Ladies and Gentlemen, this evening we journey in imagination to the House of Grimaldi and la Principauté de Monaco!
This week's prince is HRH Prince Andrea Albert Pierre Casiraghi, eldest son of HRH Caroline, Princess of Hanover. He is seen above on the left with his sister Princess Charlotte and his brother Prince Pierre at the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Rainier, the late ruler of Monaco.
TRH Pierre, Charlotte, and Andrea are here seen at the investiture of their uncle, His Serene Highness the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Albert II.
HSH Uncle Al waves to the crowd. Prince Albert has two children born out of wedlock. Should he have no legitimate heirs, as seems increasingly likely, the laws of Monaco have been altered so that his siblings and their heirs may inherit with preference given to males. Albert's elder sister Princess Caroline would thus inherit and Prince Andrea would succeed her in turn, presumably at that point taking the last name Grimaldi for the royal house. At this time he bears his father's surname.
Andrea and Pierre horsing around.Prince Andrea was born June 8, 1984, to Princess Caroline and Stefano Casiraghi, "an heir to an Italian oil fortune." (Wikipedia, source of info here.) Princess Caroline and her brother Prince Albert are the children of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, the former Grace Kelly, both now deceased.
Wikipedia notes:Andrea was six years old when his father died in a boating accident.
Known for his delicate blond good looks and athletic skills — he rides, skis, plays football and also guitar; he was included by People Magazine in 2002 in the Top 50 World's Most Beautiful People. He is fluent in French, English, Italian, and German.
Papa Stefano Casiraghi was no slouch in the looks department either.
Now, ladies, if you continue to read this post I want you all to promise not to throw rocks at your husbands and boyfriends.
Here is a shot of Prince Andrea and a Spanish actress from 2003. Most of this post is for Grandmère Mimi--to cheer her up after her dutiful Disney trip--but this one is for johnieb.
Jane, dear, I am sure he might consider a contessa.
And, because Prince Andy seems to have other fans out there on the intertubes, we have some videos with musical accompaniment. Enjoy.--the BB
