Prince Albert took over Monaco's royal powers on Thursday, assuming all but the throne in the tiny principality after a royal commission decided that his critically ill father was too sick to perform his duties.
The announcement by the royal palace marked the first time since 1949 that Prince Rainier III -- Europe's longest-serving ruler -- had not been in control of the Mediterranean realm smaller than New York's Central Park and famed as a playground for the rich and famous.
Albert, 47, is the only son of Rainier and his late wife Grace Kelly, the American beauty who exchanged Hollywood stardom for the life of a princess.
Well-traveled, multilingual and Monaco's top ambassador in recent years, the unmarried Albert is regarded as a shy, even reluctant, heir. Sports are a love: He is a five-time bobsledding Olympian and has headed Monaco's Olympic Committee since 1994.
Albert promised to devote himself "with strength, conviction and passion" to his new role as regent.
"The state of health of our father remains very fragile," he said in a statement. "Today, faced with the difficulty for my father in exercising his high functions, I will assume all of the royal powers in his name."
Rainier, 81, was hospitalized on March 7 and has been in intensive care for 10 days with breathing, kidney and heart problems, although he remains in stable condition.
The Council of the Crown, a commission appointed by Rainier, met on Thursday at the royal palace and decided after weighing his doctors' diagnosis that the ailing prince can no longer rule.
The regency means Albert takes over royal powers while Rainier is sick, but his father could regain them if he recovers, said palace spokesman Armand Deus.
"The sovereign prince is still Prince Rainier III," Deus said.
Albert has been groomed to rule the principality run for seven centuries by his family -- the Grimaldis.
But he has remained heirless -- causing such concern that the Constitution was revised in 2002 to ensure the continuation of the dynasty. His older sister -- Princess Caroline, now 48 -- would succeed him. She in turn, would be succeeded by her oldest son, Andrea Albert Pierre, now 20.
Albert studied in the US, at Amherst College, in Massachusetts, after receiving his high school baccalaureate diploma in 1976.
He returned home in 1981 after being awarded a degree in political science.
Befriended by numerous celebrities, Albert has remained doggedly his own person and, despite his retiring nature, increasingly assumed the role as Monaco's public face as his father grew frail.
"We were waiting for this," said Carlos Gonzales, a Monaco tour guide. "This is a way of saying his [Prince Rainier's] condition is irreversible. We all knew the end was coming."
Elsewhere in Monaco, life went on as normal. A construction crew was at work repaving the streets near the Monte Carlo Casino that are part of the Formula One circuit in the upcoming Grand Prix.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number