Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
Common name	Monaco
Native name	Principatu de Múnegu (Monégasque) Principauté de Monaco (French)
Conventional long name	Principality of Monaco
Image coat	Coat of Arms of Monaco.svg
Map caption
National motto	"Deo Juvante"(Latin)"With God's Help"
National anthem	File:Monaco National Anthem.oggHymne Monégasque
Capital	Monaco
Largest settlement type	Most populated quartier
Largest settlement	Monte Carlo
Official languages	French
Languages type	Common languages
Languages	Monégasque, Italian and English
Ethnicities	French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21%
Government type	Constitutional monarchyPrincipality
Leader title1	Prince
Leader title2	Minister of State
Leader title3	President of the National Council
Leader name1	Albert II
Leader name2	Michel Roger
Leader name3	Stéphane Valeri
Area km2	1.98
Area sq mi	0.76
Area rank	234th
Area magnitude	1 E6
Percent water	0.0
Population estimate	35,986
Population estimate year	2011
Population estimate rank	211th
Population density km2	15,142
Population density sq mi	39,217
Population density rank	1st
Population census	35,352
Population census year	2008
Gdp ppp	$6.888 billion
Gdp ppp year	2011
Gdp ppp rank	n/a
Gdp ppp per capita	$186,175
Gdp ppp per capita rank	n/a
Gdp nominal	US$6.581 billion
Gdp nominal year	2011
Gdp nominal rank	n/a
Gdp nominal per capita	$151,630
Gdp nominal per capita rank	n/a
Hdi year	2010
Hdi	0.946 (1st)
Hdi category	very high
Sovereignty type	Independence
Established event1	House of Grimaldi
Established date1	1297
Established event2	Constitution
Established date2	1911
Currency	Euro
Currency code	EUR
Time zone	CET
Utc offset	+1
Time zone dst	CEST
Utc offset dst	+2
Demonym	Monégasque or Monegasque
Cctld	.mc
Calling code	+377
|drives on	right
Footnote1	Monaco is a city-state.
Footnote2	GDP per capita calculations include non-resident workers from France and Italy. }}

Monaco (), officially the Principality of Monaco (; Monégasque: Principatu de Múnegu; ; ), is a sovereign city state on the Côte d'Azur (French Riviera). It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011. Monaco boasts the world's highest GDP nominal per capita at $151,630 and is the most densely populated country in the world. Monaco also has the world's highest life expectancy at almost 90 years, and the lowest unemployment rate. After a recent expansion of Port Hercule Monaco's total area is , with new plans to extend the district of Fontvieille, with land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea.

Monaco is a principality governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, with Prince Albert II as head of state. The House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco since 1297, and the state's sovereignty was officially recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite Monaco being independent and pursuing its own foreign policy course, its national defence is the responsibility of France.

Administrative divisions

Overview

Monaco is the second smallest country (by size) in the world; only the Vatican City is smaller. Monaco is also the world's second smallest monarchy, and is the most densely populated country in the world. The state consists of only one municipality (commune). There is no geographical distinction between the State and City of Monaco, although responsibilities of the government (state-level) and of the municipality (city-level) are different. According to the constitution of 1911, the principality was subdivided into three municipalities:

Monaco (Monaco-Ville), the old city on a rocky promontory extending into the Mediterranean, known as the Rock of Monaco, or simply Le Rocher (the Rock), where the palace is located;

Monte Carlo, the principal residential and resort area with the Monte Carlo Casino in the east and northeast;

La Condamine, the southwestern section including the port area, Port Hercule.

The municipalities were merged into one in 1917, after accusations that the government was acting according to the motto "divide and conquer," and they were accorded the status of wards (quartiers) thereafter.

Fontvieille was added as fourth ward, a newly constructed area reclaimed from the sea (in the 1970s) also a new district inside of Fontvieille is planned;

Moneghetti became the fifth ward, created from a part of La Condamine;

Larvotto became the sixth ward, created from a part of Monte Carlo;

La Rousse/Saint Roman (including Le Ténao) became the seventh ward, also created from a part of Monte Carlo.

Subsequently, three additional wards were created:

Saint Michel, from a part of Monte Carlo;

La Colle, from a part of La Condamine;

Les Révoires, from a part of La Condamine.

An additional ward was planned by new land reclamation, to be settled beginning in 2014; however, Prince Albert II announced in his 2009 New Year Speech that he had ended plans due to the current economic climate. However a new expansion of Fontvieille is expected to be complete by 2015.

Traditional quarters and modern geographic areas

The traditional four quarters of Monaco are: Monaco-Ville, La Condamine, Monte Carlo and Fontvieille. These quarters and Moneghetti are the five "modern geographic areas", defined by the Monaco Department of Tourism which is situated in Monaco-Ville.

Wards

Currently the principality is subdivided into ten wards (with their official numbers; Le Portier, the proposed ward, was anticipated as number 11):

Ward (country subdivision)City blockMonaco-VilleMonte CarloSaint Roman (community)LarvottoSaint Michel, MonacoLa CondamineLa Colle, MonacoLes Révoires (Hector Otto-Honoré Labande)MoneghettiFontvieille, MonacoLe Portier Monaco

No.	Ward ||	Area(km²)	Population(Censusof 2008)	Densitykm2	CityBlocks(îlots)||Remarks
colspan="7" style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"	Former municipality of Monaco
05	|	0.19	1,034	5597	19	Old City with palace
colspan="7" style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"	Former municipality of Monte Carlo
01	Monte Carlo/Spélugues (Bd. Des Moulins-Av. de la Madone)||	0.30	3,834	10779	20	the casino and resort area
02	La Rousse/Saint Roman (Annonciade-Château Périgord)||	0.13	3,223	30633	15	in the northeast, incl. Le Ténao
03	Larvotto/Bas Moulins (Larvotto-Bd Psse Grace)||	0.34	5,443	16570	15	eastern beach area
10	Saint Michel (Psse Charlotte-Park Palace)||	0.14	3,907	26768	24	central residential area
colspan="7" style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"	Former municipality of La Condamine
04	|	0.27	3,947	16213	27	port area in the northwest
07	La Colle (Plati-Pasteur-Bd Charles III)||	0.11	2,829	15005	15	Cap-d'Ail>Cap d'Ail
08	|	0.08	2,545	33203	11	containing the Jardin Exotique de Monaco
09	Moneghetti/ Bd de Belgique (Bd Rainier III-Bd de Belgique) ||	0.10	3,003	28051	18
colspan="7" style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"	New land reclaimed from the sea
06	Fontvieille ||	0.35	3,901	10156	9	started 1971
11	|	0.12(1)	–	-	-	plans put on hold by Prince Albert II in 2009
	|	2.05	35,352	16217	173

Note: for statistical purposes, the wards of Monaco are further subdivided into 173 city blocks (îlots), which are comparable to the census blocks in the United States.

History

Monaco's name comes from the 6th century BC nearby Phocaean Greek colony. Referred to the Ligurians as Monoikos, from the Greek "μόνοικος", "single house", from "μόνος" (monos) "alone, single" + "οἶκος" (oikos) "house", which bears the sense of a people either settled in a "single habitation" or of "living apart" from others. According to an ancient myth, Hercules passed through the Monaco area and turned away the previous gods. As a result, a temple was constructed there, the temple of Hercules Monoikos. Because the only temple of this area was the "House" of Hercules, the city was called Monoikos.

Following a land grant from Emperor Henry VI in 1191, Monaco was re-founded in 1215 as a colony of Genoa. Monaco was first ruled by a member of the House of Grimaldi in 1297, when Francesco Grimaldi ("Il Malizia", translated from Italian either as "The Malicious One" or "The Cunning One") and his men captured the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco while he was dressed as a Franciscan monk – a Monaco in Italian, although this is a coincidence as the area was already known by this name. Francesco, however, was chased off only a few years afterwards by the Genovese forces, and the struggle over "the Rock" continued for another century.

In 1419. the Grimaldis purchased Monaco from the crown of Aragon and became the official and undisputed rulers of "the Rock of Monaco", and it was in 1612 Honore II began to style himself "Prince" of Monaco. In the 1630s, Honore II sought French protection against the Spanish forces and was eventually, in 1642, received in the court of Louis XIII as "Duc et Pair Etranger". The princes of Manaco thus became a vassal of the French kings while at the same time remained a sovereign prince. As the successive princes and their families spent most of their lives in Paris, and through marriages with French nobilities, the House of Grimaldi, Italian in origin, became thoroughly French in character. The principality continued its existence as a protectrate of France until the Great Revolution.

In 1793, French Revolutionary forces captured Monaco and it remained under direct French control until 1814 when the Bourbons returned to the throne. The principality was re-established that year, only to be designated a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Monaco remained in this position until 1860 when, by the Treaty of Turin, the Sardinian forces pulled out of the principality and the surrounding county of Nice (as well as Savoy) was ceded to France. Monaco became a French protectrate once again. Prior to this time there was unrest in Menton and Roquebrune where the townspeople had been weary of heavy taxation by the Grimaldis, and declared independence hoping for annexation by Sardinia. France protested. The unrest continued until Charles III gave up his claim to the two mainland towns (some 95% of the principality) that the Grimaldis ruled for over 500 years. They were ceded to France in return for 4,100,000 francs. The transfer and Monaco's sovereignty was recognised by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. In 1869, the principality stopped collecting income tax from its residents; indulgence the Grimaldis could afford to entertain thanks solely to extraordinary success of the casino. This made Monaco not only the playground for the rich, but the place to live.

20th century

Until the Monegasque Revolution of 1910 forced the adoption of the 1911 constitution, the princes of Monaco were absolute rulers. The long over-due constitution, however, barely reduced the autocratic rule by the Grimaldis and Albert I soon suspended it. In July 1918, the Franco-Monegasque Treaty was signed providing for limited French protection over Monaco. The treaty, endorsed in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles, established that Monegasque international policy would be aligned with French political, military, and economic interests, and resolved the Monaco Succession Crisis.

In 1943, the Italian army invaded and occupied Monaco, setting up a Fascist administration. Shortly thereafter, following Mussolini's collapse in Italy, the Nazi German Wehrmacht occupied Monaco and began the deportation of the Jewish population. The prominent French Jew René Blum (Paris, 13 March 1878 – Auschwitz, 30 April 1943), who founded the Ballet de l'Opera in Monte Carlo, was arrested in his Paris home and held in the Drancy deportation camp outside Paris, France whence he was then shipped to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was killed.

Rainier III, who ruled until 2005, acceded to the throne following the death of his grandfather, Prince Louis II, in 1949. On 19 April 1956, Prince Rainier married the American actress Grace Kelly; the event was widely televised and covered in the popular press, focusing the world's attention on the tiny principality.

A new constitution in 1962 abolished capital punishment, provided for women's suffrage, and established a Supreme Court of Monaco to guarantee fundamental liberties. In 1993, the Principality of Monaco became a member of the UN, with full voting rights. In 2002, a new treaty between France and Monaco specified that, should there be no heirs to carry on the Grimaldi dynasty, the principality would still remain an independent nation rather than revert to France. Monaco's military defence, however, is still the responsibility of France.

On 31 March 2005, Prince Rainier III, too ill to exercise his duties, relinquished them to his only son and heir, Prince Albert Alexandre Louis. Prince Rainier died on 6 April 2005, after a reign of 56 years, and his son, by Princess Grace, succeeded him as Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

Following a period of official mourning, Prince Albert II formally assumed the princely crown on 12 July 2005, in a celebration that began with a solemn Mass at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, where his father had been buried three months earlier. His accession to the Monegasque throne was a two-step event, with a further ceremony, drawing heads of state for an elaborate levée, held on 19 November 2005 at the historic Prince's Palace in Monaco-Ville.

Law and government

Monaco has been governed under a constitutional monarchy since 1911, with the Sovereign Prince of Monaco as monarch. The executive branch consists of a Minister of State (the head of government), who presides over a five-member Council of Government. Until 2002, the Minister of State was a French citizen appointed by the prince from among candidates proposed by the French government; since a constitutional amendment in 2002, the Minister of State can be French or Monegasque. However, Prince Albert II appointed, on 3 March 2010, the Frenchman Michel Roger as Minister of State.

Under the 1962 constitution, the prince shares his power with the unicameral National Council (parliament). The twenty-four members of this legislative body are elected from lists by universal suffrage for five-year terms. The principality's local affairs are directed by the Communal Council, which consists of fifteen elected members and is presided over by the mayor.

Economy

One of Monaco's main sources of income is tourism; each year many are attracted to its casino and pleasant climate. Monaco's own citizens are not allowed to gamble in the casino. In 2001, a major new construction project extended the pier used by cruise ships in the main harbour. The principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, non-polluting industries, such as cosmetics and biothermics.

The state retains monopolies in numerous sectors, including tobacco and the postal service. The telephone network (Monaco Telecom) used to be fully owned by the state; it now owns only 45%, while the remaining 55% is owned by both Cable & Wireless Communications (49%) and Compagnie Monégasque de Banque (6%). It is still, however, a monopoly. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas.

Monaco is not a member of the European Union. However, it is very closely linked via a customs union with France, and as such, its currency is the same as that of France, the euro. Before 2002, Monaco minted its own coins, the Monegasque franc. Monaco has acquired the right to mint euro coins with Monegasque designs on its national side.

Gambling industry

The plan for casino gambling was mooted during the reign of Florestan I in 1846. Under Louis-Philippe's petite-bourgeois regime, however, a dignitary such as Prince of Monaco was not allowed to operate a gambling house. All this changed in the dissolute Second Empire under Napoleon III. The House of Grimaldi was in dire need to generate cash. Menton and Roquebrune, which had been main source of income for the Grimaldis for centuries, now accustomed to much improved standard of living and lenient taxation thanks to Sardinian intervention, clamoured for financial and political concession, even for separation. The Grimaldis hoped the newly legal industry would help alleviate the difficulties they faced, above all the crushing debt the family had incurred, but Monaco's first casino would not be ready to operate until after Charles III assumed the throne in 1856.

The grantee of the princely concession (license) was unable to attract enough business to sustain the operation and, after relocating the casino several times, sold the concession to French casino magnates François and Louis Blanc for 1.7 million francs. The Blancs had already set up a highly successful casino(in fact the biggest in Europe)in Bad-Homburg in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Homburg, a small German principality comparable to Monaco, and quickly petitioned Charles III to rename a depressed seaside area known as "Les Spelegures (Den of Thieves)". "Monte Carlo (Mount Charles)." They then constructed their casino in the newly dubbed "Monte Carlo" and cleared out the area's less-than-savory elements to make the neighborhood surrounding the establishment more conducive to tourism.

The Blancs opened Le Grand Casino de Monte Carlo in 1858, and the casino benefited from the tourist traffic the newly built French railway system created. Due to the combination of the casino and the railroads, Monaco finally recovered from the previous half century of economic slump, and the principality's success attracted other businesses. In the years following the casino's opening Monaco founded its Oceanographic Museum and the Monte Carlo Opera House, 46 hotels sprang up and the number of jewellers operating in Monaco increased by nearly 500 percent. By 1869, the casino was making such a vast sum of money that the principality could afford not to collect tax from the Monegasques; a master stroke that was to attract affluent residents from all over Europe.

Today, Société des bains de mer de Monaco which owns Le Grand Casino still operates in the original building the Blancs constructed and has been joined by several other casinos, including Le Casino Café de Paris, the Monte Carlo Bay Casino, the Monte Carlo Sporting Club & Casino (Summer Casino) and the Sun Casino. The most recent addition to the list—the first casino to open in Monte Carlo in 75 years—is the Monte Carlo Bay Casino, which sits on 4 hectares of the Mediterranean Garden and, among other things, offers 145 slot machines, all equipped with "Ticket-In, Ticket-Out" (TITO); it is the first Mediterranean casino to utilize this technology.

Tax haven

Monaco levies no income tax on individuals. The absence of a personal income tax in the principality has attracted to it a considerable number of wealthy "tax refugee" residents from European countries who derive the majority of their income from activity outside Monaco; celebrities such as Formula One drivers attract most of the attention, but the vast majority of them are less well-known business people.. This applies to all residents of Monaco of any nationality except French citizens whose residency started after 1957. These French citizens still must pay French income tax.

In 1998, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a first report on the consequences of the tax havens' financial systems. Monaco did not appear in the list of these territories until 2004, when OECD became indignant regarding the Monegasque situation and denounced it in its last report, as well as Andorra, Liechtenstein, Liberia and the Marshall Islands, underlining its lack of co-operation as regards financial information disclosure and availability.

In 2000, a report by the French parliamentarians, Arnaud Montebourg and Vincent Peillon, alleged that Monaco had lax policies with respect to money laundering, including within its famed casino, and that the government of Monaco had been placing political pressure on the judiciary, so that alleged crimes were not being properly investigated.

In 2000, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) stated: "The anti-money laundering system in Monaco is comprehensive. However, difficulties have been encountered with Monaco by countries in international investigations on serious crimes that appear to be linked also with tax matters. In addition, the FIU of Monaco (SICCFIN) suffers a great lack of adequate resources. The authorities of Monaco have stated that they will provide additional resources to SICCFIN." The Principality is no longer blamed in the 2005 FATF report, as well as all other territories. However, since 2003, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has identified Monaco, along with 36 other territories, as a tax haven.

The Council of Europe also decided to issue reports naming tax havens. Twenty-two territories, including Monaco, were thus evaluated between 1998 and 2000 on a first round. Monaco is the only territory that refuses to perform the second round, initially forecast between 2001 and 2003, whereas the 21 other territories are implementing the third and last round, planned between 2005 and 2007.

However, Monaco has high social insurance taxes payable by both employer and employee. The employer's contribution is between 28%–40% (averaging 35%) of gross salary including benefits and the employee pays a further 10%–14% (averaging 13%).

Numismatics

In Monaco, the euro was introduced in 2002. The euro was preceded by the Monegasque franc. In preparation for this date, the minting of the new euro coins started as early as 2001. This is why the first euro coins from Monaco have the year 2001 on them, instead of 2002, like other countries of the Eurozone. Three different designs were selected for the Monegasque coins. In 2006, the design was changed after the death of ruling Prince Rainier to have the effigy of Prince Albert.

Monaco also has a rich and valuable collection of collectors' coins, with face value ranging from €5 to €100. These coins are a legacy of an old national practice of minting silver and gold commemorative coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not legal tender in all the Eurozone. For instance, a Monegasque commemorative coin cannot be used in any other country. The same practice concerning commemorative coins is exercised with all eurozone countries. Commemorative coins are legal tender only in their country of issue, unlike normal circulation coins, which are accepted in all euro-zone countries.

Geography

With a total area of , a land border of and a coast measuring the Principality of Monaco is the second-smallest independent state in the world, after the Vatican City. It lies on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, east of Nice, and is surrounded on three sides by France and on the fourth by the sea into which its maritime claims extend to . Its highest point is above sea level, on the southern slopes of Mont Agel whose peak is in France. The country has no natural resources.

Climate

Monaco has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), which is influenced by the oceanic climate and the humid subtropical climate.

As a result, it has warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Cool and rainy interludes can interrupt the dry summer season, the average length of which is also shorter. Summer afternoons are infrequently hot (indeed, temperatures > 30 °C /86 °F are rare) as the atmosphere is tempered by constant sea breezes. On the other hand, the nights are very mild, this being due to the fairly high temperature of the sea in summer. Generally, temperatures do not drop below 20 °C in this season. In winter, frosts and snowfalls are extremely rare, generally occurring once or twice every ten years.

Sport and entertainment

Formula One

Since 1955, the Monaco Grand Prix has been held annually in the streets of Monaco. It is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. The erection of the Circuit de Monaco takes six weeks to complete, and the removal after the race another three weeks. The circuit has many elevation changes and tight corners, along with a tunnel. This together with being incredibly narrow and tight makes it perhaps the most demanding Formula One track. Only two drivers have ever crashed into the harbour, the most famous being Alberto Ascari in the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix, just four days before losing his life at Monza. The other was Paul Hawkins, during the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix.

Monte Carlo Rally

The Monte Carlo Rally has been held since 1911, having originally been held at the behest of Prince Albert I and is, like the principality's Grand Prix, organised by the Automobile Club de Monaco. It has long been considered to be one of the toughest and most prestigious events in rallying and from 1973 to 2008 was the opening round of the World Rally Championship. From 2009 until 2011, the rally served as the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, having most recently been run on the 19th-22 January 2011 in celebration of the event's centenary.

2012 will mark the return of the Monte Carlo Rally to the WRC calendar with the event taking place from the 20th-22nd of January, 2012.

Football

Monaco hosts two major football teams in the principality; men's football club AS Monaco FC and women's football club OS Monaco. AS Monaco plays at the Stade Louis II and competes in the Ligue 2, the second division of French football. The club is historically one of the most successful clubs in France, however suffered relegation in the 2010–11 season. Because of the popular appeal of living in Monaco and the lack of income tax, many international stars have played for the club, such as Marcelo Gallardo, Jürgen Klinsmann, Oliver Bierhoff, George Weah, John Collins, Fernando Morientes, Thierry Henry, Fabien Barthez, Rafael Márquez, Javier Saviola, Akis Zikos, David Trezeguet, John Arne Riise, Patrice Evra, Shabani Nonda, Emmanuel Adebayor, Eiður Guðjohnsen, Jan Koller, Victor Ikpeba, Park Chu-Young and Mahamadou Diarra.

The club reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final, led by the likes of Dado Pršo, Fernando Morientes, Akis Zikos, and Ludovic Giuly, losing 3–0 to Portuguese team F.C. Porto. The Stade Louis II also plays host to the annual UEFA Super Cup, which is played between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. The women's team, OS Monaco, competes in the women's French football league system. The club currently plays in the local regional league deep down in the league system, however once played in the Division 1 Féminine in the 1994–95 season, but were quickly relegated. Current French women's international goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi had a short stint at the club before going to the Clairefontaine academy.

Rugby

Monaco's national rugby team, as of March 2010, is 90th in the International Rugby Board rankings.

Other sports

The Monte-Carlo Masters is currently held annually in neighbouring Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, as a professional tournament for men as part of tennis' ATP Masters Series. The tournament has been held since 1897. Golf's Monte Carlo Open was also held at the Monte Carlo Golf Club at Mont Agel in France between 1984 and 1992. Monaco has also competed in the Olympic Games, although, as of 2008, no athlete from Monaco has ever won an Olympic medal.

In 2009, the Tour de France, the world's premier bicycle race, started from Monaco with a 15 km closed-circuit individual time trial starting and finishing there on the first day (4 July) and the 182 km second leg starting there on the following day and ending in Brignoles, France.

Monaco also stage part of the Global Champions Tour (International Show-jumping). Acknowledged as the most glamorous of the series, Monaco will be hosting the world's most celebrated riders, including Monaco's own Charlotte Casiraghi, in a setting facing out over the world's most beautiful yachts, and framed by the Port Hercule and Prince's palace. In 2009, the Monaco stage of the Global Champions tour took place between 25 – 27 June.

The Monaco Marathon is the only marathon in the world to pass through three separate countries, those of Monaco, France and Italy. The 2010 event took place on 21 March. Runners complete the race by returning to the Stade Louis II.

The Monaco Ironman 70.3 triathlon race is an annual event with over 1000 athletes competing and attracts top professional athletes from around the world. The race includes a 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike ride and 21.1 km run.

Since 1993, the headquarters of the International Association of Athletics Federations, the world governing body of athletics, has been located in Monaco. An IAAF Diamond League meet is annually held at Stade Louis II.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Monaco has ten state-operated schools, including: seven nursery and primary schools; one secondary school, Collège Charles III; one lycée that provides general and technological training, Lycée Albert 1er; and one lycée that provides vocational and hotel training, Lycée technique et hôtelier de Monte-Carlo. There are also two grant-aided denominational private schools, including Institution François d'Assise Nicolas Barré and Ecole des Sœurs Dominicaines, and one international school, the International School of Monaco.

Colleges and universities

There is one university located in Monaco:

International University of Monaco

Demographics

Monaco's population is unusual in that the native Monegasques are a minority in their own country. The largest proportion of residents are French nationals (28%), followed by Monegasque (21.6%), Italians (19%), Anglos (7.5% UK & 1% USA), and Germans, Swiss, and Belgians (2.5% to 3% each); another 15% is labeled as "other" populations. A Monacoian is the term used to describe a person living in Monaco who is not a citizen of Monaco.

Language

The official language of Monaco is French. English is used by American and British residents. The traditional national language is Monégasque, now spoken by only a minority of residents. It resembles Ligurian, which is spoken in Genoa. In the old part of Monaco, street signs are printed in both French and Monégasque. Italian is also spoken by the principality's sizable community from Italy.

Religion

Christian

Roman Catholic

The official religion is Roman Catholicism, with freedom of other religions guaranteed by the constitution. There are five Roman Catholic parish churches in Monaco and one cathedral, which is the seat of the archbishop of Monaco. The diocese, which has existed since the mid-nineteenth century, was raised to an archbishopric in 1981 as the Archdiocese of Monaco. The patron saint is Saint Devota.

Anglican

There is one Anglican church (St. Paul's Church), located in the Avenue de Grande Bretagne in Monte Carlo. In 2007 this had a formal membership of 135 Anglicans resident in the principality, but was also serving a considerably larger number of Anglicans temporarily in the country, mostly as tourists. The church site also accommodates an English-language library of over 3,000 books. The church is part of the Anglican Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe.

Jewish

The Association Culturelle Israélite de Monaco (founded 1948) is a converted house containing a synagogue, a community Hebrew school, and a kosher food shop, located in Monte Carlo. The community (approximately 1,500) mainly consists of retired Jews from Britain (40%) and North Africa. Two thirds of the Jewish population there are Sephardic, mainly from North Africa, while the other third is Ashkenazi.

Security

The wider defence of the nation is provided by France. Monaco has no navy or air force, but on both a per-capita and per-area basis, Monaco has the largest police force (515 police officers for 35,000 people) and police presence in the world. Its police includes a specialist unit which operates patrol and surveillance boats. There is also a small military consisting of a bodyguard unit for the Prince and his palace called the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince which numbers 116 officers and men and is equipped with modern weapons such as M16 rifles and 9 mm pistols, and a militarized (and armed) fire and civil defence Corps.

The Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince (Prince's Company of Carabiniers) is a military unit of the military force of Monaco. It was created by Prince Honoré IV in 1817 for the protection of the Principality and the Princely family. The company numbers exactly 116 officers and men; while the NCOs and soldiers are local, the officers have generally served in the French Army. Together with the local fire service (Sapeurs-Pompiers), the Carabiniers form Monaco's total public forces. In addition to their guard duties, the company patrols the Principality's beaches and coastal waters, as well as duties around the Palace in Monaco-Ville.

Flag

The flag of Monaco is one of the world's oldest national flag designs. The flag of Monaco is identical to the flag of Indonesia, except for the ratio of height to width.

Transport

Monaco is served by several train systems and the Monte Carlo International Heliport. The closest airport is Côte d'Azur Airport in Nice, France. Some airlines marketed Monaco via Nice Airport.

See also

Association des Guides et Scouts de Monaco

Foreign relations of Monaco

* France–Monaco relations

List of radio stations in Monaco

List of rulers of Monaco

Microstate

Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra

Music of Monaco

Postage stamps and postal history of Monaco

Repossi jewellers

Telecommunications in Monaco

The Princess Grace Hospital Centre

References

External links

; Government

Official Government Portal

Official website of the Prince's Palace of Monaco

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

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History of Monaco: Primary documents

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A selection of 30 very representative photos of Monaco

; Other Order of the doctors of Monaco French Monaco Web portail

La Principauté – Le premier journal d'actualité de Monaco

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Monaco247.com English news portal

The Monaco Times – a regular feature in The Riviera Times is the English language newspaper for the French – Italian Riviera and the Principality of Monaco provides monthly local news and information about business, art and culture, people and lifestyle, events and also the real estate market.

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{| style="float:right;" |

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
{{infobox royalty|realm	monaco
name	Albert II
succession	Sovereign Prince of Monaco
imgw	200
reign	6 April 2005 – present()
regent	Patrick LeclercqJean-Paul Proust Michel Roger
reg-type	Minister of State
predecessor	Rainier III
successor	Caroline, Princess of Hanover
suc-type	Heiress presumptive
issue	Born out-of-wedlock and ineligible for succession to the throne:Jazmin Grace GrimaldiAlexandre Coste
issue-pipe	More...
issue-link	#Children born out of wedlock
house	House of Grimaldi
father	Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
mother	Grace Kelly
relatives	Pierre Casiraghi (nephew)Princess Alexandra of Hanover (niece)Charlotte Casiraghi (niece)Princess Caroline of Hanover (sister)Princess Stephanie of Monaco(sister) Louis Ducruet (nephew)Pauline Ducruet (niece)Camille Marie Kelly Gottlieb (niece)
birth date	March 14, 1958
birth place	Palais Princier, Monaco
spouse	Charlene, Princess of Monaco
religion	Roman Catholic

|- | |- |

royal name	Albert II, Prince of Monaco
dipstyle	His Serene Highness
offstyle	Your Serene Highness
altstyle	Sir}}

|}

Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is the head of the House of Grimaldi and the ruler of the Principality of Monaco. He is the son of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly. His sisters are Hereditary Princess Caroline and Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

Prince Albert is one of the wealthiest Royals in the World valued at more than $1 billion, this includes vast amounts of land both in Monaco and France, and which does not include the Prince's Palace but does include Société des bains de mer de Monaco. His wealth does not include other members of the House of Grimaldi which are valued altogether at over $2.5 billion (as of 2010).

Early life

Born in the Prince's Palace of Monaco, Monaco, Albert's godmother was Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. Albert attended the Albert I High School, graduating with distinction in 1976. He was a camper and later a counselor for six summers at Camp Tecumseh on Lake Winnipesaukee, Moultonborough, New Hampshire in the 1970s. He spent a year training in various princely duties, and enrolled at Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1977 as Albert Grimaldi, studying political science, economics, music, and English literature, and also joined Chi Psi fraternity.

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. Albert also undertook an exchange program with the University of Bristol, at the Alfred Marshall School of Economics and Management in 1979. Albert was an enthusiastic sportsman, participating in cross country, javelin throwing, handball, judo, swimming, tennis, rowing, sailing, skiing, squash and fencing. He is a patron of Monaco's football teams. He competed in the bobsled at every Winter Olympics from Calgary to Salt Lake City. He has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1985. (His maternal grandfather John B. Kelly, Sr., and maternal uncle John B. Kelly, Jr., were both Olympic medal winners in rowing and were actively involved in the Olympic movement.) The press reported the prince refused any special treatment during his Olympic stints, and lived in the same bare-bones quarters as all the other athletes.

On 25 October 2002, Albert visited Miami, Florida for a World Olympians Association fund-raiser at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. The group's mission was to have the 100,000 Olympians get involved with their communities and talk to young athletes about dedication and training.

Regency

On 7 March 2005, Albert's father Rainier III, Prince of Monaco was admitted to a hospital in the principality; he was later moved to an intensive care ward. The Prince was being treated for breathing, kidney, and heart trouble. On 31 March 2005, the Palace of Monaco announced that Hereditary Prince Albert would take over the duties of his father as Regent since Rainier was no longer able to exercise his sovereign functions. This decision was reached by the Crown Council of Monaco, a body made up of notable local figures with residual powers to make judgments about certain constitutional matters. 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 and the world's third-longest.

However, Albert's regency lasted barely a week.

Accession

On 6 April 2005, Prince Rainier III died and Hereditary Prince Albert became Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

The first part of Prince Albert II's enthronement as ruler of the Principality was on 12 July 2005, after the end of the three-month mourning period for his father. A morning Mass at Saint Nicholas Cathedral presided over by the Archbishop of Monaco, the Most Reverend Bernard Barsi, formally marked the beginning of his reign. Afterward Albert II returned to the princely palace to host a garden party for 7,000 Monégasques born in the principality. In the courtyard, the Prince was presented with two keys of the city as a symbol of his investiture. The evening ended with a spectacular fireworks display on the waterfront.

The second part of his investiture was on 19 November 2005. Albert was enthroned at Saint Nicholas Cathedral. His family was there in attendance, including his elder sister (and now his heir presumptive) Princess Caroline with her husband Ernst, Prince of Hanover and three of her four children, Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte; as well as his younger sister Princess Stéphanie, his paternal aunt Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy, his godson, Jean-Léonard Taubert-Natta de Massy, and his cousin Elisabeth-Anne de Massy. Royalty from 16 delegations were present for the festivities throughout the country. The evening ended with an opera performance in Monte Carlo.

Albert's reign

border|thumb|280px|[[Flag of Monaco#Princely standard|Princely standard of Albert II]]Albert continues the policy, initiated by previous rulers of the statelet, of using his position to draw the world's attention to the need to protect the (marine) environment. Just like his great-great-grandfather Albert I he traveled to Spitsbergen in July 2005. During this trip, he visited the glaciers "Lillihöök" and "Monaco". Prince Albert II also engaged in a Russian Arctic expedition, reaching the North Pole on Easter, 16 April 2006. As a result, he is the first incumbent head of state to have reached the North Pole.

Prince Albert is the Vice-Chairman of the American charity founded in 1982, after his mother's death, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, which supports, as Princess Grace did in her lifetime, emerging artists in theater, dance and film.

In 2006, Prince Albert created the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation which continues the Principality of Monaco's commitment by supporting sustainable and ethical projects around the world which focus on three main challenges: climate change and developing renewable energies; combating the loss of biodiversity; and water management (improving universal access to clean water) and fighting desertification. Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation website

Prince Albert is also a Global Advisor to Orphans International.

Economic activities

Prince Albert is one of the owners of Yoctocosmos and member of the World Economic Forum.

Personal life and relationships

Over the years, there has been much discussion of the prince's continual bachelor status. Although he has received much press attention for dating well-known fashion models and actresses, his apparent disinclination to marry gave rise to rumors that he is homosexual. Prince Albert has consistently denied this suggestion, most notably in a 1994 interview published in the French magazine Madame Figaro. "At first it was amusing", he said, "but it becomes very irritating in the long term to hear people say that I am homosexual". He has since confirmed that he is the father of two children.

In October 2005, the German magazine Bunte reported that Prince Albert was dating Telma Ortiz Rocasolano, a sister-in-law of the Prince of Asturias. However, in November 2005, the Prince instructed his lawyer, Thierry Lacoste, to commence legal proceedings against the French newspaper France Dimanche for violation of privacy and false information regarding the story.

Children born out of wedlock

Jazmin Grace Grimaldi

In 1992, a California woman, Tamara Rotolo, filed a paternity suit against the prince, claiming that he was the father of her daughter, whom she named Jazmin Grace Grimaldi. Prince Albert was also listed as the father on the child's Riverside County, California, birth certificate, and the child was legally surnamed Grimaldi. However, the case, which went to trial in 1993, eventually was dismissed by Superior Court Judge Graham Anderson Cribbs, who claimed that there was "insufficient contact between Albert and the state of California to justify hearing a suit there" agreeing with an assertion by the prince's lawyer, Stanley Arkin, that the California court had no jurisdiction.

In court documents and legal depositions, Case#IND78459 in Riverside County Superior Court Family Law Division under Superior Court Judge Graham Anderson Cribbs, Prince Albert admitted that he had been with Tamara Rotolo, who was traveling with a friend, Barbara Welker (per her deposition filed with the court), in Monaco on "a couple of occasions" in July 1991. (The child had been born approximately nine months later, on 4 March 1992.) As reported by a local newspaper covering the case, "Arkin asserted that the Riverside County court had no jurisdiction in the case since the romantic encounter supposedly occurred in Monaco and Albert has had no contacts with California that relate to the issues in the suit."

On 31 May 2006, after DNA test results confirmed the child's parentage, Prince Albert admitted, in a statement from his lawyer, that he is Jazmin's father. He also extended an invitation for the girl to study and live in Monaco.

Alexandre Coste

In May 2005, Nicole Coste, a former Air France flight attendant from Togo, claimed that her youngest son, whom she calls Alexandre Éric Stéphane Coste, is Prince Albert's son, proven by DNA tests conducted by Swiss technicians working on orders from the Monegasque government. She further claimed the prince had signed a notarized certificate confirming paternity but that she had not received a copy of it. The French weekly Paris Match published a ten-page interview with Coste and included photographs of the prince holding and feeding the child. Coste also told Paris Match that she was living in the prince's Paris apartment and receiving an allowance from him while pretending to be the girlfriend of one of his friends in order to maintain privacy. She also said that the prince had last seen the boy in February 2005. A spokesman for Prince Albert had no comment, though upon news of Coste's claims, the prince's lawyer, Thierry Lacoste, announced that "A judicial strategy will be determined within the next few days."

In mid-May 2005, Lacoste announced that as a result of the international publicity over the revelations of the prince's son, Prince Albert is suing the Daily Mail, Bunte, and Paris Match for delving too deeply into his private life.

On 6 July 2005, a few days before he was enthroned on 12 July, Albert II officially confirmed via his lawyer Thierry Lacoste that the 22-month-old is his biological son.

Additional paternity suit

An earlier paternity suit, brought by Bea Fiedler, a German topless model whom the Daily Telegraph described as a "sex-film star", reportedly was dismissed. A blood test, which was refused by the judge, did not prove that the prince was the father of Fiedler's son, Daniel.

Marriage

Prince Albert married former South African swimmer Charlene Wittstock on 1 July 2011. They announced their engagement on 23 June 2010. They had been seen together since 10 February 2006, at the opening ceremony of the Torino Olympics when Prince Albert was accompanied by Wittstock. They were seen again together at the Monaco Grand Prix. The Prince and Wittstock attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the "Bal de la Rose" and the Princess Grace Awards Gala in 2009. They also attended the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics. As a couple, they also attended the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling in Stockholm four days before their own engagement was announced and the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011. The wedding took place over two days: the civil marriage ceremony took place on 1 July 2011, followed by the religious ceremony on 2 July 2011.

Succession issues

As Rainier III's health declined, his son's lack of legitimate children became a matter of public and political concern due to the legal and international consequences if Albert were to die without lawful heirs. Prior to 2002, Monaco's constitution specified that only the last reigning prince's "direct and legitimate" descendants could inherit the crown.

On 2 April 2002 Monaco promulgated Princely Law 1.249 which provides that if a reigning prince dies without surviving legitimate issue, the throne passes to his siblings and their descendants of both sexes, according to the principle of male-preference primogeniture. In October 2005 (after Albert's accession to the throne), this law took full effect when ratified by France, pursuant to the 2002 Franco-Monégasque Treaty regulating relations between the Sovereign Principality and its more powerful neighbour. His sisters and their legitimate children thereby acquired the right to succeed to the throne.

Under the current constitution, neither Jazmin nor Alexandre has a claim to the throne of Monaco because they are not legitimate. Monegasque law stipulates that any non-adulterine child is legitimatized by the eventual marriage of his/her parents, thereupon obtaining the rights to which that child would have been entitled if born in lawful marriage. Thus Alexandre would become Monaco's heir apparent under current law if Albert were to ever marry his son's mother. But in a 2005 exchange with US interviewer Larry King, Albert stated that this will not happen. In 2011 he married Charlene Wittstock.

Albert specified that neither of these children is eligible for the throne in statements confirming his paternity. His older sister, Princess Caroline, remains first in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne. Though she is only the heiress presumptive and not heiress apparent, Caroline is the Hereditary Princess of Monaco, according to the Grimaldi house law.

Until Albert II has legitimate descendants born of a dynastic marriage, Caroline is first, and her son Andrea Casiraghi is second in succession to the throne.

Environmental issues

Year of the Dolphin

The year 2007 was declared as (International) Year of the Dolphin by the United Nations and United Nations Environment Programme. Prince Albert served as the International Patron of the 'Year of the Dolphin', saying "The Year of the Dolphin gives me the opportunity to renew my firm commitment towards protecting marine biodiversity. With this strong initiative we can make a difference to save these fascinating marine mammals from the brink of extinction."

Jardin Animalier

Monaco's Jardin Animalier, or zoo (lit. "animal [i.e., zoological] garden"), was founded by Prince Rainier. Prince Albert has begun to return the animals to the wild and intends to convert the Jardin to a zoo for children. This project, undertaken in conjunction with the Born Free Foundation, started after the Prince met the Foundation's founder Virginia McKenna for lunch.

Expedition to Antarctica

In January 2009, Prince Albert left for a month-long expedition to Antarctica, where he visited 26 scientific outposts and met with climate-change experts in an attempt to learn more about the impact of global warming on the continent.

CITES and bluefin tuna

In June 2009, Prince Albert co-authored an open letter to the Wall Street Journal with Charles Clover, the author of The End of the Line, a book about overfishing and ocean conservation issues that had recently been made into a documentary by Rupert Murray. In the letter, Prince Albert acknowledges that bluefin tuna has been severely overfished in the Mediterranean, and decries the common European Union practice of awarding inflated quotas to bluefin fleets. He announced that Monaco would seek to award endangered species status to the Mediterranean bluefin Thunnus thynnus, (also called the Northern bluefin) under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). If upheld by the voting CITES delegates, this proposal would effectively ban the international trade in Mediterranean bluefin. This was the first time a nation had called for the inclusion of Mediterranean bluefin under CITES since Sweden at the 1992 CITES Conference, which was vehemently opposed by Japan who eventually threatened retaliation through trade barriers. Sweden withdrew its proposal.

On 16 July 2009, France declared that it too would seek to have Mediterranean bluefin listed as an endangered species. Only hours later, the United Kingdom followed suit.

Roger Revelle Prize

On 23 October 2009, Prince Albert was awarded the Roger Revelle Prize for his efforts to protect the environment and to promote scientific research. This award was given to Prince Albert by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. Prince Albert is the second recipient of this prize.

Awards

In 1996 Prince Albert received the Eagle Award from the United States Sports Academy. The Eagle Award is the Academy's highest international honor and was awarded to Prince Albert for his significant contributions in promoting international harmony, peace and goodwill through the effective use of sport.

In popular culture

James Shanklin played Prince Albert in the 2010 film The Social Network.

Other roles

President, Monaco's delegation to the United Nations

President, Monaco Red Cross

President, Monaco's Olympic Committee

Honorary President, Association Mondiale des Amis de l'Enfance

Honorary President, The Automobile Club de Monaco

Honorary President, Jumping International de Monte Carlo

Patron, Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

Patron, Peace and Sport Organization

Corruption allegations

Albert 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.

Titles, styles, and honours

Titles and styles

Albert has held two positions:

His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Monaco, Marquis of Baux (1958–2005)

His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Marquis of Baux (2005–present) As the prince, his official shortened title is His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco; this does not include the many other styles claimed by the Grimaldi family (see Sovereign Prince of Monaco for a complete list of titles).

Honours

Monegasque orders

Grand Master and Grand Cross of the Order of Grimaldi (Grand Cross, 18 April 1958; Grand Master since 6 April 2005)

Grand Master and Grand Cross of the Order of St. Charles (Grand Cross, 13 March 1979; Grand Master since 6 April 2005)

Grand Master of the Order of the Crown (since 6 April 2005)

Grand Master of the Order of Cultural Merit (since 6 April 2005)

Foreign orders

: Grand Cross of the National Order of Juan Mora Fernández (2003) : Knight Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Tomislav (7 April 2009) : Grand Collar of the Order of the Liberator of the Slaves José Simeón Cañas (2002) : Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (2006) : Grand Cross of the Ordre National du Mérite (25 July 1997) : Commander of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques (2009) : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (27 January 1983) : Knight Grand Cross with Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (12 December 2005) : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I : Grand Cross of the Order of the Niger (March 1998) : Grand Cross of the Order of Vasco Núñez de Balboa (2002) : Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun (2003) : Grand Officier of the Order of the Lion (May 1977) : Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (31 July 2011) : Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (15 October 1997) : Collar of the Order pro merito Melitensi (15 October 2009)

Other awards

: Grand Prix Humanitaire de France (6 March 2007) FIODS: Medal of the International Merit of Blood (12 March 1994) : Rise in the College of Darjah Kerabat Diraja Pahang (7 November 1997)

Ancestry

{{ahnentafel-compact5 |style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; |border=1 |boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. Albert II, Prince of Monaco |2= 2. Rainier III, Prince of Monaco |3= 3. Grace Kelly |4= 4. Count Pierre de Polignac |5= 5. Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois |6= 6. John B. Kelly, Sr. |7= 7. Margaret Katherine Majer |8= 8. Count Maxence de Polignac |9= 9. Susana Mariana de la Torre y Mier |10= 10. Louis II, Prince of Monaco |11= 11. Marie Juliette Louvet |12= 12. John Henry Kelly |13= 13. Mary Anne Costello |14= 14. Carl Majer |15= 15. Margaretha Berg |16= 16. Count Charles de Polignac |17= 17. Caroline Joséphine Le Normand de Morando |18= 18. Isidoro Fernando de la Torre |19= 19. Luisa de Mier y Celis |20= 20. Albert I, Prince of Monaco |21= 21. Lady Mary Hamilton |22= 22. Jacques Henri Louvet |23= 23. Joséphine Elmire Piedefer |24= 24. Brian Kelly |25= 25. Honora Margaret McLaughlin |26= 26. Walter Costello |27= 27. Anne Burke |28= 28. Johann Karl Majer |29= 29. Luise Wilhelmine Adam |30= 30. Georg Berg |31= 31. Elisabetha Röhrig }}

Patrilineal descent

Although Albert II inherited the throne of Monaco as heir to a sovereign branch of the Genoese House of Grimaldi, patrilineally he belongs to the noble French family of Chalençon, which adopted the name of Polignac following marriage to an heiress of that family in the 14th century..

Albert's patriline is his line of descent through males, i.e., from father to son, as shown below.

#Bertrand de Chalençon, mentioned 1179 #Guillaume de Chalençon, d. 1229 #Bertrand de Chalençon, d. 1272 #Bertrand de Chalençon, 1240–1295 #Guy de Chalençon, 1279–1324 #Guiot de Chalençon #Guillaume III, Baron de Chalençon, d. 1411 #Pierre Armand, Baron de Chalençon, d. 1447 #Louis-Armand, Vicomte de Polignac #Guillaume-Armand, Vicomte de Polignac, d. 1473 #Guillaume de Polignac #Francois-Armand de Polignac, 1514–1582 #Louis-Armand of Polignac, 1556–1584 #Gaspard Francois de Polignac, 1579–1659 #Louis-Armand de Polignac, 1608–1692 #Scipion Sidoine de Polignac, 1660–1739 #Louis, Marquis de Polignac, 1716–1792 #Jules, Duc de Polignac, 1745–1817 #Camille Henri, Count de Polignac, 1781–1855 #Count Charles de Polignac, 1824–1881 #Count Maxence de Polignac, 1857–1936 #Count Pierre de Polignac, 1895–1964 #Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, 1923–2005 #Albert II, Prince of Monaco, 1958 –

See also

As Monaco's head of state, Prince Albert is depicted on coins, including collectors' coins, with very rare exceptions. One of the most recent examples is the €5 silver Prince Albert II commemorative coin, the first commemorative coin with his effigy on it, minted in 2008. On the obverse, the prince is depicted in profile with his name on the top of the coin. On the reverse, the Grimaldi coat of arms appears; around it, the words "Principauté de Monaco" (Principality of Monaco) also appear along with the nominal monetary value of the coin.

External links

Princely House of Monaco

Albert II of Monaco, the unknown prince, documentary with intimate prince Albert (2005), 52-minute documentary produced and directed by Thibaut Faucon.

Photo of Prince Albert inspecting Guard outside Palace on day of Accession

Princess Grace Foundation-USA website

– traditional New Year's Day speech, 1 January 2007 – interview at the Monaco Media Forum, 11 July 2007, in which Prince Albert speaks with a perfect American accent to a group of bloggers

References

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af:Albert II van Monaco ar:ألبير الثاني من موناكو be:Альбер ІІ, князь Манака be-x-old:Альбэр ІІ (князь Манака) bcl:Prinsipe Alberto II bs:Albert II, knez Monaka bg:Албер II (Монако) ca:Albert II, Príncep de Mònaco cs:Albert II. Monacký cy:Albert II, tywysog Monaco da:Albert 2. af Monaco de:Albert II. (Monaco) et:Albert II (Monaco vürst) el:Αλβέρτος Β΄ του Μονακό es:Alberto II de Mónaco eo:Alberto la 2-a (Monako) eu:Alberto II.a Monakokoa fa:آلبرت دوم fo:Albert II fúrsti av Monako fr:Albert II de Monaco gl:Alberte II de Mónaco ko:알베르 2세 (모나코) hr:Albert II. od Monaka id:Albert II dari Monako it:Alberto II di Monaco he:אלבר השני, נסיך מונאקו kw:Albert II, Pryns Monako la:Albertus II (princeps Monoecensis) lv:Albērs II (Monako firsts) lt:Albertas II (Monakas) hu:II. Albert monacói herceg mr:मोनॅकोचा राजपुत्र आल्बर्ट दुसरा ms:Albert II, Putera Monaco mn:Монакогийн хунтайж II Альберт nl:Albert II van Monaco ja:アルベール2世 (モナコ大公) no:Albert II av Monaco nn:Albert II av Monaco oc:Albèrt II de Mónegue pms:Albert II ëd Mònaco pl:Albert II Grimaldi pt:Alberto II de Mônaco ro:Albert al II-lea, Prinț de Monaco ru:Альбер II (князь Монако) simple:Albert II, Prince of Monaco sk:Albert II. (Monako) sl:Albert II. Grimaldi sr:Алберт II, кнез од Монака sh:Albert II, knez od Monaka fi:Albert II (Monaco) sv:Albert II av Monaco ta:இரண்டாம் ஆல்பர்ட், மொனாக்கோ இளவரசர் th:เจ้าชายอัลแบร์ที่ 2 องค์อธิปัตย์แห่งโมนาโก tr:II. Albert (Monako Prensi) uk:Альбер II, князь Монако vec:Alberto II de Monaco vi:Albert II, Ông hoàng Monaco yo:Albert II, Prince of Monaco zh:阿尔贝二世 (摩纳哥)

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Charlene Wittstock |consortyes
name	Charlene
succession	Princess consort of Monaco
reign	1 July 2011 – present
spouse	Albert II, Prince of Monaco
birth date	January 25, 1978
birth place	Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
house	House of Grimaldi(by marriage)
full name	Charlene Lynette Grimaldi
father	Michael Kenneth Wittstock
mother	Lynette Humberstone Wittstock
religion	Roman Catholicpreviously Protestant }}

Charlene, Princess of Monaco (French: Charlène; née Charlene Lynette Wittstock; born 25 January 1978), is the wife of Albert II, Prince of Monaco. She is also a former South African Olympic swimmer.

Charlene is the daughter of Michael and Lynette Wittstock. She was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to a family of German, English and Irish descent. Her family relocated to the Transvaal, South Africa, in 1989. She represented South Africa at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, with her team finishing fifth in the women's 4×100 m medley. She retired from competitive swimming in 2007.

Charlene met Prince Albert in 2000 at a swimming event in Monaco. They were first seen together in 2006, and she has accompanied Prince Albert on many of his official duties since then. They announced their engagement in June 2010 and were married on 1 July 2011.

Early life

Charlene was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. She is the daughter of Michael Kenneth Wittstock (born 1946), a sales manager, and Lynette Wittstock (née Humberstone, born 1957), a former competitive diver and swimming coach. Charlene has two younger brothers: Gareth (born 1980), a computer technician, and Sean (born 1983), a sales representative. Her family relocated to South Africa in 1989 when she was 11 years old. Charlene attended Tom Newby Primary school in Benoni, near Johannesburg, from 1988 to 1991.

The Wittstock family is of German origin; Charlene's great-great-grandparents Martin Gottlieb Wittstock and Louise Wittstock emigrated to South Africa from the Pomeranian village of Zerrenthin in northern Germany in 1861 to escape hardship. In South Africa the Wittstocks worked as handymen and unsuccessfully hunted for diamonds. Gottlieb's son Heinrich Carl Wittstock would marry Olive Florence Caldwell, of English origin. Their son Dudley Kenneth Wittstock, Charlene's paternal grandfather, married Sylvia Fagan Nicolson, also of English origin.

Michael Wittstock said in April 2011 that he was considering moving the family from Benoni to Monaco due to South Africa's crime rate.

Swimming career

Charlene was a member of the South African women's 4×100 m medley team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, which finished fifth. She finished sixth at the 2002 FINA Short Course World Championships for the 200 m breaststroke. She left her Durban-based team (the Seagulls) to join the Tuks Swimming Club at the High Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria. She was never enrolled for any academic courses at the University of Pretoria and therefore never graduated from the University; the Club sponsored her by providing her with free access to their pools, free coaching, accommodations, and gymnasium access.

She decided to leave Pretoria in January 2005 and returned to Durban; she then went to the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, where she joined a former Tuks swimming coach, Brannislav Ivkovic. On 13 April 2007 Charlene regained her title as South Africa’s 50 m women’s backstroke champion when she completed the 50 m backstroke final at the Telkom SA National Aquatic Championships in 30:16 seconds, to finish third behind Australia’s Sophie Edington and Brazil’s Fabíola Molina.

She has won several national titles over the years. She planned to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, which she said would be her swansong, but she did not qualify. Previously she had been out of competitive swimming for 18 months with a shoulder injury. Charlene said she would be swimming in Europe in the near future, hoping to better her times. "I have a year left of competitive swimming, and I just want to be the best I can be in that time. After that I want to get involved in charity work, and development work with athletes' commissions." She has recently commented that her swimming days are behind her, enabling her to concentrate on her role as Princess of Monaco.

Special Olympics ambassador

On Friday, 27 May at an Amber Lounge charity fashion show during the 2011 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Special Olympics announced that Charlene has become a global ambassador for the movement, charged with promoting respect and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities to a worldwide audience. Charlene has said that the Special Olympics movement is close to her heart because, as a former athlete, she values its role in "using the power of sport to change lives".

Marriage

Charlene met Albert II, Prince of Monaco, in 2000 at the Mare Nostrum swimming meet in Monaco. They were first seen together at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Charlene moved in with Albert in 2006. She accompanied him to the weddings of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, in 2010, and Prince William in 2011.

On 23 June 2010, the palace announced the engagement of Charlene and the Prince. Charlene, who was raised a Protestant, converted to Roman Catholicism, even though this is not a requirement of the Constitution of Monaco. The future princess was also instructed in the French language and the Monégasque dialect, and became familiar with European court protocol.

The wedding was originally scheduled for 8 and 9 July 2011 but was moved forward to prevent a conflict with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Durban on 5–9 July. The couple had invited members of the IOC, including president Jacques Rogge, to their wedding. The couple plan to attend the IOC meeting; hence Charlene's first foreign visit as Princess will be to her childhood home, South Africa.

During the week before the wedding, the palace was forced to deny reports that Charlene had been getting cold feet. French weekly L'Express reported that Charlene tried to leave Monaco on Tuesday, 28 June, after rumours surfaced that Albert had fathered a third illegitimate child. The report claimed Monaco police intercepted her at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport and confiscated her passport, and that it took "intense convincing" by Albert and palace officials for her to stay. The palace called the stories "ugly rumours" born out of jealousy.

The couple were married in a civil ceremony on 1 July 2011 at the Throne Room in the Prince's Palace. The Nuptial Mass on 2 July was a lavish affair. Only days after the beginning of the couple's honeymoon in South Africa, several newspapers from Spain, Britain and elsewhere reported that Charlene and Albert were not staying at the same hotel, but were in fact booked in different hotels several miles apart. These reports fueled rumours about the couple's marital crisis that was sparked off even before their wedding.

Titles and styles

25 January 1978 – 1 July 2011: Miss Charlene Lynette Wittstock

1 July 2011 – present: Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco

On her marriage, Charlene became Princess consort of Monaco and gained the title and style of Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco; the last to hold the title was the Prince's mother, Grace Kelly.

Ancestry

{{ahnentafel-compact5 |style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; |border=1 |boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. Charlene, Princess of Monaco |2= 2. Michael Kenneth Wittstock(born 8 February 1946 in Durban) |3= 3. Lynette Humberstone(born 1957) |4= 4. Dudley Kenneth Wittstock(born 17 November 1918 in Benoni, Gauteng) |5= 5. Sylvia Fagan Nicolson |6= 6. Brian James Humberstone |7= |8= 8. Heinrich Carl Friedrich Wittstock(born 30 January 1887 in King William's Town) |9= 9. Olive Florence Caldwell(born in Cathcart, South Africa) |10= 10. Henry Nicolson(born 21 May 1897) |11= 11. Marjorie Winifred Nelson |12= 12. Ernest James Humberstone |13= 13. Lilian Cecilia Paul |14= |15= |16= 16. Martin Gottlieb Wittstock(born 1840 in Germany) |17= 17. Luise Schoenknecht |18= 18. William James Caldwell |19= 19. Mary Ann Baker(born 11 June 1859 in Lower Blinkwater, Stockenstroom District) |20= 20. Albert Nicolson(born 1862) |21= 21. Sarah Frances Barrett(born 26 December 1867) |22= |23= |24= |25= |26= |27= |28= |29= |30= |31= |32= 32. Christian Friedrich Wittstock(born 22 July 1807 in Zerrenthin) |33= 33. Marie Christine |34= |35= |36= |37= |38= 38. John Henry Baker |39= 39. Mary |40= |41= |42= 42. Henry Barrett(born 1841 in Harewood, Yorkshire) |43= 43. Mary Wright |44= |45= |46= |47= |48= |49= |50= |51= |52= |53= |54= |55= |56= |57= |58= |59= |60= |61= |62= |63= }}

References

External links

Charlene Wittstock: Monaco Princess – slideshow by Life magazine

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Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bulawayo Category:People from Benoni Category:White Rhodesian people Category:White South African people Category:South African people of German descent Category:South African people of English descent Category:Princesses of Monaco Category:Backstroke swimmers Category:Rhodesian sportspeople Category:Olympic swimmers of South Africa Category:South African Roman Catholics Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism Category:Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:South African female models Category:People from Gauteng Category:South African swimmers Category:House of Grimaldi Category:Monegasque Roman Catholics Category:Naturalized citizens of Monaco Category:Monegasque people of German descent Category:Monegasque people of English descent

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