp on July 12, 2005 in front of more than 7000 guests. This is only a first ceremony. In November of the same year, the second part of his enthronement took place in the cathedral of Monaco and the festivities took place over several days.
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From the first months of his reign, Albert focuses on the causes that are dear to him. He begins with a large number of official visits to the neighboring countries of the Rock, in order to establish his arrival on the international scene. In July, the Sovereign Prince, like his ancestor Prince Albert I before him, travels to Norway to visit glaciers there. A symbolic trip that places ecology at the heart of the battles he intends to lead during his reign.
1984, Albert is his father’s right-hand man and he already masters state affairs perfectly. The only fly in the ointment is his eternal celibacy which intrigues the international press so much. While Prince Rainier III is in decline and his health is deteriorating day by day, concern about the absence of a hereditary little prince takes hold of the Rock… For good reason? A Franco-Monegasque treaty dated 1918 stipulating that in the absence of a hereditary prince, the principality of Monaco will become a protectorate of France.
Albert did not just inherit a kingdom. The prince is also at the head of a colossal fortune, today estimated at around one billion euros. A personal heritage much larger than that of Queen Elizabeth II of England. Here again, the sovereign demonstrated a developed flair for finance and investments.
Prince Albert was still not married at the time of his accession to the Monegasque throne, his sisters, the princesses Caroline and Stéphanie of Monaco immediately become essential figures by his side. Not an official outing or diplomatic trip takes place without one or the other playing the role of First Lady of the Rock. A routine that takes hold over time and who will be useful because, while his wife, Princess Charlene, is currently in a medical clinic outside Monaco, Caroline and Stéphanie have returned to the front of the stage. A considerable slowdown for Prince Albert II and his two children, the twins Jacques and Gabriella.
PHOTO – Charlene of Monaco and her twins at the time of happiness: these unpublished shots that move
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