Princess Stéphanie’s children and their princely “normality”
Princess Stéphanie and her children Camille Gottlieb, Pauline and Louis Ducruet © Monaco Tribune / Théo Briand
In an exclusive interview with Vanity Fair, Louis and Pauline Ducruet and Camille Gottlieb talk about their childhood outside of the strictures of protocol, and about their personal ambitions.
They call Grace Kelly ‘Mémé des anges’ (Granny of the angels), French Vanity Fair reveals in an article published on 22 July. The affectionate nickname says a lot about how Princess Stephanie’s three children were brought up. Far from the inflexible etiquette of European courts – and in the United Kingdom – Louis (32), Pauline (31) and Camille Gottlieb (26) grew up in a “normal” Principality, as they like to say.
A sheltered childhood
They owe that normalcy to their mother, who, after a brief stint in the music business with the hit Ouragan, turned her back on the media spotlight to devote herself to her children and her charity work. Born in Monaco, Louis, Pauline and Camille spent a large part of their childhood in Auron, in the Mercantour, then in Switzerland during Stéphanie’s brief marriage to a member of the Knie circus.
Camille Gottlieb: “Helping others is a source of immense pride”
Purposeful career paths
They used that freedom to choose their own paths. Pauline launched her own fashion label, Alter Designs, after studying at Istituto Marangoni and the prestigious Parsons School in New York. “When you go to New York, Monaco seems really far away. Over there I was Pauline, a student who wanted to be a designer,” she says.
“We always had space to develop our personal interests,” she adds, after presenting a new swimwear collection inspired directly by Pool Position, the iconic label launched by her mother in 1985.
Louis, father of two little girls and a “very hands-on dad”, thrives on football. After playing for AS Monaco and a stint scouting for Nottingham Forest, he is now in charge of the Barbagiuans, an amateur team created by Albert II and humorously named after the local fried ravioli. The team now organises the Fight Aids Cup in aid of Stéphanie’s charity.
Princess Stéphanie talks about her family: “When something isn’t right, you need to say so”
Camille, the youngest daughter with blonde hair and blue eyes and a resemblance to Princess Grace, created CMC Consulting and actively campaigns against drink-driving with her non-profit Be Safe Monaco. “I’m outspoken, with a bit of a silly side from time to time, and a more official side,” she says.
Inheriting a legacy
Despite this quest for normality, the family history is still omnipresent. “My mother always told us that it’s impossible to have the life we have without thanking our grandfather, who gave everything to make Monaco what it is today,” says Camille Gottlieb, who only attended her first national holiday ceremony in 2021.
The three children got together on 22 July, along with Paul Pogba and Antoine Zeghdar, among others, at a party organised by Vanity Fair at Monte Carlo Beach to launch a special issue devoted to Monaco and Grace Kelly.