At 67, Prince Albert II of Monaco Lives in Family Harmony 0 41

Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene, along with their children, opened a Christmas village in the capital of the principality.

The family appeared on the Albert I promenade, named after the predecessor of the current ruler of this microstate. 47-year-old Charlene wore a long fur-trimmed coat, 10-year-old Princess Gabriella posed in a plush fur coat, while her twin brother, Hereditary Prince Jacques, wore a classic-cut jacket.

Earlier, the princely family lit the Christmas tree in Monaco, and before that, they appeared in public with other members of the monarchy.

67-year-old Albert II (full name — Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi) is the son of Prince Rainier III and his wife, Hollywood actress Grace Kelly, who died in a car accident when Albert was 24 years old. He has been married since 2011 to Olympic athlete Charlene Wittstock. In addition to his children with Charlene, Albert II has two officially recognized older illegitimate children from different mothers, who have no rights to the throne.

Previously, former advisor to the Prince of Monaco Robert Eringer spoke about Albert II's friendship with Vladimir Putin. According to Robert Eringer, the presence of the "Russian mafia" in Monaco in the 2000s became so obvious that Albert II feared the onset of loud conflicts and shootouts. More than 60 Russians lived in Monaco, and one of Eringer's tasks was to investigate those among them "whose hands were stained with blood and who were involved in money laundering."

"Putin uses Albert. Although initially it was the other way around. In 2006, Albert planned an expedition to the North Pole, and he needed a base from which he could start. The Russians agreed to help, and then accompanied the prince to the North Pole. Of course, this required a lot of preparation. At that time, Putin decided to invite Albert to a state dinner at the Kremlin. During this reception, Putin told Albert that he would like to present him with a gift. This was a dacha that Putin commissioned to be built in Monaco wherever Albert wished. And Albert agreed to accept such a gift. Albert is used to receiving gifts. I think he wants to be polite and therefore accepts gifts from everyone. But Albert overlooked the fact that, as a member of the IOC, he was accepting a gift from the leadership of a country that claims to host the Olympic Games. This contradicts the IOC's code of ethics. Perhaps, however, he has not read this code. I do not think that this dacha is very necessary for him; I have never noticed any greed in him. But, be that as it may, he accepted the gift.

And, a few months later, Russian workers built the dacha in the area of Roc Agel. This is French territory, but it contains family princely estates. And, of course, Albert voted for Sochi and was generally one of the main lobbyists for the Russian candidacy.