Royal Profile: Prince Albert II of Monaco

Prince Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre of Monaco was born on 14 March 1958 as the only son of
Prince Rainier and Princess Grace {Source}. He has two sisters{Source}:

• Princess Caroline
• Princess Stephanie

He has studied various topics in various capacities over the years. He attended to his primary education in Monaco, receiving his French baccalauréat with honors from Lycée Albert 1er in Monaco in 1976 {Source}. After a year of gaining familiarity with the affairs of the government in Monaco, he headed off to university in the United States, attending UMASS Amerherst, where he studied topics ranging from political science, economics, psychology, English Literature, Art History, sciences, German and music{Source}.During his time at UMASS Amherst, he was a participant in the universitiy's Glee Club, with whom he toured Europe and the Middle East with{Source}. He received a degree in political science from UMASS Amherst in 1981{Source}.

After graduating university, he returned to Europe, where he made a brief stint in the French Navy. The future leader of Monaco trained on board the French Navy's helicopter-carrier "Jeanne d'Arc", with the rank of Ship-of-the-Line Ensign (2nd class){Source}. Presently, he serves as a reserve Lieutenant Commander{Source}.

From January 1983 to late 1985, the young prince took part in training courses with various international groups in the United States and Europe in the fields of communication, financial management and marketing{Source}. 

The Prince has also had many honors and awards bestowed upon him over the years. In 1996, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in philosophy from Pontifical University of Maynooth in Ireland{Source}. In 2000, he became an  Honorary Professor of International Studies at Tarrant County College, Forth Worth, Texas, United States{Source}. In 2009, he  received the distinction of Commander of the Order of the Academic Palms{Source}. He also was awarded The Teddy Roosevelt Medal at the United States Congress, the « Roger Revelle » prize at the University of California in San Diego and  The Docteur Honoris Causa Insignia of Nice-Sophia-Antipolis University{Source}. In 2010, he  was made an Honorary Member of the Geographical Society of Russia,  an Honorary Member of the Ligurian Academy of Science and Letters and of the Italian Geographical society, was elevated to the rank of Grand Cross of the National Order of the Lion by the President of the Replublic of Senegal{Source}. In 2011, he was awarded The Docteur Honoris Causa Insignia at The Portalis Law and Political Science Institute of Aix en Provence{Source}.Monaco's Soverign Prince has traveled to many countries, as well as received many international awards and credentials {Source}.'

Since 28th May 1993, the Prince has led the Monegasque delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations{Source}. Since the opening of the 48th Session in September 1993 in New York, he has regularly taken the floor on behalf of the Principality of Monaco{Source}. Since September 2001, he has chaired the Commission for the  Plenary Assembly of the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM) {Source}.

In April 2006, H.S.H. Prince Albert II visited the North Pole by dog sled from the Russian base of Barneo 120 kilometres away{Source}. In June 2006, H.S.H. the Prince set up the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation dedicated to protecting the environment{Source}.  In January 2009, Prince Albert II of Monaco undertook a three week scientific journey in the Antarctic{Source}. During his visit, he visited a large number of scientific stations and rejoined the South Pole in the company of the explorer Mike Horn{Source}. They made a film of this journey "Antarctique 2009, Terre en Alerte" [Antarctic 2009, Earth on Alert] which was presented to the Principality's inhabitants in April 2009{Source}.

In Monaco, as sovereign, he has been comitted to the economic growth, development of ethics and transparency, is committed to a policy of developing facilities and conducting major works, the creation of community facilities (hotel school, new secondary school) on "abandoned" railway tracks and the launch of many operations, accommodating social housing and offices{Source}.Various initiatives have been conducted with a view to promoting economic activity and making company operations more transparent while maintaining a high level of ethics{Source}:

• creation of the legal status of Limited Liability Company,
• introduction of the offence of tax fraud into Monegasque criminal law,
• introduction of the general principle of the criminal liability of people,
• adoption of systems to combat money laundering, organised crime and corruption.

Prince Albert is committed to carrying out an exemplary policy in his country in terms of the environment, by favoring the development of public transport, ecological vehicles, renewable energies and high environmental quality buildings{Source}.

The Prince is comitted to human rights, and has inacted several legislative modifications, in particular{Source}:

• the introduction and regulation of custody, the establishment of a judicial system for telephone taps, the restructuring and rationalisation of temporary detention procedures and the reorganisation of the in absentia procedure,
• the strengthening of the judicial protection of individuals, their personal data and their private life, as part of the exponential growth in new technologies,
• the reaffirmation of the principle of freedom of expression for the media and the organisation of a system of responsibility within the respect of basic human rights and public order,
• the modernisation of the law on education (integration of handicapped children) and the increased protection of child rights,
• the introduction of the principle of freedom of association and different laws on the transfer of nationality aimed at perfect equality between men and women.

Prince Albert II has been an active sportsman for most of his life. The Prince has participated in five winter Olympics,as a member of Monaco's bobsleigh team{Source}. He participated in the 1988, 1992, 1994,1998 and 2002 Olympics{Source}. He has been a member of the International Olympic Comittee since 1985, and has been President of the Monegasque Olympic Committee{Source}. He is Honorary President of  the International Union of Modern Pentathlon and the International Athletics Foundation and a member of the Honorary Board of the International Paralympic Committee{Source}.

He is the godfather of his nephews, one of his nieces and one of his 1st cousins 1x removed:

• Baron Jean-Leonard Taubert-Natta de Massy 
• Pierre Rainier Stefano Casiraghi 
• Pauline Grace Maguy Ducruet
• Louis Robert Paul Ducruet 

Like many other royals, Prince Albert has had his share of scandals. Robert Eringer, Albert II’s intelligence adviser from 2002 to 2008, alleges the prince, as president of Monaco's Olympic Committee, accepted expensive gifts from Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister, and Sergei Pugachev, a Russian banker, in return for voting for Russia to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. He would have received a dacha, a Polar trip, a fishing trip and a state dinner. In 1986, he was accused of fathering a son with Bea Fiedler, an accusation that was proven false after a blood test was performed. He has confessed to fathering two children with two different women, neither of whom he married. His two known children are 22 year old Jazmin Grace Grimaldi with former waitress turned real estate agent tuned model Tamara Jean Rotolo of Palm Desert, California, USA and 9 year old Alexandre Eric Stephane Coste with Togolese-French former Air France flight attendant Nicole Coste. Just prior to his July 2011 wedding to long-time girlfriend Charlene Lynette Wittstock, there was a rumor that he had fathered another illegitimate child from another woman while dating Wittstock. The Palace Princier extensively denied that rumor and there has been no news of the incident since his marriage to Wittstock.