Hollywood Stars, Paternity Tests & Competitive Bob-Sledding: Meet The Monaco Royal Family
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Here’s a who’s who of the Monaco royals
Monaco may make you think of the Grand Prix, the fantastic shopping or maybe the casinos. But the Monaco royal family? That’s just a Gossip Girl fantasy.
Wrong. Since 1297, when it was captured by Genoise leader of the Guelphs Francesco Grimaldi, Monaco has been ruled by the same royal family. Bordered to the north, east and west by France and to the Mediterranean Sea in the south, this French Riviera micro-state is home to 39,000 people squeezed into just 2 sqm – making this the world’s most densely populated country, as well as its second smallest. But even if the head of state Albert II, Prince of Monaco has a small patch of turf, the royal family of Monaco is no less fascinating, elegant, historical and occasionally scandalous than the rest of the royal families of Europe.
Deep Dive: The Royal Family Of Monaco
Overview
The House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco since 1297. The current monarch is Albert II, Prince of Monaco, who doubles as the Head of State. Monaco is a semi-constitutional monarchy with a Prime Minister, who can be French or Monégasque.
While it has been a sovereign state since 1297, France did not recognise this until the Franco-Monégasque Treaty of 1861, and the UN did not grant full voting rights until 1993. On the flipside, despite its independence and sovereignty, France is still in charge of Monaco’s military defence.
The royal family lives in the grand Palais Princier de Monaco (literally ‘the prince’s palace of Monaco’), overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
Who Is Monaco’s Monarch?
Albert II, Prince of Monaco is the nation’s current monarch, the only son of Prince Rainer III and Princess Grace (that’s Grace Kelly, by the way), on the throne since his father’s death in 2005.
As a child, Albert attended Lycée Albert Premier, before moving to America to study political science at Amherst College, also undertaking an exchange programme at the University of Bristol. Before he was crowned, Albert was an Olympic bobsledder, attending five competitions, and competing in the two-man and four-man events.
Throughout his reign, Albert has been outspoken about environmentalism, proactively supporting ocean conservation and renewable energy.
In 2011, he married South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, with whom he has two children – twins Gabriella and Jacques. But Albert also has children out of wedlock, daughter Jazmin and son Alexandre, both recognised only after court proceedings.
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Who Is Heir To The Throne?
Albert II and Princess Charlene have a son and a daughter, who are twins – Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques. They were born on 10 December 2014.
Though Gabriella was born two minutes before Jacques, Jacques is heir apparent to the Monegasque throne due to Monaco’s male-preference primogeniture laws. The same laws stipulate a child born out of wedlock is excluded from the line of succession, meaning Jazmin and Alexandre are not eligible.
Who Is Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste?
On August 24 2003, Air France flight attendant Nicole Coste gave birth to Alexandre Grimaldi. Prince Albert II acknowledged paternity in July 2005, and the two have reportedly built a good relationship since then. That’s according to Alex himself a 2024 Tatler interview, in which the then-20-year-old revealed himself to the world for the first time. Educated at London private schools as well as Royal Holloway, University of London, he’s passionate about high fashion, high society and, well, Monaco itself.
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Jazmin Grimaldi
The daughter of Albert II and American real estate agent Tamara Rotolo, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi was born on 4 March 1992. However, she did not meet her father, Prince Albert II, until she was 11 years old. Albert later publicly acknowledged paternity in 2006, after a positive DNA test.
As Albert and Tamara never married, Jazmin is not in line to the Monegasque throne. Following in the footsteps of her grandmother, Grace Kelly, Jazmin is a singer and actress, having starred in plays as well as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and The Scarlet M.
Grace Kelly & Prince Rainer III
Broadcast live to more than 30 million viewers, the wedding of Grace Kelly and Rainer III Prince of Monaco in 1956 is one of the most instantly recognisable weddings of all time. Prince Rainer III had been on the throne for almost six years when he met American actress Grace Kelly in April 1955, during a photoshoot arranged by the editor of Paris Match. Though Kelly was dating French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont at the time, Rainer was immediately besotted with her and proposed eight months later.
In the week leading up to the pair’s Monaco wedding, crowds were so energetic that the government called in the French riot police. On the big day itself, more than 20,000 civilians and 1,500 journalists swarmed, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kelly in her long-sleeved, high-necked dress, with its 90-yard tulle veil, all designed by Helen Rose, a costume designer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The couple spent their seven-week honeymoon cruising the Mediterranean on their yacht, a wedding gift from Aristotle Onassis.
The couple had three children: Princess Caroline, Prince Albert and Princess Stéphanie. But in September 1982, while driving back from her country house in Roc Agel, Kelly’s life was tragically cut short. She suffered a mild cerebral haemorrhage and lost control of her car, which tumbled 30 meters down the mountainside. She passed away the following day.
Rainer did not remarry, and was buried next to Kelly after his death in 2005. At the time of his death, he was the second longest living reigning monarch in the world, sitting on the throne for almost 56 years.
Princess Caroline
Prince Rainer III and Grace Kelly’s eldest child is Princess Caroline, born in 1956 – but of course because she is a girl, Albert II trumped her in the line of succession. She spent part of her education at St Mary’s School in Ascot, before attending university in Paris.
In 1978, she married French banker Philippe Junot. The ceremony was a huge affair, with 650 guests including Gregory Peck and Frank Sinatra, though they divorced two years later. In 1983 she married Italian powerboat race man and businessman Stefano Casiraghi, with whom she had three children: Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre. In 1990, aged 30, Casiraghi passed away in an accident at the World Powerboat Championship. Though they are now separated, in 1999 Caroline remarried again, this time Prince Ernst August of Hanover.
Princess Stéphanie
The youngest child of Prince Rainer and Grace Kelly was a passenger in the car crash that killed her mother. Stéphanie was just 17 when the accident occurred, sustaining a concussion and a hairline fracture but otherwise emerging unscathed.
As well as being a Monegasque royal, Stéphanie is known for her music career, appearing on Michael Jackson’s ‘In the Closet’ from his album Dangerous. She has also worked for various fashion houses, including Dior, and launched her own swimwear line.
Her love life has long been the fascination of tabloids. From her relationship with Rob Lowe in the 1980s, to her marriage to her bodyguard, Daniel Ducruet, with whom she has two children. She even had a short-lived romance with an elephant trainer, Franco Knie, and married acrobat Andas Lopez Peres in 2004.
Princess Charlene
Charlene Wittstock is the Princess of Monaco, married to Albert II since 2011. She was born in 1978 in Zimbabwe but moved to South Africa in 1989. She represented South Africa at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and met Albert II in the same year while competing at a swimming competition in Monaco. The pair did not appear together publicly until the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Charlene’s full title is: Her Serene Highness Charlene, Princess of Monaco.
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All The Other Monegasque Royals To Know
Alongside Prince Albert II’s children – Gabriella, Jacques, Jazmin and Alexandre – there are various other young members of the House of Grimaldi.
Andrea Casiraghi is the eldest son of Princess Caroline, married to American heiress Tatiana Santo Domingo. The pair tied the knot in 2012, and have three children: Alexandre, born in 2013; India, born in 2015; and Maximilian Rainer, born in 2018.
Charlotte Casiraghi is the daughter of Princess Caroline, and is currently 11th in line to the throne. She is married to French film producer Dimitri Rassam, although the pair reportedly separated in December 2023. Charlotte and Dimitri have a son named Balthazar, born in 2018. Charlotte also has a son with actor Gad Elmaleh, named Raphaël, who was born in December 2013.
Princess Caroline’s youngest son is Pierre Casiraghi – a sportsman who is part of the first team of athletes representing the Yacht Club Monaco to compete in the Admiral’s cup. He is married to Italian journalist Beatrice Borromeo, with whom he has three children: Stefano, Francesco and Bianca.
Princess Alexandra of Hanover is Princess Caroline’s daughter from her marriage with Prince Ernst August of Hanover. As a young girl she competed in the European Youth Olympics as a figure skater, and nowadays can often be found on the front row of high fashion runways. She is dating Ben Sylvester Strautmann, a German basketball player who also grew up in Monaco.
Louis Ducruet is the eldest son of Princess Stéphanie and is married to Marie Hoa Chevallier. They have two daughters: Victoire, born in 2023, and Constance, born in 2024.
His sister, Pauline Ducruet, works in fashion, after having studied in Paris and New York, and her own fashion line called Altered Designs. She was an astute diver as a child, representing Monaco at the World Junior Diving Championship in 2010.
Princess Stéphanie’s youngest child, Camille Gottlieb, was born during her mother’s relationship with her bodyguard, Daniel Ducruet, and because they were not married, Camille is not in the line of succession. She is an anti-drunk-driving campaigner and influencer, with a degree in literature from the University of Nice.
