Prince Albert of Monaco Biography

Royalty

Prince Albert became ruler of Monaco in a formal ceremony on 18 November 2005, following the death of his father Prince Rainier III in April of that year. Albert is the son of Rainier and Princess Grace (the former Hollywood star Grace Kelly), and as their only son he became heir to the throne. Albert has two sisters: Princess Caroline (b. 1957) and Princess Stephanie (b. 1965). A dedicated sportsman, Albert formed a Monaco national bobsled team in 1986 and competed in five straight Olympic games from 1988 in Calgary through 2002 in Salt Lake City. Albert has never married and is still considered one of the world's most eligible bachelors. Albert assumed royal powers on the death of his father, and was sworn in as Monaco's head of state on 12 July 2005. That same month, Albert admitted publicly that he was the father of a two-year-old son born out of wedlock to Nicole Coste, a flight attendant the prince had met on an Air France flight in 1997. In 2006 Albert admitted he also had a daughter, the result of a romantic liason with an American waitress, Tamara Rotolo, in 1991.

Extra credit: Albert's son with Coste, named Alexandre, was born in August of 2003. His child with Rotolo, named Jazmin Grace, was born on 4 March 1992. Neither child is in line for the throne of Monaco, as the principality's constitution states that only "direct and legitimate" descendants are considered legal royal heirs... Albert attended Amherst College in Massachusetts from 1977-81, earning a bachelor's degree in political science... Albert's great-great-grandfather was Prince Albert I of Monaco (1848-1922), who founded Monaco's famed Oceanographic Institute... Still another royal Albert is Prince Albert (1819-1861), the consort of Britain's Queen Victoria.

Other 21st-century princes include Britain's Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Prince William.