The Villa de Monaco, the rock where the Palais Princier and the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco are located, is a watchtower located on a rock above the coast from where the Grimaldis have observed for centuries the importance of the sea and, in recent decades, the need for its preservation. Prince Albert II of Monaco visited Barcelona on Tuesday and Wednesday to reaffirm his support for the protection of the ocean in all its extension, since, for the son of Rainero III and Grace Kelly, marine conservation has become a matter of State .
During his reign, Albert II has continued his father’s dream of expanding towards the Mediterranean, gaining ground from the sea with artificial extensions of land. The environmental impact that this entails on the small principality of 208 hectares with just 4.1 km of coastline has always been treated with respect by the prince. For example, in Le Portier’s design, the new 6-hectare extension of Monaco’s surface towards the sea that will be inaugurated in 2025. This will be the great project that will mark his reign and, despite the fact that the footprint on the coast is Inevitably, the project has been conceived at the express wish of the prince to be an ecological example that preserves the Mediterranean flora and fauna as much as possible.
On Tuesday, Prince Albert II starred in a scene of redemption when he inaugurated the exhibition It’s time to act, located in Port Vell until April 15. Just getting out of the car it started to rain, but the sun quickly came out and the rainbow gave the opportunity for a cinematic seafaring scene.
On Wednesday, during his speech at the opening of the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference, promoted by UNESCO and held at the Barcelona International Convention Center, the prince highlighted the importance of science “to take collective measures, anticipate challenges and find responsible solutions for them.” He also announced the launch of the next Monaco Explorations expedition, a scientific mission that aims to observe the ocean within the framework of a strategic initiative to protect certain maritime and coastal areas.
The Monegasque royal family, from its mixture of kingdom, family business and paradise for millionaires, has shown a special interest in the sea and science over the centuries. The current monarch’s great-great-grandfather, Albert I, dedicated much of his life to the study of the oceans. He liked maritime expeditions and discoveries and he was the one who created the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, whose director was the explorer Jacques Cousteau for decades.
In the years of the construction boom in the microstate, during the reign of Rainero III, Grace Kelly’s husband was a businessman who saw the sea as the only opportunity to expand his kingdom. He was nicknamed the builder prince in his attempt to develop Monaco’s economy to the maximum and increased the area of ??the principality by more than 20%. Meanwhile, he also attracted the world’s attention due to his marriage and the arrival of the jet set to its shores due to the transformation of Monaco into a paradise (not just fiscal).
Albert II has had the same responsibility as his entire generation, to progress with an eye toward environmental conservation, as he has demonstrated in his two days in Barcelona. “It is my duty to assume my part in the challenge posed to my generation: to find solutions to preserve our planet, our most precious asset,” he said after publishing L’Homme et l’Océan, his first book in which he detailed the challenges to conserve the oceans.
His children, Jaime, the crown prince, and his sister Gabriela, 9, are still young to get involved in environmental causes. But the daughter that Alberto had before marrying Princess Charlene, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, 32, who does not carry out official duties, does seem interested in humanitarian work because through her own foundation, The Jazmin Fund, she achieved a few years ago different actions in the Fiji islands.
