Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco were joined by their children this weekend on a trip across the border to France, where they celebrated on of the titles historically held by the heir to the Monegasque throne.
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene headed to nearby Les Baux-de-Provence on Saturday for a special visit with their children, Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella. The ties between the village and Monaco go back centuries, and one of the subsidiary titles used by the Hereditary Prince of Monaco is the Marquis of Baux. The title was granted to Ercole Grimaldi, the son and heir of Prince Honoré II, by King Louis XIII of France way back in 1641, and it’s been used by Monaco’s Hereditary Princes ever since.
Since his birth in 2014, the Marquis of Baux has been Albert and Charlene’s son, Hereditary Prince Jacques. He received symbolic keys to the town’s medieval chateau during the visit. The family also toured the Church of Saint Vincent, which houses a series of contemporary stained glass windows. The windows were commissioned by Prince Rainier III as a gift following the birth of his son, Prince Albert II, who held the title of Marquis of Baux from his birth in 1958 until the birth of his son, Prince Jacques, in 2014.
During the visit, Prince Albert announced the acquisition of a local building, the Connétable de Montmorency House, which will be rehabbed as part of the Fédération des Sites Historiques Grimaldi. The network links locations in France and Italy that have been part of the family’s long history. Above, Prince Jacques wears a pin featuring the logo of the Federation during a falconry demonstration on Saturday.
Prince Albert also wore one of the Federation’s logo pins. The emblem features the red and white lozenge pattern from the shield on the Grimaldi coat of arms, surmounted by a heraldic princely crown and flanked by a branch of laurel on the left and a palm frond on the right.
Princess Charlene kept cool during the visit in a long lace dress with a floral print. UFO No More tells us that the dress comes from Carolina Herrera.
Her jewelry for the day was extremely restrained: just a pair of small pearl stud earrings in a creamy shade of white. She also wore her diamond engagement ring in its usual place on her left hand.
Princess Gabriella also wore a summery dress in a bright shade of white, paired with tan sandals.
Gabriella pierced her ears a few years ago, and for Saturday’s French visit, she wore a pair of small hoop earrings that look to be set with tiny diamonds.
I won’t be publishing my usual Wednesday newsletter over at Hidden Gems later today, but that’s because I’ll be back here in a few hours with coverage of the jewels worn for the state funeral of King Harald V of Norway. Along with the Norwegian royal family, we’re expecting to see the entire Swedish royal family, plus the King and Queen of Denmark with the Crown Prince and Princess Benedikte. (Queen Margrethe was hospitalized over the weekend and cannot attend.)
Also scheduled to be present are the Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal; the King and Queen of the Belgians; the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg with Grand Duke Henri; the King and Queen of the Netherlands with the Princess of Orange and Princess Beatrix; the King of Jordan; the Prince of Monaco; the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan; and the Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein.
The funeral will be televised, and viewers around the globe should be able to stream the service via NRK. I’ll see you all back here soon.
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