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Tuesday saw the The European Court of Human Rights reject Monaco’s Princess Caroline’s lawsuit of a German magazine that published photos of her and husband Prince Ernst August of Hanover in 2002. This ruling is being seen as giving support to the European media’s right to report on celebrities.
 Click here for photos of the Princess The photos were taken while the couple were on skiing trip as Caroline’s father, the late Prince Rainier III, was growing ever more ill. The Princess cited that the magazine, Frau im Spiegel, violated hers and her family’s privacy during the difficult time by publishing the photos alongside a story about the ailing Monegasque ruler.
A German court had initially cited that the media had the right to report on the Monegasque royals “reconciled their obligations of family solidarity with the legitimate needs of their private life.” That was when Princess Caroline and Prince Ernst August took their case to the ECHR in 2008.
The European Court, based in Strasbourg, France, cited Caroline and her lawyers “had not provided any evidence that the photos had been taken in a climate of general harassment, as they had alleged, or that they had been taken secretly.”
“The photo, in the context of the article, did at least to some degree contribute to a debate of general interest,” the European court said in a statement. “The German courts characterization of Prince Rainier’s illness as an event of contemporary society could not be considered unreasonable.”
The Court noted that the Princess has sought privacy for her and her family for many years. In June 2004, she got the ECHR to condemn the German publication of photos of her at the Monte Carlo Beach Club. The court said her rights were violated under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
This ruling could also harm Caroline’s daughter, Charlotte Casiraghi’s chances of winning her lawsuit against the paparazzi, which she filed for last month.
Sources: BBC, New York Times, Wikipedia
 Click here for more photos at Daylife.com For the first time, Princess Charlene of Monaco has something in the tiny principality that bears her name.
On Wednesday, she and husband Prince Albert II opened the Princess Charlene Home for Children, a shelter intended for youths having family problems.
Dressed in a red coat, Her Serene Highness toured the facility with Monaco’s sovereign by her side. They checked out the dorms, the den, and even played a game of fooseball.
A photo of the Princely couple on their wedding day hangs in the shelter along with an abstract picture of Charlene.
On Thursday, Monaco celebrated the feast day of its patron saint, Devote. The celebrations are a big part of the tiny principality’s heritage, so its Princely family would obviously take part in them.
 Click here to view gallery at Daylife.com In the evening, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene – who marked her 34th birthday Wednesday – lit a fisherman’s boat on fire with torches on the beaches of Monaco. With them was Albert’s sister, Princess Caroline and her youngest daughter, Princess Alexandra.
This is done to commemorate the burning of a ship on the beach of Monaco, when the captain was caught after stealing the relics of Sainte Devote. Burning a fisherman’s boat has been a tradition since Prince Louis II began it in 1924.
The next morning, there was a mass held at the cathedral. Albert and Charlene then appeared on the palace balcony before the bishop and Monegasque priests.
One should remember that during her July 2nd wedding ceremony, Charlene placed her bouquet at the shrine of Sainte Devote. That is part of the tradition in Monaco.
For future reference, Albert and Charlene will be traveling to the United States in late February to attend the Academy Awards. Keep an eye out that day to see how the Princess of Monaco lights up the red carpet!
Sources: Pure People
One of Monaco’s most exciting events, the 36th International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo, opened Thursday at the Chapiteau de Fontvieille. With Princess Stephanie as its president, and most of her family in attendance, the Circus Festival got off to a joyous start.
 Click here for photos of the opening day With her two daughters, Pauline Ducruet and Camille Gottlieb, by her side, plus Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, Her Serene Highness inaugurated this year’s festival. The first competition show took place Thursday and will run until Tuesday. There will be circus performances, parades through Monaco, and a charity soccer match. After the competition, each winner will perform up until January 29th.
In the days leading up to the opening day, Princess Stephanie visited a circus exhibition at Monaco’s Oceanographic Museum. She also spoke to the newspaper, Nice Matin, about keeping the love of the circus in the family.
“I do not lie when I say that I am part of this large family in which my children and I can always count on. We have the same values, those people loyal and rights of self-transcendence to give dreams to people. The best quality of the circus, it’s true. It leaves its problems at home, it does not complain. In a sanitized world, computerized, self-centered, the circus continues with its values,and that is what saves us. And I would fight all my life to defend the true values,” Stephanie said.
New this year for the circus festival is the New Generation, which celebrates the youth involved in the entertainment. The Princess is the president of this event while her eldest daughter, Pauline, will be the president of the jury. It will be held in the first week of February.
“It was a bit of our vocation to support a festival for young artists who will be moved on the track alike,” Stephanie told Nice Matin. “It will be a real show, with a numberof animals performed by children, which is unique. A troupe of acrobats from Monaco and the school students trail of blue, our only regional school that does a great job, will also attend. Perhaps some of these artists will return one day to the “big” festival.”
Princess Stephanie first served on the jury of the International Circus Festival in 1974 when she just was nine years old.
Sources: Nice Matin, Monte Carlo Festival
 Click here for more photos of Charlotte Casiraghi Charlotte Casiraghi, the eldest daughter of Monaco’s Princess Caroline, has filed a lawsuit against the paparazzi, citing they regularly intrude on her personal life.
Her lawyer, Alain Toucas, says his client goes through”daily hell” and is “pursued relentlessly day and night by dozens of individuals and/or photographers.”
Toucas, who calls Ms. Casiraghi a Princess even though she is not one, compares her to the late Princess Diana, who was hounded daily up until her 1997 death.
25 year old Charlotte, who is a show jumper, recently made headlines when she broke up with Alex Dellal, her boyfriend of several years and began dating French actor Gad Elmaleh.
Her mother, Princess Caroline, won a landmark suit against the paparazzi in 2004 when the European Court of Human Rights granted her right to privacy.
Sources: AFP, ¡Hola! Magazine, Wikipedia
The Prince of Monaco was unanimously voted by the International Olympic Committee and the World Olympic Association to be the latter’s patron on Thursday. Prince Albert II is a five time Winter Olympian and has been an IOC member since 1985.
 Click here for pics of Prince Albert II WOA president Joël Bouzou said: “It is a tremendous honour for the World Olympians Association to have His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco as the new patron of our organization. He is an Olympian and a true humanist who has always believed that the values of sport can change lives and can change society for the better.”
“His involvement and advocacy will greatly increase our influence and will make a huge difference to convince new stakeholders that Olympians across the globe can and should contribute to improve the world in which we live. I can’t thank him enough for his support.”
Albert now succeeds the late Juan Antonio Samaranch as the WOA’s patron. Samaranch was once president of the IOC.
This news comes as the Prince is at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria from Friday, January 13th to January 22nd.
Sources: Sports Pro Media
 Click here to see more photos at Getty Images This past Friday saw Princess Stephanie of Monaco stop by the Hector Otto Foundation, which is a nursing home. She was there to give out Christmas presents to the elderly at the home.
It appears that Monaco’s Princely family are very generous during the Christmas season. Last week, Stephanie’s brother and sister-in-law, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, gave out gifts to the children of Monaco at the royal palace.
How lovely to have such a hands on family!
Source: Pure People
In Berlin Saturday, Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco was the recipient of the golden heart award at the Ein Herz fur Kinder (A Heart for Children) ceremony. She won for teaching poor and handicapped children to swim in her native South Africa.
 Check out more photos here The German publication, Bild, interviewed Charlene about how she spent years teaching young girls to swim. The Princess is a former Olympic swimmer, so in more ways than one, she was a good teacher for them.
“The feeling that it is worthwhile to fight for something, I wanted to pass on,” she told the magazine. Charlene won her first medal in a swimming competition at age 8.
“Charlene gave me confidence. She gave me the feeling of being valuable,” said 21 year old Beth, who represented South Africa during the 2008 Paralympics. Beth suffered from polio as a baby, but had the now Monegasque Princess to help her.
“It was Beth’s love for swimming and her incredible will to want to reach more and more,” Charlene explained to Bild. “It may be more about the reward than the joy in their eyes you can not get.”
Recently, she began the Princess Charlene Foundation which is meant to help the disadvantaged.
“I want to pass on some of my happiness,” she said.
In addition to winning recognition for her charity work, the Princess was nominated by the World Open Water Swimming Association for her participation in this year’s Midmar Mile race and for influencing open water swimming.
Sourcs: Bild, Open Water Swimming
 Check out more photos here Dozens of Monegasque children gathered at the royal palace for the annual handing out of presents by their Sovereign, Prince Albert II and his wife, Princess Charlene.
The couple were the only royals this year doing this tradition. But no matter, Albert and Charlene appeared to have loads of fun interacting with the kids while giving them their gifts.
Earlier in the week, Prince Albert stopped by a senior citizens’ home to give out gifts to the residents.
Source: Pure People
 Check out more photos here The eldest son of Monaco’s Princess Caroline became a member of an unorthodox order Monday.
27 year old Andrea Casiraghi is now part of the Order of the Golden Tankard. Begun in 1963 by Bernard Marchand, the Order celebrates none other than beer. It’s mission is to “defend and illustrate” the cultural and gastronomic quality beer.
Andrea’s uncle, Prince Albert II, is patron of the Order and was present for his eldest nephew’s installment as a member.
Andrea received a medal and a big handshake from Monaco’s sovereign Prince.
The event was held at the Hotel de Paris, which has been showcasing the annual gathering since 1993. Besides celebrating its newest member, the Order spent the night testing wine and beer.
Many Belgians were attendance, which is natural since Belgian beer is quite popular worldwide.
Source: Pure People
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