Sunday, February 17, 2013

Prince of Monaco in Haiti

HSH Prince Albert II, after a visit to Brazil, stopped in at the struggling island nation of Haiti where he met with President Martelly and then visited the "Prince Albert II of Monaco" kindergarten and elementary school, named in his honor, which opened recently for the 2012-2013 school year. It serves a student body of 160 "particularly disadvantaged children" with a goal of 290 students expected to be met soon. The school was opened thanks to the cooperation of the "Monaco Collectif Haiti". In the wake of the earthquake disaster, Prince Albert II and the Monegasque government acted quickly to send assistance to Haiti and set up programs to aid the country which are now obviously bearing fruit. Haiti and Monaco are both members of the Francophone community of nations, a representative of which Albert II will also be meeting with. During his visit the Sovereign Prince also met with Haiti native and former Governor-General of Canada Michaelle Jean who is a special UN ambassador for UNESCO as well as a pioneer in research for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Prince Reacts to Papal Resignation

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco has been visiting Brazil lately and was there when he learned, along with the rest of the world, that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will resign from his office at the end of the month. Monaco has a long and close history with the papacy and the Principality is one of the last remaining officially Catholic monarchies in the world. Prince Albert II, who attended the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI, was quick to release a statement saying that he was emotional upon hearing the news that the Pope would be stepping down but called the decision "courageous". The Sovereign Prince praised the Pope and spoke of his most recent visit to the Vatican with HSH Princess Charlene, which was the first time the Princess had met the Pontiff. Prince Albert also assured the Pope that he would remain in the prayers of the House of Grimaldi. Pope Benedict XVI cited his age and physical weakness as the reason for his resignation. The Pope had planned to visit the Principality of Monaco last year but it never came about, possibly due to the Pontiff's increasing frailty. The Principality of Monaco has maintained diplomatic relations with the Holy See longer than almost any other existing country and Prince Albert II is a high ranking member of the Knights of Malta and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

The Princess and the Junior Rugby Team

Last Saturday, HSH Princess Charlene took in a junior rugby game at the Louis II Stadium. For the benefit of American readers, rugby is a little like American football but without all of the starting and stopping. After the game was over the Princess awarded the trophy to the Monegasque junior rugby team. Way to go guys! The Princess looked radiant and, surrounding by sports and children, she was certainly in her element.

Friday, February 1, 2013

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