Albert II is the Sovereign Prince of Monaco and head of the Princely House of Grimaldi. He is the son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. Albert is one of the wealthiest royals in the world, with assets valued at more than USD 1 billion. In July 2011, Prince Albert married South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock. They have two children, the twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques.
About Albert II, Prince of Monaco in brief
Albert II is the Sovereign Prince of Monaco and head of the Princely House of Grimaldi. He is the son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. Albert is one of the wealthiest royals in the world, with assets valued at more than USD 1 billion. In July 2011, Prince Albert married South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock. They have two children, the twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques. In his youth, he competed in bobsleigh during Winter Olympic finals before retiring in 2002. Albert was appointed regent in March 2005 after his father fell ill, and became sovereign prince upon his passing a week later. Since his ascension, he has been outspoken in the field of environmentalism and an advocate of ocean conservation, and adoption of renewable energy sources to tackle global climate change. In 2017, the Prince stated during 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 of his mother. The Prince was a dual citizen of both Monaco and the United States of America by birth, before renouncing his American citizenship in his 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 of Spain. At the time of his birth, he was heir apparent to the throne.
He has Irish, German, and Monegasque ancestry. In 2004, he presided over the delegation of Monaco in Strasbourg, France, for the official accession of the Principality onto the Council of Europe. Albert competed in five consecutive Winter Olympics for Monaco taking part in both the two-man and four-man events. In 1988, Albert was Monaco’s flag bearer at the 1988, 1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics. He also took part in the 1985–Dakar Rally, but also took the part in Paris–Darak Rally in 1985. He speaks French, English, German and Italian. He spent a year training in princely duties before enrolling at Amherst College, in Massachusetts, in 1977 as Albert Grimaldi, and later joined Chi Psi fraternity. From September 1981 to April 1982, Albert trained onboard the French Navy’s helicopter carrier Jeanne d’Arc, attaining the rank of Ship-of-the-Line Ensign, and is currently a reserve Lieutenant Commander. From 1983 to 1985, he took training courses with companies J. P. Morgan & Co, LVMH, Rogers & Wells, and Wells, Rich and Greene in the U.S. and Europe, studying financial management, communication, and marketing. He is also father to two children born prior to his marriage, American-born Jazmin Grace Grimaldi and French-born Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste. In 1998, Albert took part at both the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
You want to know more about Albert II, Prince of Monaco?
This page is based on the article Albert II, Prince of Monaco published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
