Gstaad Wedding for Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo

Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo were married at the Palace in Monaco on Saturday August 31, 2013. It was a civil ceremony held privately for friends and family only and not accessible for the public. The religious wedding will follow in December in Gstaad, Switzerland, and can be expected to be private again.

Monaco: Wedding Plans Revealed

The Palace in Monaco has announced that it wants to turn the city into a city of roses and become the world capital for romantics on the weekend of the wedding of Prince Albert to Charlene Wittstock. The wedding will be a two day affair with civil and religious ceremonies held separate days. 

Prince Albert, Princess Charlene of Monaco

Monaco: Title Conundrum

The title of the ruler of Monaco today is Prince of Monaco, and the conundrum starts there. The prince also styles himself Duc du Valentinois, just one of many French titles the family lays claim to. There lies the second conundrum. The Prince and other family members are addressed as His (or Her) Serene Highness, and that’s a third conundrum. 

Andrea Casiraghi of Monaco

Monaco and The Second World War

Like San Marino, Monaco was a neutral state during World War II. It was fiercely contested by Germany and Italy who had mutually exclusive ideas as to its future. Prince Louis II had been brought up in Germany and was a general in the French army. He played his connections for all they were worth in trying to keep the country afloat. 

Prince Louis II of Monaco

Puzzling Principles on Princes and Princesses

There are Princes and Princesses, and then there are Princes and Princesses. The problem lies in where they come from; the title of Prince does not mean the same thing depending on where it comes from. The puzzle is solvable, given some knowledge of geography and history. And some of the muddle derived from translating foreign titles into English. 

Pierre Casiraghi of Monaco