Albert’s active life
In 1988, Prince Albert was appointed President of the Organizing Committee of the Monte Carlo Television Festival, held annually in the Principality in February, to which hundreds of television experts come. Here his interest in communications and technological innovations taking place in this industry is fully manifested.
Albert had to solve another important problem. For a long time, the principality appeared on the black list of the international commission on combating money laundering. The Principality has gained fame as an offshore zone, where billions of dollars flowed from financial fraud around the world. Albert Grimaldi did everything to improve the reputation of the country: together with Rainier III, Albert achieved the exclusion of the principality from the “black” lists.
When Monaco was admitted to the United Nations on May 28, 1993, the sovereign prince appointed him the head of the Monaco delegation to travel to the General Assembly of this organization, and thus he participated in the opening of the 48th UN session in New York.
In 2006, Prince Albert officially took the throne of Monaco. In fact, Albert led Monaco back in July 2005, at the end of a three-month mourning for the deceased Prince Rainier, who ruled Monaco for 56 years.
The ceremony began with a service at the Cathedral. Albert II appeared before the public in uniform and with orders. Archbishop Bernard Barsi, blessing the prince’s accession to the throne, recalled that the mission of Albert II was to continue the Grimaldi dynasty, which has ruled the state for 700 years. On the eve of the coronation ceremony, Albert II said in an interview that, having ascended the throne, he remains devoted to the memory of his parents and keeps his mother’s gift – “a metal plate on which is engraved a line from the poem“ If ”by Redyard Kipling:“ My son, you will become a man. ”
After completing the official part, the new ruler adopted his first military parade. In the evening, a reception was held in honor of the coronation with the participation of 900 distinguished guests, among whom were representatives of many royal houses of Europe.
Prince Albert continues to live an eventful life. So, during the four-day Russian-Monegasque Arctic expedition, the reigning prince of Monaco reached the North Pole, where he called on the people of the Earth to fight against climate warming. From there he went to the mainland, his next destination was the Moscow Kremlin. “When you see the northern landscapes, these magnificent icy seas, you understand the extent to which our planet is diverse and beautiful,” the prince said. Albert II became the first head of state to accomplish such a feat.
Prince Albert II at the South Pole The expedition also included his personal physician Michael McNamara, the famous British climber Annabel Bond and the son of the famous Russian conqueror of the North Dmitry Shparo Matvey Shparo. The prince said that he took his unusual journey in order to draw the attention of the world community to the consequences of climate change in the Arctic. In his view, climate change “is increasing due to the negative impact of human activities.” “This is especially noticeable in the Arctic, very close to the pole, where you can observe open, barely frozen patches of water,” he said.
Albert II also noted that he decided to take part in the expedition in order to pay tribute to his great-grandfather – Prince Albert I, the famous scientific oceanographer and polar explorer who carried out four summer research expeditions to Spitsbergen from 1898 to 1907.
At 48, Prince Albert was not yet married and was not even seen in constant affection. The prince is famous for his love affairs, he recently recognized two children from different mothers. Prince Rainier III was very worried about his son and even insisted on changing the dynastic law. If Albert does not have an heir, the children of his sisters, the nephews of the young prince, will succeed him. If the sisters leave this world before him, he will still remain on the throne, and the crown, thus, “in the family”. But, despite all the family troubles, Monegasques don’t dwell on their rulers.
