Tag: princess charlene

Groove is in the heart, and in the case of Princess Charlene of Monaco, in the jumpsuit as well.

The Monegasque monarch went all in on embracing the disco theme for this year’s Rose Ball (or, as its known in Monaco’s official language of French, Bal de la Rose), which featured a headlining performance from musical icon Gloria Gaynor.

Charlene, 46, donned a long-sleeved, wide-legged Elie Saab jumpsuit festooned with golden sequins for the event on Sunday, accessorizing with dramatic drop earrings for even more sparkle. The annual bash, chaired by Princess Caroline, was held this year at Salle des Étoiles at Sporting Monte-Carlo, and is a fundraiser for the Princess Grace Foundation, which helps young performers get their start. The American-born Princess Grace herself founded the charity event in 1954. True to its name, the Rose Ball’s decor always features plenty of roses, the deceased royal’s favorite flower.

According to an official statement, shoe design legend Christian Louboutin was given free reign over the event’s artistic direction, swapping his usual focus on soles for soul and transforming the venue into a disco wonderland for the 800 or so invited guests. Drag queens Shangela and Chad Michaels also attended in outfits paying tribute to disco legends Cher and Donna Summer, adding to the festivities. 

For her first visit to the event in a decade, Princess Charlene took in Gaynor’s performance of her classic hit songs “I Will Survive” and “Never Can Say Goodbye.” Princess Charlene’s husband, Prince Albert, was at her side at the groovy party, though his ensemble was significantly less shimmery than Charlene’s: He paired a classic black tuxedo with a red bow tie. 

According to a royal fashion fan account, Charlene’s attention-grabbing human disco ball look was originally designed with a coordinating cape, also covered in sequins, which the royal chose to leave off her ensemble for the event over the weekend. 

For the first time, Alexandre Grimaldi is opening up about what it was really like to have Monaco’s Prince Albert as a father. In a cover story for the December issue of Tatler, the 20-year-old talked about his plans for the future, his relationship with his father and siblings, and the one piece of advice that he got from his father’s friend Naomi Campbell. The supermodel was romantically linked to the prince in the mid-1990s and later attended his 2011 wedding to Princess Charlene.

“It was great to meet her. She was really open and kind of embraced me as like… a nephew,” Alexandre said of their meeting at Campbell’s fashion show in September. “She gave me a bit of advice: just to be careful with anyone looking after me, especially since I’m coming out to the public.”

In 2006, Albert publicly revealed that he had a young son from a former relationship, and in the years that have followed, Alexandre became an occasional presence among the principality’s royal family. Last month, he celebrated his 20th birthday, and along with his mother, Nicole Coste, he sat for his very first interview with the French magazine Point de Vue. 

During the previous conversation, Alexandre addressed some of the hurtful comments that were made because his parents were not married when he was born, but in his Tatler interview, his first solo sit-down with the press, he shared a bit of his personality, including his enthusiasm for fashion, rapper Kendrick Lamar, and soccer, which he discusses in a group chat that includes Coste’s two other sons and Albert’s oldest daughter Jazmin Grimaldi.

“We are all very close…We actually have a text message group. We’re having arguments about who’s better: Erling Haaland or Mbappé. My sister’s more Team Mbappé, but it’s more Haaland on the boys’ side. I like both,” he said, adding that his younger siblings, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella aren’t in the group yet. “The little ones are too young to have a phone, so it’ll take them a few years.”

He also told the magazine about the strength of his relationship with his father. “With my dad it’s good, we’re starting to see each other a lot more. During the holiday season, we are spending a lot of time together. It’s a very good relationship,” he said. “[I aspire to] work in a relationship with my dad and become this – let’s say – global ambassador for Monaco, and to bring business opportunities back to Monaco, which is what I’ve talked about with him.”

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Though Alexandre Grimaldi, the second-born child of Monaco’s Prince Albert, isn’t in line for the throne of the small principality where his father is head of state, he has spent plenty of time in the country. Next week, the university student will turn 20, and to mark the occasion, he sat for an interview with the French magazine Point de Vue. The conversations addressed his feelings about some negative public reactions to his role in the Monegasque royal family, specifically in response to commenters online who refer to him by the surname of his mother, Nicole Coste. 

“My father’s name is Grimaldi. It makes sense that I bear his name. I would have been called Dochomel if my father had been Mr. Dochomel!” Alexandre said, per People. “Besides, I never called myself Coste or Coste-Grimaldi. On no ID, at school or on my diplomas. Those who call me that have a malicious attitude.”

He said that he dislikes being called “illegitimate,” and added that it was Albert’s own choice to acknowledge publicly that he had fathered a child though he was not married. “Nor am I ‘illegitimate’ since when I was born, neither of my parents was in another marriage, and they did not commit adultery,” he said. “Using that word is insulting! I hope no one believes the lies conveyed on the internet. One bears the name of one’s father when one has been recognized since birth. I had voluntary recognition from my father when I was a baby. Not from a judge or the press who have forced him to.”

In 2005, Albert announced that he had a son with Coste, a French-Togolese woman who Albert met when she was working as a flight attendant. The next year, it became public knowledge that Albert had an older daughter from a previous relationship, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, who was born in 1992. Albert also shares eight-year-old twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella with his wife, Princess Charlene, who he married in 2011. 

Both Alexandre and Jazmin have spent time in Monaco, and in January 2022, Jazmin shared a photograph of all four siblings together on her Instagram account. In 2021, Albert told People that Charlene’s relationship with his older children had “evolved” over the years, adding “She is more acceptant now.”

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