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Albert II (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre, born 14 March 1958) is the Sovereign Prince of Monaco and head of the House of Grimaldi. He succeeded his father, Prince Rainier III, on 6 April 2005 [1]. This page uses only the information published by the Prince's Palace of Monaco.
Accession
The Palace states that Albert II succeeded his father, Prince Rainier III, who died on 6 April 2005, and that his accession was celebrated on 12 July 2005, at the end of the period of official mourning [1]. Since 1984 he had assisted his father in the conduct of State affairs [1].
Education and training
After obtaining his baccalauréat with distinction at the Lycée Albert Ier in Monaco, he studied at Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he took a degree in political science [1]. The Palace also records a training period aboard the French Navy helicopter carrier Jeanne d'Arc, after which he held the rank of reserve lieutenant commander (capitaine de corvette), and internships in communication, finance and marketing with companies in New York and Paris [1].
International and environmental work
The Prince has led Monaco's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly since 28 May 1993 [1]. The Palace highlights his expeditions to the North Pole and to Antarctica and his creation of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, devoted to protecting the environment, with three priority areas: climate change, biodiversity and water [1].
Family
On 1 July 2011 he married Charlène Wittstock in a civil ceremony in the Throne Room of the Prince's Palace, followed by a religious ceremony on 2 July in the Palace's Main Courtyard [2]. Their twins, Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, were born on 10 December 2014 [2][3].
Licence: this article is original GOTHA text, released under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Its sources are summarised or briefly quoted.