The man from Monte Carlo

INTERVIEW:Ahead of his official visit here next week, Prince Albert of Monaco talks to RUADHÁN Mac CORMAICabout the depth of his connection to Ireland, the challenges of running such a tiny country, and the small matter of his impending marriage

HE SEA IS GLISTENING, the palace grounds bathed in warm sunlight. Tourists in dresses and shirtsleeves line up for pictures of the guards against the palace’s peach facade, or at least – since wedding preparations are underway – the painters’ scaffolding that covers most of it.

In a reception room inside the palace, where the walls are lined with blue silk brocade and Venetian chandeliers hang from the ceiling, the logs in the open fire are crackling and popping loudly. It’s odd to be sitting by the fire on such a sunny day, says a friendly palace aide, spotting my glances at the hearth as we wait for Prince Albert II to arrive. But then, in a country whose self-image is so bound up with the idea of being one big – or small – idiosyncrasy, this is one of the least eccentric things you’ll find on a day in Monaco.

An adjoining balcony gives a breathtaking view over the principality. The palace and the old town are built on a hill to the west, so from here we can survey the whole country – all two square kilometres of it – by tracing the border along the mountains in the interior towards the French coastal town of Menton, on the verge of Italy. At its heart is the classic panorama of Monte Carlo itself, with its bunched-up apartment blocks, its baroque casino building, the scores of banks and jewellers’ shops, and the endless rows of sleek yachts in the harbour.

The Vatican City is the only country smaller than this. Of its 35,000 inhabitants, just 8,000 are Monégasque. “It’s very heart-warming,” says the prince of the proximity he enjoys with his people. He reckons he can call “almost everybody” by their first name.

“On various occasions we have been able to host almost all Monégasques on the palace square . . . It feels like a big family. That’s been the key to the good success of Monaco – the closeness between the Grimaldi family and the Monégasques.”

We’re sitting around a coffee table in the ceremonial office, a light-filled room where Prince Albert receives ambassadors and other guests. Albert’s aunt, Princess Antoinette, died on the night of St Patrick’s Day, at the age of 90, and a 15-day period of mourning is being observed. Around the palace there’s an air of quiet solemnity: staff wear black, the flags are at half-mast and the chapel is open to Monaco residents who wish to pray or leave flowers. But the work hasn’t stopped.

Albert’s aides are putting the final touches to the schedule for his first official visit to Ireland, and preparing for the biggest event the palace has hosted in decades: the wedding, in early July, of the prince and his fiancee, the South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock. About 3,500 guests are expected at the ceremony in the palace’s main courtyard.

“It’s quite an operation,” Albert says. “Difficult to organise. We have tried to open it up not only to foreign dignitaries but to friends and family and representatives from all over. Things are going well.”

Albert has a thickset sportsman’s frame and he is more expressive than he appears in photographs, but his physical presence is offset by a low, gentle voice and a hint of wariness – no doubt informed by experience – of the press. He laughs easily, but chooses his words carefully. There are two moments when he becomes visibly more relaxed: when the recorder is switched off; and when the conversation turns to Ireland.

Albert and his fiancee's visit marks the 50th anniversary of the official visit to Ireland by his parents, Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace, in 1961. Grace Kelly, the Hollywood star of High Noonand Rear Window, had well-known Irish connections, of course – her grandfather, John Kelly, was born at Drimurla in Co Mayo – and the visit brought thousands of people on to the streets. An old newsreel shows huge crowds greeting the family's arrival at Dublin airport, and 50 people had to be treated by ambulance crews after a melee outside a banquet at the Gresham Hotel.

There would be other visits, in 1963 and 1973, but the first official “homecoming” lodged itself in the public memory. Although Teilifís Éireann had not yet begun broadcasting, the visit was filmed and part of it was shown on the station’s opening night on December 31st, 1961.

“It was such an emotional time,” says Paul Kavanagh, Ireland’s ambassador to France and Monaco. “It was 1961, and two years later president Kennedy came, so you had this sense that the Irish diaspora, who had done very well, who had inspired the world in different ways, were sending their children and their grandchildren home to Ireland.”

In the couple’s travelling party were the three-year-old Prince Albert and his sister Caroline, then aged four. Does he have any memories of the visit? “Very few,” Albert admits. “We were very spoiled by president de Valera and his wife, and we did get gifts from them. I have seen pictures. I don’t remember actually meeting him – I was very young. I remember more the private visit that we did two years later. We stayed at Carton House and had an amazing tour. And then obviously in the 1970s and many times since then.”

Albert has retained close connections with Ireland, making occasional private visits and closely following the country’s fortunes in rugby and other sports. “I’m getting used to going there on a regular basis, so it doesn’t feel like a foreign country to me,” he says. “I feel very much at home there.”

When President Mary McAleese extended an invitation, they settled early on the anniversary of his parents’ official visit. “Of course it will be a very emotional and a wonderful moment – a wonderful sharing of our friendship,” he says. “There are still people today . . . who tell me: ‘I was there when your mother and father came. I was able to shake their hands.’ Different people, like that, who have a little story. I think it made a significant impact at the time.”

Before her death in a car crash in 1982, aged 54, Princess Grace bought the cottage in Drimurla where her grandfather was born, and Albert and Charlene are due to visit the ancestral home – which the three Grimaldi children, Prince Albert, Princess Caroline and Princess Stéphanie now own – next Wednesday. Friends say Albert’s attachment to Ireland is genuinely important to him, and he has been keen to point out that Charlene, through her mother’s side, has her own family connections to Co Kerry.

“When we went to see our cousins in the States, there were always stories and tales of the connection to Ireland, and to where it all started. It was present in our minds and our hearts. It’s something that we feel very proud of.”

As head of state, Prince Albert is responsible for the day-to-day running of Monaco and represents the principality at the United Nations and other global forums. An interest in the environment has oriented him towards climate change and marine diversity, and he takes pride in the country’s record of giving generously to humanitarian causes.

His biggest challenge is one Monaco has long grappled with: a shortage of space. A steadily growing population that encompasses 124 nationalities and severely restricted territory has made land reclamation the only viable solution. But while extending into the sea has helped enlarge the principality by 20 per cent over recent years, it’s very expensive, and a major new phase had to be shelved in 2009 because of uncertainties in the global economy.

“If we are going to be able to maintain our attractiveness and be relevant for foreign investments, we are going to have to find space. That is an everyday challenge,” he says. Given Monaco’s reliance on tourism and property, the principality has suffered a slowdown of its own, although Albert says there have been signs of improvement since the beginning of the year.

But the ruler of a country where people are on first-name terms with one another is relieved of many of the problems his counterparts face. Crime, for example, is virtually non-existent. Several Monégasques told me it was the safest place in the world, with a policeman for every 70 people. An eastern European gang was using the principality as a base a few years ago, but the network was broken up and some of its members arrested.

“I think there’s one homicide every 15 or 20 years,” he says. “We try to create as safe an environment as possible for our citizens and for our visitors. That’s one of the main positive features of Monaco. In an ever-changing and difficult world, it’s a tremendous asset.”

But if the safe streets and warm climate attract people to Monaco, so do its tax policies, which have been a recurrent source of strain in relations with its neighbour over the years. Monaco levies no income tax on individuals, a fact that has drawn a considerable number of wealthy residents – sportspeople, actors, rock stars, socialites, bankers and businessmen – who earn most of their income outside the territory. For many, the principality is synonymous with tax evasion, money laundering and hidden bank accounts. Indeed, until recently, it was one of a handful of places on a list of “unco-operative tax havens” maintained by the OECD. When Prince Albert inherited the throne, he announced that he wanted to “clean up” his country’s image.

“Morality, honesty and ethics” would guide his rule, he said, and while producing wealth was essential, it was not an end in itself. “It needs to be shared by all,” he said. In power, he has signed a raft of anti-fraud agreements and European standards on banking and finance, and the reward came in 2009 when Monaco was removed from the OECD’s blacklist.

Relations with France – always close, ever complex – have noticeably improved under Albert's rule. The country that surrounds Monaco has always exerted some control over the principality, and its national defence is still provided by Paris. When Albert's father, Prince Rainier, came to power, Monaco's ministre d'état– the equivalent of a prime minister – had to be a French citizen appointed by the prince from a list of candidates proposed by the French government. When Rainier tried to assert more independence, relations turned icy.

France’s frustration with its neighbour was compounded by the large number of French people who based themselves in Monaco to evade French taxes. On the night of October 12th, 1962, French customs officials surrounded the principality, causing long tailbacks as they checked every car that passed.

Nowadays, a special bilateral deal means Monaco's 10,000 French residents are required to pay income tax, and all the revenue is passed on to Paris. Under a recent treaty with France, the ministre d'étatcan now be French or Monégasque. Relations are warm, and Albert is satisfied that he has been able to shake off the old imagery of money laundering and secrecy.

“I think we have been able to overcome that in a major way. That is, by signing all the possible agreements and complying with all international standards, I think we have been able to address this issue in a very firm way.”

As well as the emotional ties between his family and Ireland, he sees his visit as an attempt to deepen links between two modern economies, with his travelling party including senior officials from the Monaco Chamber of Economic Development, wave-energy specialists and venture capitalists.

Reading through the piles of French press clippings about Albert’s life, it’s hard not to wonder what living under the constant, unforgiving gaze of public attention from childhood must do to shape someone like him. And yet he seems grounded and well-adjusted, and every Monégasque I met described an ordinary, approachable man.

“He is adored,” says Paul Kavanagh, an Irishman who is managing director of Monaco-based Riviera Radio, which will broadcast from Ireland during next week’s visit. “He’s in a very lucky position, but at the same time he works incredibly hard. I have to give him full marks for that. The people locally see how nice he is, how hard he works, that he’s a good, positive force around the place. He is greatly admired.”

The prince has hinted in interviews that sport was his outlet, his sanity valve. In all, he has played 17 different sports at competitive level, including football, javelin throwing, handball, judo, swimming, tennis, skiing, rowing, sailing and squash, and was a member of Monaco’s bobsleigh team at five Winter Olympics. His passion for the environment has brought him on expeditions to the North and South Poles, and he travels regularly with his charitable organisation, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

But wherever he has gone, the media has followed. Even the French press, notoriously squeamish about breaching the boundaries of private life, has feasted on paparazzi shots and gossip about the prince, his sisters, their relationships and personal lives. When he and Charlene announced their engagement last year, many of the headlines included the word “finally”. He must feel pressure?

“You have to be aware of certain situations that might expose us in a way that we don’t want to be,” he replies. “I’ve always tried to protect my private life as much as possible, and that is the hardest part because that is what a lot of media are more interested in – the private aspect more than the official side of things. It’s just the nature of things. You have to accept it, you have to tolerate it, or at least you have to make it work in a positive way, [in a way that is not] harmful in terms of image to your family, to yourself, to your country.”

When we finish up, an aide gives me a tour of the grounds. We walk through the main courtyard, a spectacular space with a double-revolution marble staircase and encircled by 16th-century Genovese frescoes. We then pass under an arch and emerge on to the public square, where the crowds have eased and the guards stand still.

Walking back into town, I chance upon an Indian wedding procession so big the police have had to close the roads. Hundreds of guests have been flown in from around the world, I am told later, and the wedding party have booked up the exclusive Hermitage Hotel for the celebration. They whoop and cheer, and the tourists and passers-by join in or just stare. In the middle is the groom, propped up on a white horse, escorted by an elephant.

PRINCIPAL ATTRACTION: Côte d'Azur culture

Its reputation, curiosity value and proximity to Nice make Monaco one of the most popular daytrips on the Côte d’Azur. The jewel is the world-class Oceanographic Museum, founded by the explorer Prince Albert I to display the results of his expeditions. In an imposing building that clings dramatically to an outcrop of land, it houses an aquarium of more than 4,000 species and has become one of the most celebrated centres of its kind.

Not far from the museum is the Princess Grace Irish Library, which houses more than 9,000 volumes – including Grace’s own collection of Irish books – and runs an annual season of lectures and readings.

For sports fans, the Monte Carlo Grand Prix (below) takes place in late May, and the Monte Carlo tennis masters is on next month. The Monaco Marathon – the only one to pass through three separate countries – usually happens in March. And apparently there’s a casino, too.

FROM THE ARCHIVES 

Royal family of Monaco settle in for a quiet Irish holiday

Originally published in The Irish Timeson August 27th, 1963

THE MONÉGASQUE ROYAL family spent yesterday settling into their holiday home, Carton House, near Maynooth, while police with walkie-talkie radio sets kept a guard on the gates. Princess Grace, Prince Rainier and their two children posed for photographs in the house and in the grounds yesterday morning and talked about the holiday they have planned – or rather which they have not planned.

“We’ll work things out day by day,” the Princess said. “Really we intend to have a very quiet time and a good rest. We’ll play some golf and go fishing and horse riding.”

Will she visit her relatives in Westport, as she did when she was in Ireland two years ago? “Really, I don’t believe we will,” the Princess said. “We have made no firm plans to travel very far. We want to take advantage of the countryside for a week or two anyway.”

“But we’ll go fishing?” young Prince Albert asked his mother, who was wearing a red rose he had plucked for her in the garden.

“Of course we will, dear,” his mother told him.

The family was sitting in one of the salons of Carton House under portraits of Fitzgeralds, the Dukes of Leinster and Earls of Kildare, who built the fine 18th century house, now owned by Lord Brocket.

“I love Carton already,” Princess Grace said. “It’s a fine house, just wonderful.”

She added: “We had planned a cruise on the Prince’s new yacht for this week, but unfortunately fire broke out on it and we have had to postpone it. We made up our minds to come to Ireland again just last week.

“We all fell in love with Ireland when we were here two years ago and always wanted to come back. Now we got the opportunity.”

The Prince and Princess do not intend to entertain on any lavish scale while they are at Carton. “We may have a few friends coming over for a week-end, but our entertaining will be very simple.”

Prince Rainier said that they would use Carton as a base from which to see the surrounding countryside. “We want to see parts of the country we missed on our last trip,” he said, “and we want to see the west of Ireland again.”

Is he likely to buy a house here? “I might buy a house if the opportunity arises,” he said.

Yesterday the children spent some of their time exploring the house. “Albert is bound to get lost here, it’s so big,” seven-year-old Princess Caroline said. “He doesn’t know his way around. There might be secret passages here. I think I shall discover one under my bed.”

One of young Prince Albert’s ambitions is to milk one of Lord Brocket’s cows. “We are just getting settled in,” the Princess aid. “We saw Lord and Lady Brocket off this morning.

“We hope to call on the President and Mrs de Valera and look forward to seeing them both. I thought it was wonderful all those people came out to meet us last night at the airport – very touching and heartwarming.

The family plan to stay in Ireland three weeks, but have to be back in Monaco before the end of September.

The adventurous Prince Albert almost fell into one of the ornamental ponds in the grounds while the family was being photographed yesterday. His mother grabbed him while he was near the pond.