Posted on 06/26/2011 2:44:31 PM PDT by Cincinna
He is the prince who never grew up – a one-time playboy and son of the Hollywood star Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco. She is a working-class South African 20 years his junior, a former Olympic swimmer and the daughter of a photocopier salesman. When Prince Albert of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock marry this week in a two-day populist extravaganza in the wealthy Mediterranean enclave, tens of thousands of tourists are expected to flood in to witness the ultimate "prince and commoner" wedding. The American rockers the Eagles will belt out Hotel California in a special gig for locals while synth-pop guru Jean-Michel Jarre performs a light show over the port.
But the wedding is more than just the latest soap opera instalment of the House of Grimaldi, a dynasty as famous for its heartache as its glamour. It is vital for the survival of the Mediterranean tax haven. Monaco, the world's smallest state after the Vatican, has 360,000 registered bank accounts and a 35,000 population – the vast majority of whom are foreign expats, many British, paying no income or capital gains tax. If Somerset Maugham once famously called Monaco "a sunny place for shady people", Prince Albert declared when he took over that "morality, honesty and ethics" would guide his rule. In 2009, Monaco was removed from the OECD blacklist of unco-operative tax havens, after promising to be more transparent with foreign authorities asking questions. But it continues to exempt its rich foreign residents from paying tax, and its own vast wealth depends on the international fortunes that take residency there. The Grimaldis, who have run the enclave for seven centuries, are the protectors of Monaco's special status.
(Excerpt) Read more at m.guardian.co.uk ...
Poor girl, she isn’t a true fashion icon. I didn’t see any boob belts.
Enough already!
I think it was once a French possession and that the Grimaldis have it by a treaty that states if there is never a direct heir it returns to France.
Bald, isn’t he?
Her shoulder are too broad..looks like a linebacke.
Hmmmm sounds like someone else we know.
Should read Linebacker.
At least the face is attractive.
Am I mistaken..I thought she was the Princes “other woman”? Wasn’t he married and playing on the side with Charlene? Maybe I’ve got the royality mixed up...their lifestyles do resemble soap operas. Rather like Hollywood in the USA. But anymore even our government! ‘Weiner” comes to mind as well.
Monaco is right next door to France, tucked in between France & Italy. Nice, France, Is 11km from Monaco, as the crow flies.
Monaco has been an independent State, ruled by the Grimaldi family, originally from Genoa, for the past 700 years. Monaco is a member State of the UN, and has it’s own Olympic team.
Much intermarriage with the French nobility, especially the princely family of Polignac, has given Monaco much if it’s French cultural heritage.
The official language of Monaco is French. The money is the Euro, before the Euro, it was the French franc. Monaco issues it’s own postage stamps, which are very beautiful, and highly collectable.
Monaco is a tax haven because there are no income taxes, capital gains tax, or ISF, as in France. However, this does not apply to the French. French living in Monaco have to pay the confiscatory income taxes and ISF.
There is a VAT instead.
Albert has never been married; neither has Charlene. The Soap Opera of
marriages & divorces are about his two sisters, with five marriages, three divorces, and one separation between them.
The State religion of Monaco is Roman Catholic. Albert is head of the Royal family of Monaco, the Grimaldi family, and is also Head of State.
To prepare him for his role as Head of State, his parents sent him went to Amherst College & he has an MBA from Whartom School, after which he worked in finance & management in NY.
Thank you for clearing that up. MAkes one wonder how he kept his nose so clean with his two sisters reputations.
Charlene was a world class Olympic swimmer representing her native South Frica in the Olympic Games. She has the strong back & shoulders of a professional athlete. She is slim and graceful, and a clothing designers dream.
Any comparisons with Michelle-Antoinette are ridiculous.
You will never see Charlene in a boob belt! She is always appropriately dressed, (see photos at William & Kate’s wedding). Her husband-to-be is half American, and proud of his cultural roots and of his mother’s country. He maintains very close ties with his Kelly and Levine cousins from Philadelphia.
She has an attractive face, but I don’t think her body looks good in clothes.
Kate has a body made for high fashion and a very pretty face...comparison or not.
Hmm... Monaco’s climate.
January is the coldest month with average high/low = 54.1/46.6.
August is the hottest month with average high/low = 78.6/70.7.
Not bad at all.
If being bald is a liability with the ladies, howcome so many real men nowadays are shaving their heads or at least getting buzzcuts?
Damned if I know! I think what’s considered ‘good looking’ varies from generation to generation, from one ethnic or racial group to the next. Also from subculture to subculture, i.e., ‘goth’ or ‘hipster’ or ‘yuppie.’ And that goes for both genders.
I look at some of today’s Hollywood stars and wonder if they could have even been cast as extras during Hollywood’s “Golden Age.” (Sarah Jessica Parker ... really?) Alas, beauty is and always has been in the eye of the beholder.
Monaco has a micro-climate. 300 days of sunshine per year.
The Cote d’Azur (Riviera) started out as a winter resort for European & Russian nobility who came there to escape their cold Northern climates.
Queen Victoria spent much time there,& made the French Riviera fashionable. Even today, much of the Riviera is British is style, but verySoutgern in climate.
Charlene, Kate Middleton, and the gorgeous Grace Kello were Anglo-Saxon in origin. Charlene was raised Presbyterian, but recently converted to Roman Catholicism to marry Albert.
Albert is half Irish-American. The Kelly’s of Philadelphia are a prominent Irish family. Bother Jack Kelly was an all American. The Kelly side is very pronounced in Albert & his sisters.
Charlene bears a resemblance to Grace, which she cultivates, but is not the breathtaking beauty that she was. She was an American treasure. A very beautiful woman, and an excellent actress.
I think she’s very attractive and I love her ‘natural’ 33-year old face. The top photo of Princess Grace is so lovely. That woman was just absolutely beautiful.
that face looks more than 33 years old to me.
I know and how dare Charlene not to wear clothes that are too tight! Can’t even see the lines of her underwear! No class.
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