Princess Caroline of Monaco’s husband, Prince Ernst August of Hannover, is currently on trial in Germany for the January 2000 beating of a Kenyan hotel owner.

This trial, a retrial of a 2004 verdict, is expected to last 11 days and may include testimony by Princess Caroline, a witness to the reported beating. Although the reported attack occurred in Kenya, the trial is being held in Germany under special laws for foreigners.

More information from the Associated Press report is available here and discussion of Their Royal Highness’ current events are here.

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Monaco’s annual Garden Club event opened today to much fanfare.

The Garden Club, begun in 1968 by Prince Albert and Princess Caroline’s mother, the late Princess Grace of Monaco, holds the show annually in Monaco to “promote the art of flower arrangement.”

Click for 2009 photos from Belga

Princess Grace’s interest in arrangement started when she arrived in Monaco and assumed approval authority for the Palace’s arrangements.  During the first few years, the Princess’s few arrangement blunders lead her to depend heavily on Prince Rainier’s skills in the area.  In support his wife and of the annual event, Prince Rainier often entered his own creations in the contest, under assumed names, winning several prizes for his efforts.  After Princess Grace’s tragic death in 1982, Princess Caroline became President of the Club.

Click for past photos at Getty

The annual show, held in the “Rêveries sur les Jardins” had entries in more than 8 categories. Opening the show were His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, his sister Her Royal Highness Princess Caroline and the Princess’s husband Prince Ernst of Hanover.  This particular appearance is Prince Ernst’s first since missing the annual Rose Ball after a fall requiring emergency knee surgery.

More information and photos are available in this thread.

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Monaco’s annual Rose Ball (Bal de la Rose), benefiting the Princess Grace Foundation Monaco, is scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 9:00 PM at the Salle des Etoiles – Sporting in Monte-Carlo.

Click the image to see the gallery at Zimbio

Monaco’s annual Rose Ball (Bal de la Rose), the primary fund raiser held to benefit the Princess Grace Foundation, is believed to be first held in 1964.  The Ball exclusively benefits the Monaco branch of the foundation as opposed to the US branch which is supported by the Princess Grace Awards Gala. Multiple published and official sources report that the late Princess Grace originally arranged the event to support her own philanthropic efforts and to help fund the American Hospital in Paris.

Both Prince Albert and Princess Caroline assumed the arrangements for the Ball from their Mother and are quite active in choosing the music, the theme and even the menu for the evening.  Each year’s theme is unique.  While this year’s theme is “Rock’nRoll,”  past themes have included “Pop,” “Movida,” “Latin America,” “Caribbean,” and “Africa.”

Members of the Soverign family traditionally attend the ball after age 17. Princess Stephanie made her first appearance in 1982 (the last Ball before her Mother’s tragic death) and Princess Caroline’s children first attended in 2006. Prince Albert’s aunt HSH Princess Antoinette, her surviving daughter and a granddaughter regularly attend with the family.

This year’s ball attendance will not include Princess Caroline’s husband, the Prince of Hanover after doctors announced that he needed to stay in the hospital for a few days after a fall and subsequent surgery on Thursday.  Princess Caroline’s attendance has not been confirmed.

A photographic retrospective of the ball is available here while pictures and information about this year’s ball will be posted in realtime here.

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  It has been reported by the Austrian and foreign press agencies that HRH Prince Ernst August of Hanover, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, is in good condition after suffering an injury to a knee ligament following a fall on Thursday in Schruns, Vorarlberg, Austria.

Click the image to see the photo at welfen.de

The Prince is currently in the hospital recovering from surgery after suffering from a “laceration of his quadriceps knee ligament as well as a bruising of his right forearm.” His Royal Highness slipped on ice while exiting a car and is now sporting a plaster cast and preparing for physical therapy.

It has been confirmed that the Prince will not make an appearance at Monaco’s annual ‘Bal de la Rose,’ benefiting the Princess Grace foundation on Saturday, as his doctors confirm they expect him to continue to recuperate in the hospital for several days. There has been no confirmation regarding the Princess of Hanover’s attendance or that of her children.

More information is available here.

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