{"id":342560,"date":"2026-03-14T10:15:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T08:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/2026\/03\/in-pictures-prince-albert-ii-turns-68-amid-a-historic-year-for-monaco\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T10:16:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T08:16:03","slug":"in-pictures-prince-albert-ii-turns-68-amid-a-historic-year-for-monaco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/en\/2026\/03\/in-pictures-prince-albert-ii-turns-68-amid-a-historic-year-for-monaco\/","title":{"rendered":"In pictures: Prince Albert II Turns 68 amid a historic year for Monaco"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Saturday, 14 March, Prince Albert II celebrates his 68th birthday in a Principality that is preparing for some extraordinary events.<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\n\n

Before Pope Leo XIV sets foot in Monaco for the first time and La Vuelta transforms its streets into a cycling arena, we look back at some of the highlights of a year in which Prince Albert II has, once again, demonstrated the extent of his commitment.<\/p>\n\n

A Prince loyal to the Olympic Games<\/h2>\n\n
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\u00a9 Francesca Vieceli \/ IPA via ZUMA Press \/ Bestimage \/ Getty Images \/ IOC \/ Prince\u2019s Palace of Monaco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u00a9 Christian Petersen\/Getty Images \u2013 Prince\u2019s Palace of Monaco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

The start of 2026 offered Prince Albert II a doubly symbolic occasion. On Monday 2 February, he travelled to Milan for the opening of the 145th session of the International Olympic Committee at La Scala, before attending the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Friday 6 February.<\/p>\n\n

A return to Italy steeped in significance: on 10 February 2006, in the Olympic stands in Turin, he made his relationship with Charl\u00e8ne Wittstock official<\/a> before the eyes of the whole world. A member of the IOC since 1985 and himself a former Olympic bobsleigh athlete, the Sovereign has never strayed from the sporting values that shaped his life long before his accession to the throne.<\/p>\n\n

A Prince who safeguards the poles<\/strong><\/b><\/h2><\/h2>\n\n

Few heads of state have set foot in Antarctica. Prince Albert II did so in 2009, and since then, he has never ceased to champion its cause. On 14 January, as Honorary President of the Ice Memory Foundation, he attended the inauguration of the first ice sanctuary in Antarctica. Dug beneath the Franco-Italian Concordia station and maintained at -52\u00b0C, this cavern houses ice cores extracted from glaciers threatened by global warming.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Rocco Ascione – PNRA<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Carved out beneath the Franco-Italian Concordia station and kept at -52\u00b0C, this cavern houses ice cores extracted from glaciers threatened by global warming \u2013 millennia-old archives that Prince Albert II sought to protect: \u201cWe now have a historic responsibility to build up a heritage of glacial archives for our children.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 World Curling<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In early March, after co-organising the Polar Symposium \u201cFrom the Arctic to the Antarctic<\/i>\u201d at the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco, he spoke in Rome at the Arctic Circle Forum to advocate for scientific cooperation and respect for indigenous communities, in the face of the ambitions of the major Arctic powers. These commitments build on his early polar expeditions and the ongoing work of his Foundation, established in 2006 to bring these causes to the international stage.<\/p>\n\n

The Prince welcomes the Supreme Pontiff<\/b><\/h2><\/h2>\n
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On 17 January, Prince Albert II travelled to the Vatican to meet the new Pope \u00a9 Vatican Media<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In two weeks\u2019 time, on Saturday 28 March, Monaco will experience an unprecedented moment in its history: the visit of Pope Leo XIV, the first Pope to set foot in the Principality since Paul III in 1538 \u2013 a gap of nearly five centuries. The programme includes a welcoming ceremony in the Cour d\u2019Honneur of the Palace at 9.25 am, joint addresses from the balcony at 10.10 am, a journey in the popemobile<\/a> to the Cathedral and the Church of Sainte-D\u00e9vote, followed by a public mass at the Stade Louis-II at 3.30 pm.<\/p>\n

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A historic visit by Pope Leo XIV to Monaco will take place on 28 March \u00a9 Vatican Media<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Whilst this exceptional event illustrates the strong spiritual ties that unite Monaco and the Vatican, Prince Albert II was also among the first to congratulate Pope Leo XIV<\/a> upon his election in May 2025.<\/p>\n\n

A Prince, a voice for peace at the UN<\/strong><\/b><\/h2><\/h2>\n
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On 24 September, Prince Albert II addressed the United Nations General Assembly \u00a9 Micha\u00ebl Alesi \/ Prince\u2019s Palace<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Prince Albert II consistently cultivates this diplomatic dimension. In September 2025, during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, he called for strengthened multilateralism<\/a>, recalling the founding values of international cooperation at a time of growing tensions.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Micha\u00ebl Alesi \u2013 Prince\u2019s Palace<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

On the sidelines of that same session, Prince Albert II took a historic diplomatic step: on 22 September, at a conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, he formalised Monaco\u2019s recognition of the State of Palestine<\/a>. \u201cPeace cannot be decreed; it is built through a shared determination,\u201d he concluded before the General Assembly.<\/p>\n\n

A Prince with a passion for sport<\/strong><\/b><\/h2><\/h2>\n
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\u00a9 Communications Department \u2013 Manuel Vitali<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Sovereign\u2019s commitment to sport<\/a> is not limited to the Olympic Games. In September 2025, he travelled to Kigali, Rwanda, to attend the first World Cycling Championships held on the African continent. A month later, on Monday 27 October, helmet on his head, he mounted his bike to ride the 9.6 kilometres of the future inaugural time trial of La Vuelta 2026 himself, alongside the race\u2019s general manager and professional cyclists.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Communications Department \u2013 St\u00e9phane Danna<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Monaco will host the grand departure of the Tour of Spain on Saturday 22 August 2026, thereby becoming the only city-state in the world to have hosted the start of all three Grand Tours: the Giro in 1966, the Tour de France in 2009, and now La Vuelta.<\/p>\n\n

A Prince who champions the Grimaldi heritage<\/strong><\/b><\/h2><\/h2>\n\n

Preserving the historical ties between Monaco and its former European strongholds is one of the guiding principles of Prince Albert II\u2019s reign. In June 2025, the entire Princely Family accompanied him to Place du Palais to inaugurate the 6th Meeting of Grimaldi Historical Sites<\/a>. Eight French and Italian municipalities had made the journey for two days of festivities.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Nebinger \/ Prince\u2019s Palace<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>
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\u00a9 Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Nebinger \/ Prince\u2019s Palace<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A few months later, on 10 October 2025, Prince Albert II gathered elected representatives from some 150 French and Italian local authorities<\/a> at the Monaco Yacht Club to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this network, launched in 2015 on the initiative of the former mayor of Menton, Jean-Claude Guibal. A network stretching from Alsace to Calabria, from Brittany to Puglia.<\/p>\n\n

In images: Prince Albert II visits Italy to honour his Grimaldi ancestors<\/a><\/blockquote>