|
|
|
|
|
Albert Ii, Prince Of MonacoHis Serene Highness Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born March 14, 1958) is a member of the House of Grimaldi and the current Prince of Monaco. He was the second child and only son of Rainier III and his American wife, the film star Grace Kelly, and became the reigning prince following his father's death on April 6, 2005. Prior to that, he had been the heir presumptive, carrying the titles of Hereditary Prince of Monaco and Marquis of Baux; after his father became increasingly ill in early 2005, he was appointed regent, in which capacity he served for nearly a week as his father clung to life. Early life Born in Monaco, Albert attended the Albert I High School, graduating with distinction in 1976. He spent a year training in various princely duties, and enrolled at Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1977, studying political science, economics, music, and English literature. He spent the summer of 1979 touring Europe and the Middle East with the Amherst Glee Club and graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. Life as Crown Prince Prince Albert is famously fond of a variety of athletic events. During school, he participated in cross country, javelin, handball, judo, swimming, tennis, rowing, sailing, skiing, squash and fencing; he is also a patron of Monaco's various football teams. He competed in the bobsled at the 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, and 2002 Winter Olympics. On 25 October 2002, Prince Albert visited Miami, Florida for a World Olympians Association fund-raiser at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. The group's mission was to have the 100,000 or so Olympians around the world get involved with their communities and talk to young athletes about dedication and training. Succession issues Though there is a history of princes of Monaco abdicating and though Prince Rainier at times spoke of doing so, an abdication was never expected as long as Prince Albert remained a bachelor. The death in April 2005 of Rainier obviated the question. In recent years, the fact that Prince Albert has never married and fathered a child became a matter of public and political concern, casting doubts on the succession and the continued independence of Monaco. On April 2, 2002 a legal solution was formulated. Monaco passed Princely Law 1.249 which provides that if Prince Albert assumes the throne and then dies without a legitimate direct heir, the throne would pass to his siblings and their descendants under the rule of male-preference primogeniture. Before this change, the crown of Monaco could only pass to a direct male descendant of the reigning prince, making Prince Albert's sisters ineligible to inherit the throne upon his death. This change made the extinction of the Grimaldi dynasty less likely. His sister Princess Caroline of Monaco, now HRH the Princess of Hanover, follows him as heiress apparent in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne. Regency On March 22 2005, Rainier was admitted to a hospital in the principality and was moved to intensive care. He was being treated for breathing, kidney, and heart trouble. On March 31, 2005, the Palace of Monaco announced that Prince Albert would take over the duties of his father as Regent since Rainier was no longer able to exercise his royal functions. The 47-year-old prince spent his first day as regent of Monaco caring for his critically ill 81-year-old father, who was Europe’s longest-serving living monarch.
|
 |
| |
|
|