Facts about Princess Monaco
Princess Caroline of Monaco Biography
Princess Caroline is the eldest child of Monaco’s Prince Rainier and his wife Princess Grace, and the sister to Monaco’s current head of state, Prince Albert.
Princess Caroline inherited her mother’s movie-star beauty; Grace had been known as Grace Kelly during her years as a popular Hollywood actress.
Caroline early on became a favorite with the European society press. (Her sister Princess Stephanie also has been a favorite of the celebrity press.) Caroline served as the ceremonial, though unofficial, first lady of Monaco after her mother’s untimely death in a car crash in 1982.
Princess Caroline’s first husband was French banker and playboy Philippe Junot; they were married in 1978 and divorced in 1980. She then was married to Italian industrialist Stefano Casiraghi from 1983 until his death in a power-boat racing accident in 1990.
Princess Caroline married Prince Ernst August of Hanover on January 23, 1999, thereby also becoming known by the honorific title of Caroline, Princess of Hanover. Their daughter, Alexandra, was born on July 20, 1999.
Extra credit
Princess Caroline had three children with Stefano Casiraghi: Andrea (b. 1984), Charlotte (b. 1986) and Pierre (b. 1987)… As the eldest male child, Princess Caroline’s brother Albert became head of state when Prince Rainier died in 2005. Monaco’s constitution was changed in 2002 so that if Albert (then aged 44) died without children, the throne would pass to Caroline and on to her children with Casiraghi. However, Albert and his wife, Charlene, did indeed have twin children in 2014; the boy, Jacques, became the future ruler of Monaco.