Prince Albert and Princess Charlene's Relationship - Part 2

[Lumutqueen]

Andrea is in NY yes? Doing studies?
Pierre never graduated from Bocconi, so what's he doing?
Charlotte has a minor Journalism career? She's done internships and has a degree in philosophy.

What are they doing for there country?

But this is off topic, maybe this can be moved to the appropriate thread.

 

[CrownPrincess5]

I wonder that too. What exactly are they doing for their country? Besides attending fashion shows, etc. I'm sure if they had titles they'd be doing more for their country. Maybe the Casigrahi last name makes them feel like there's no need to do royal duties.

 

[iloveroyals]

I disagree that the Grimaldis and Casiraghis are lazy and do nothing. They're so lazy they are all billionaires. Rainier and Grace did alot but their children have had to put up with 24/7 paparazzi. Andrea and Pierre have both been in college or internships the whole time. Charlotte seems to get her picture in a major European magazine about once every 1.5 weeks and it is good publicity. Most companies would kill for that kind of free publicity. The reason they go to fashion shows and art openings is because that is their market niche. They don't need to attract Americans who read People Magazine. They are looking for billionaires to move to Monaco. That is what fascinates me about them. It's how creative they are in governing and what good business people they are. I saw a video where an Englishman who lived there said 50 billionaires lived there and 2/3 of the country is millionaires. If that's being a failure, I want in.

If that's called a success, it is unreal, literally. What modern, responsible country would want to boast that 2/3 of their population are millionaires? I am sure that the majority of people, who try to save money, would look at that country as a fantasy, nice for a short vacation maybe, kind of Disneyland-like, but unfriendly because with that criterion unless you are at least a millionaire you'll never measure up. (Having been to Monaco quite a few times, I am not even sure that is true, unless people don't flaunt their money and just pretend to be average (quite a few average little old ladies too, like anywhere else).
So, where is this thread moved to?

 

[Donna Mia]

I agree Lumutqueen, what are they doing for their country,

The youngsters have basic education and experience, but are doing nothing specifically great for their country. How old is Andrea now, and isn't he really up to be the next ruler of Monaco. There is no guarentee that Charlene and Albert will ever produce an appropriate heir. Shouldn't he be getting more serious by now, and none of the Grimaldi's current wealth is because of this generation's doing.

As for Charlene's look, it is Monaco that is fashioning her that way. It goes back to the superficial look-a-like. They think that if there is another Grace wanna-be that the same interest in Monaco will surface. It won't. Charlene needs to be her own woman. This whole engagement appears to be a marketing tool with Paris Match and with the Iggy Pop concert etc.

 

[Thecia]

Andrea is in NY yes? Doing studies?
Pierre never graduated from Bocconi, so what's he doing?
Charlotte has a minor Journalism career? She's done internships and has a degree in philosophy.

What are they doing for there country?

But this is off topic, maybe this can be moved to the appropriate thread.

Andrea is in Paris, working at the Embassy of Qatar. He was being trained as heir, before Albert got engaged. He says that he's still kept aware of what is happening in Monaco.
Pierre never graduated from Bocconi. He went through a training course with the army last year I think. He lives with Beatrice in Rome, where she works for Il Fatto Quotidiano. I heard something about photography once upon a time but I don't know if that's true.
Charlotte is currently competing in the Invitational Classes of the Global Champions Tour. In terms of her journalism career, she is Editor-At-Large for Above magazine and co-founder of Ever Manifesto, both magazines with an environmental slant. She had an internship at Pierre Laffont and at the Evening Standard. Though apparently, she's interested more in the publishing side of journalism than the writing side.

I agree Lumutqueen, what are they doing for their country,

The youngsters have basic education and experience, but are doing nothing specifically great for their country. How old is Andrea now, and isn't he really up to be the next ruler of Monaco. There is no guarentee that Charlene and Albert will ever produce an appropriate heir. Shouldn't he be getting more serious by now, and none of the Grimaldi's current wealth is because of this generation's doing.

As for Charlene's look, it is Monaco that is fashioning her that way. It goes back to the superficial look-a-like. They think that if there is another Grace wanna-be that the same interest in Monaco will surface. It won't. Charlene needs to be her own woman. This whole engagement appears to be a marketing tool with Paris Match and with the Iggy Pop concert etc.

No, he isn't really up for being the next ruler of Monaco. That would be Caroline, assuming the situation you propose, of Charlene and Albert having no children eventuates (you said "appropriate heir" - I have no idea what that means. If they have children, they're the heir. It has nothing to do with being appropriate). But Andrea has or had been taken under Albert's wing. He has a degree in International Politics and is undergoing training at the Embassy of Qatar. That's good enough for someone not even out of their twenties, to me. He is learning how the world of politics works, from the ground up. He hasn't been given a particularly glamourous position. And he has time to learn. Unless you expect Albert to cark it within the next ten years?

 

[Lumutqueen]

So basically at the moment, they are doing what they want?
When was the last time they attended an event to do with Monaco or it's people?

 

[iloveroyals]

I wonder that too. What exactly are they doing for their country? Besides attending fashion shows, etc. I'm sure if they had titles they'd be doing more for their country. Maybe the Casigrahi last name makes them feel like there's no need to do royal duties.

I've always wondered that too. I think it is a shame they never had a title that would convey they were "of Monaco". It did wonders for Caroline in particular. I remember how Princess Caroline said in an interview that as a child, she thought everybody in Monaco was "of Monaco". Once you realize how rare this distinction is, you must feel you have to give back, and in another way than just being there for photographers simply because your image sells the country. (Let's not mention Stephanie, who in her mature age seems to be making up for it.)

 

[Donna Mia]

Absolutely Lumutqueen,

There is nothing focused for the betterment of Monaco.

 

[Donna Mia]

I think Monaco really needs to import a smart cookie that can bring luster back to Monaco. No one there now seems to know what they are doing, and Charlene will be a no show, a puppet as her current make over seems to suggest. I don't think you can count on the princely family to do it anymore for Monaco, they need outside help.

 

[iloveroyals]

As for Charlene's look, it is Monaco that is fashioning her that way. It goes back to the superficial look-a-like. They think that if there is another Grace wanna-be that the same interest in Monaco will surface. It won't. QUOTE]

How can you be so sure of what you assert ? I see things as more complex and mysterious than you do. I don't see Monaco as shallow and interested only in image. Obviously (to me) if I did, I wouldn't bother wasting my time posting about it. As for generating interest, there are more forces at play nowadays that determine what is successful. Attention-span might be one of them.

 

[Donna Mia]

Are you going to tell me that it is Charlene's doing to just happen to look like Princess Grace all of a sudden, and Monaco had no say in allowing the Paris Match cover to be done.

 

[iloveroyals]

Are you going to tell me that it is Charlene's doing to just happen to look like Princess Grace all of a sudden, and Monaco had no say in allowing the Paris Match cover to be done.

Dear, I wouldn't dare tell you anything !

 

[Thecia]

I'm sorry, I'm failing to see the big deal here. Andrea is 26, Charlotte 23 and Pierre 22 - are we expecting them to be the big leaders of Monaco? That's Albert, not them.
Sure, we can say that there are other young royals who do more, but I would urge you to think about who these people are in terms of succession. The most active of the young British royals in causes "for England" are William and Harry, sons of the Heir Apparent to the throne of Britain. Many of the most active members of young European royals in causes promoting and nurturing their country are either children of the Heir Apparent or the Heir Apparent themselves (Victoria for instance). The Casiraghis are children of the Heiress Presumptive - them keeping their place in the line of succession relies on Albert never having any legitimate children. So their place in the line of succession was never secure. I think that they are doing the right amount for who they are, succession wise. Enough so that should the time come when they must step into the role of heirs apparent, they will know what they are doing. But not so much that should Albert have children, they've wasted their time. So they won't be "tied down" so to speak at such a young age. Get what I mean?

 

[Lumutqueen]

She can't help that she has blonde hair and has a resemblance to Princess Grace.
It's not all of sudden, not by a long shot.
If she happens to look more like Grace when she is "dolled up" then what is she suppose to do? Dress in rags 24/7, dye her hair and change who she is?


And Andrea is in the same position as William of Wales, he should be doing something for his country, and so should Charlotte and Pierre.
From what i've heard Caroline is just going to pass the title to Andrea, if it should work that way.

 

[Donna Mia]

The issue that many people here feel is that. 1) this engagement is being used primarily as a marketing tool for Monaco. 2) They are marketing Charlene as a Grace Kelly, as Paris Match clearly proves. There is a strong sense of a facade, not anything of what is genuine. It's not because she just has blond hair. Go look at Charlene early on, and look at her hair styles now, she just happend to naturally wear a circa 1955 haircut for Paris Match. It's not genuinely real. I would equally criticise Prince William if his girl started to become more and more Lady Diana in appearance.

 

[Thecia]

She can't help that she has blonde hair and has a resemblance to Princess Grace.
It's not all of sudden, not by a long shot.
If she happens to look more like Grace when she is "dolled up" then what is she suppose to do? Dress in rags 24/7, dye her hair and change who she is?


And Andrea is in the same position as William of Wales, he should be doing something for his country, and so should Charlotte and Pierre.
From what i've heard Caroline is just going to pass the title to Andrea, if it should work that way.

Andrea is not in the same position as William. William, as I said, is the son of the heir apparent. Unless he abdicates, it is a certainty that he will be King of England some day. And Andrea, as I have also said, is the son of the heiress presumptive. There is no certainty for a presumptive heir. They could be "thwarted" by the sovereign having a legitimate child or a son. Should Albert and Charlene have a child, that child will immediately become the heir of Monaco. Caroline will become second in line, Andrea third etc. And they move further down the list the more children they have. So making the argument that he is in the same position doesn't really have legs in my opinion.

 

[NGalitzine]

The principality seems to be kicking along quite nicely that you very much, so I am not sure what needs to be done in that direction. There is a global economic recession but still Monaco seems a prosperous place. Not sure what more you expect the Grimaldi's to do, and more especially what you expect a Princess Consort to do. Its not like 1956 when Europe was still recovering from WWII and also the Cold War. People around the world know of its existence.
There are many more important issues in the world today than the marriage of the Prince of Monaco.....and the wedding is still a year away, so no matter who he became engaged to the publicity would be limited.

 

[CrownPrincess5]

That is true. I agree that Andrea is like William. Until Albert and Charlene have a child, Andrea is thee heir. I don't care if Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte are 75th in line for the throne...they should still do something for their country. It's not like Monaco has a reservoir of royals. So in my opinion, the three of them should step up to the plate and do something worthwhile. The Casigrahi last name is no reason for them to be slackers.

 

[Donna Mia]

Very true, the world is a different place today, but more should be done by the princely family. I would think that they would all have more pride in their principality. I don't think showing up to a rock concert really does it for me.

 

[prisscess of may]

The issue that many people here feel is that. 1) this engagement is being used primarily as a marketing tool for Monaco. 2) They are marketing Charlene as a Grace Kelly, as Paris Match clearly proves. There is a strong sense of a facade, not anything of what is genuine.

no matters how the media try to get the people to know her no one seems to cares because i feel this generation care more about the Hollywood celebrity or other celebrity or footballer etc lives than royals i am just saying if George Conney was getting married the world will go mad to find out who she is why and when but for Albert everyone loose tastes about a week after the announcement because he does not have the take of George sure he is a prince but that is it if the media want to sell Charlene they just need to let it go no more compare her to grace let grace rest in peace . people know and love grace let Charlene fine her way where ever is it just that people are not going to love her as grace and their is no way she will ever becoming famous as grace she will only be know as Albert wife to the people not grace even if the media try to make her so but it will not fly so i give this media b.s compare thing another years because after the wedding the whole thing we die down .

 

[Thecia]

That is true. Until Albert and Charlene have a child, Andrea is thee heir. I don't care if Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte are 75th in line for the throne...they should still do something for their country. It's not like Monaco has a reservoir of royals. So in my opinion, the three of them should step up to the plate and do something worthwhile. The
Casigrahi last name is no reason for them to be slackers.

It's not like Monaco has a reservoir of charities either. Particularly for causes championing Monaco. There's what... the garden club, the Red Cross, Jeune J'écoute and FAM and a seniors club. There's a competition run on the Monegasque language every year. Slim pickings, don't you think?

 

[Lumutqueen]

Andrea is not in the same position as William. William, as I said, is the son of the heir apparent. Unless he abdicates, it is a certainty that he will be King of England some day. And Andrea, as I have also said, is the son of the heiress presumptive. There is no certainty for a presumptive heir. They could be "thwarted" by the sovereign having a legitimate child or a son. Should Albert and Charlene have a child, that child will immediately become the heir of Monaco. Caroline will become second in line, Andrea third etc. And they move further down the list the more children they have. So making the argument that he is in the same position doesn't really have legs in my opinion.

If Albert doesn't have kids, Caroline becomes the Princess of Monaco yes? making Andrea her heir? Correct.
So he is at this moment in time, seeing as Albert is yet to have children, the son of the heir. Same position as William.
So he should at least be doing more for his country then studying in some Embassay. Why stop his training just because his uncle got engaged? This marriage may never happen, and Albert may never have kids.

 

[Donna Mia]

Monaco was hot in the 50's because Grace was a hollywood star, and yes the training should continue.

 

[Thecia]

If Albert doesn't have kids, Caroline becomes the Princess of Monaco yes? making Andrea her heir? Correct.
So he is at this moment in time, seeing as Albert is yet to have children, the son of the heir. Same position as William.
So he should at least be doing more for his country then studying in some Embassay. Why stop his training just because his uncle got engaged? This marriage may never happen, and Albert may never have kids.

So you'd have him tie his entire life to his country, only for nothing to come of it? For what? A pat on the back? He is young. I don't know why we all expect these people to be great leaders in their twenties. Hell, when I was his age, it was the best I could do not to burn the toast in the morning! Are they not allowed to make mistakes, just because of who their parents are? Why is it that people always forget that these people are humans, just like us?

 

[CrownPrincess5]

The issue that many people here feel is that. 1) this engagement is being used primarily as a marketing tool for Monaco. 2) They are marketing Charlene as a Grace Kelly, as Paris Match clearly proves. There is a strong sense of a facade, not anything of what is genuine. It's not because she just has blond hair. Go look at Charlene early on, and look at her hair styles now, she just happend to naturally wear a circa 1955 haircut for Paris Match. It's not genuinely real. I would equally criticise Prince William if his girl started to become more and more Lady Diana in appearance.

I really do hope the engagement is not for marketing purposes. I hope it's because they truly love each other. Could it be too that Albert wants to get married so that the throne doesn't pass to Andrea, but his own child?? I wonder that.

I have to admit, Charlene has changed her look somewhat. I saw something the other day where they compared Grace and Charlene and the resemblance was unmistakable. I'm not talking about the blond hair. I'm talking about the hairstyle, clothes etc. The hairstyle Charlene has been sporting lately is really the 50s, etc. Nobody wears their hair like that anymore. I haven't seen a lot of Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly hairstyles.

I think Charlene is in a tight spot. She knows her role is a serious role and she knows she has to conform to that role. Maybe she feels like the best thing for her to do is to emanate Grace. I hope she's confident in her skin because if she isn't, we'll be seeing a lot of Grace flowing from her.

 

[azure]

William and Harry are as young as the Casiraghis but still their duties are bigger. But, of course, things are very different in England. Well, again I'll say that i prefer Albert and his own child (if he ever has one) to be the next Prince of Monaco.
And i think that Caroline should better get used to the idea that she won't be the first lady in Monaco anymore. I mean that IF Albert marries Cahrlene many things wil change there. And Charlene will propably and according to the Monaco rules, take some duties as the first lady of the Principality. Besides Caroline should have known from the very beginning that when Albert marry, his wife, the princess of Monaco will be the first lady.

 

[CrownPrincess5]

It's not like Monaco has a reservoir of charities either. Particularly for causes championing Monaco. There's what... the garden club, the Red Cross, Jeune J'écoute and FAM and a seniors club. There's a competition run on the Monegasque language every year. Slim pickings, don't you think?

Charities are not the only things royals could do.
I'm not saying they should do duties 365 days a year...what I'm saying is do something!
Trust me, like my mom would say "There's always something to do".

 

[Zonk]

I haven't seen the Paris Match article but is it an actual interview? And is this a respected magazine? The reason I question is this is based on ethics.

The reason I ask this is that years ago the Glamour magazine had Catherine Zeta Jones on the cover, with a detailed article inside. Well it turns out that she didn't sit for an article with the magazine, they used pictures that she had already taken and basically cut and pasted previous interviews that she had. Anything is possible these days.

 

[Thecia]

I really do hope the engagement is not for marketing purposes. I hope it's because they truly love each other. Could it be too that Albert wants to get married so that the throne doesn't pass to Andrea, but his own child?? I wonder that.

Apparently, there was a rumour sweeping Monaco last week that one of the reasons Albert got engaged was because he didn't want his sister's family succeeding him. But that's a rumour. I don't know how true it is.
And I agree, there is things to do on the promoting Monaco side. But I'm willing to give both of them a chance. In their short years on this earth so far, I can't expect them to get everything right. Hopefully, in the future though.

 

[Thecia]

I haven't seen the Paris Match article but is it an actual interview? ANd is this a respected magazine? THe reason I question is this is based on ethics.

The reason I ask this is that years ago the Glamour magazine had Catherine Zeta Jones on the cover, with a detailed article inside. Well it turns out that she didn't sit for an article with the magazine, they used pictures that she had already taken and basically cut and pasted previous interview that she had. Anything is possible these days.

I didn't get the mag so I don't know. Paris Match is far less gossipy than Point de Vue though. But it is still a gossip mag.