Prince Albert of Monaco, an environmentalist in the blood
Since June 8, we find in bookstores “The Prince and the Ocean”, the first work of Albert II of Monaco. Very involved in the fight against global warming, he has made the preservation of marine ecosystems one of the focal points of his reign. His book is both an account of his initiatives and a message of hope of concrete avenues for a future in harmony with the environment.
His speech resonates with that of his great-great-grandfather, Albert I, born in 1848, Belgian by his mother, Antoinette de Mérode. Exactly one hundred years after his death, his life’s work remains current. For thirty years, every spring, Albert I set out to explore the seas of the globe, taking around sixty researchers and scientists. These expeditions made it possible to discover more than 7000 species of fish, some of which at more than 6000 meters deep, a feat for the time. Pioneer, this great navigator, humanist, pacifist but also anthropologist and paleontologist, founded the spectacular oceanographic museum of the Rock, the source of the wonders and the vocation of his heir, who therefore followed in his footsteps, including at the North Pole. He also confesses to it during an interview at the end of the documentary.
A life like a novel
In the story of this life as a novel that was that of the first “prince of the oceans”, fate has woven sardonic parallels. Because he too seduced an American. His second wife, Princess Alice, friend of the artists of her time, was born in New Orleans and she marked the history of the Principality by her contribution to culture and opera. The love stories of this era have nothing to envy to the people magazines of today. Divorce, a child recognized late in life, passions, fiery declarations, deceptions and scandals… the sentimental chapter of the sovereign adventurer is worth its weight in aquamarines.
Retracing the 73 years of its existence is also recounting the birth of the Principality, its metamorphosis from a small inaccessible fishing village into a hub of luxury. This transformation, on the owes to an essential element of the Rock: its casino, a magnet for tourists with a full wallet. But Albert I was also an athlete (another point in common with the one who bears his first name) and his attraction for sports made his tiny corner of land, among other things, a mecca for nautical competitions.
Fabulous storyteller of exceptional destinies, Stéphane Bern has no equal either for obtaining the keys to places inaccessible to the general public. He obtained from the Grimaldis exclusive access to their most secret residence: the Marchais estate, not far from the Belgian border. It had never been filmed before. This is where Albert I grew up and his taste for the elsewhere, and where he got married first. From this wooded area in the North, the presenter will also pass through the most private rooms of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. Another dazzling number.
“Secrets of history”, June 13, 9:10 p.m., France 3.