A family affair in Monaco in a year of calm

After the turbulence of 2022, Monaco’s Princely Family seemed to ease into a quiet groove in 2023, carrying out engagements with the entire family present, though rumours continued to dog Prince Albert and Princess Charlene.

In fact, Prince Albert was one of the first forward-looking royals of 2023: he was the first European royal to confirm that he would be in attendance at King Charles’s coronation. He attended the funeral of King Constantine of Greece on 16 January in Athens.

Sadly, Princess Charlene was missing from the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo over one of the final weekends in January, but she was present for the Sainte Dévote celebrations at the end of the month alongside her children, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques. We covered the staunch Catholicism of the Grimaldis here.

We only found out about it in March, but Prince Albert and Princess Charlene took their children to Disney World in Florida in January while in the United States for an aquatic centre opening. Their favourite ride? Avatar.

Unfortunately for Prince Albert and Princess Charlene, March also saw the rise of rumours that the royal couple were separating—something they denied exclusively with Royal Central. Prince Albert attended the Rose Ball without his wife, but the wider Grimaldi Family were in attendance (the theme? Bollywood).

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene attended King Charles’s coronation in May, and we covered the line of succession to the Monegasque throne (spoiler: Prince Jacques is first in line). We also explored the powers and role of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco (spoiler: they have more power than most).

We also explored how King Charles and Prince Albert are related (spoiler: Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, an unhappy bride who provided an heir and then had her marriage annulled because she despised the Mediterranean heat).

Later in May, Princess Charlene sparked headlines for dying her blonde locks a dark brown and the Monegasque Princely Family celebrated the centennial of Prince Rainier III’s birth (he died in 2005). We looked back on the marriage of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, an American actress, to coincide with the celebrations. And later in the year, historic cannons were fired to mark the centennial of Prince Rainier’s birth.

In June, Prince Albert was in New York City to celebrate the 30^th anniversary of Monaco being recognised as a sovereign state by the United Nations. In July, the Prince was spotted at Wimbledon. In August, Princess Charlene caused headlines again when she deactivated her official Instagram account with no explanation. In October, she and Prince Albert were on hand to celebrate South Africa’s victory in the Rugby World Cup.  

National Day occurs in Monaco on 19 November, and we covered it here. As the holiday season approached, we covered how Princess Grace brought one of the most poignant traditions to the Princely Family and how Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques were at the forefront of this year’s celebrations.

Given all of the so-called ‘bad luck’ plaguing the Grimaldis the past few years, we wrote up about the curse that supposedly rests upon the Princely Family (up you whether you believe or not!) Fingers crossed that 2024 continues along the same quiet, steady pace the family’s been experiencing this year!