RECENT FINANCIAL SCANDAL IN MONACO? IS PRINCE ALBERT'S FORTUNE HIS TO SPEND AS HE SEES FIT?

Ah, Monaco. One of the tiniest and wealthiest countries in the world, and a cast of characters worthy of any classic Greek play.  Can you really walk across it in a half hour or less?  You can!  It's jammed with wealthy and powerful individuals and Prince Albert II is the Head of State as well as one of the busiest men on earth.

To start, the scandal first began with the possibility that the businessmen involved were profiting personally or taking more money than due them, but extended to criticism about how Albert spends his own fortune.

For this I first reference TOWN AND COUNTRY MAGAZINE : MONACO - ALBERT II - FINANCIAL ADVISORS by Simon Usborne from February 2024

The suggestion of financial scandal began in 2021 and the first reveal was via YouTube! Some of the Prince's long time advisors were involved in the scandal.  Was there anyone left to trust?

Excerpt: In a kind of Wikileaks-sur-mer, the site began posting scanned and lightly redacted documents, including supposed e-mails and bank statements that, "if we are to believe the veracity of these documents" as the newspaper Le Monde cautioned, accused these four men in particular of exploiting their positions and princely patronage to extract enormous wealth from Monaco's superprime real estate market, allegations they were swift to categorically deny.

By June 2023, the once trusting Prince had asked all four men to resign.  

NEW YORK POST : INSIDE DANGEROUS SPENDING : HOW ALBERT SPENDS (HIS PERSONAL FORTUNE IS A BILLION OR MORE)

Reading around this scandal, the Prince's expenditures including an allowance for Princess Charlene and a payment of her overdrafts, allowances for Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie, as well as generosity to his daughter Jazmin's New York apartment and an allowance for his son, Alexandre. Nicole Coste's once received $850,000 a year but also "decamped" to live in London.  (A man buying his mistress a place to live in for the rest of her life, or which she can sell if in need after the relationship is over is a very good idea.)

So here's my take:  The expenditures for houses, allowances, and so on, for those closest to Albert II are really not all that much considering the cost of things in Monaco and the expenditures related to public appearances that include social events.  Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie have their own financial resources as well as may some others. I suspect that even with designers possibly giving deals to the beautiful and famous family of Monaco so as to wear their clothing, the need to appear fashionable in keeping with the marketing of Monaco as one of the most expensive destinations on earth means a lot of the money is spent on clothing and jewelry. 

Could YOU afford to live in Monaco? Some websites suggest that about $10,000 a month is average for a single person.

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NICOLE COSTE and ALBERT II OF MONACO KEPT THEIR RELATIONSHIP A SECRET FOR SIX YEARS - THEN SHE WENT TO THE MEDIA TO REVEAL IT

THE LIST : NICOLE COSTE AND ALBERT II FEUD MONACO  By Hannah Rice  August 2023

According to this article, Albert and Nicole arrived at the same events in Monaco separately, so as to keep their relationship a secret. They met in 1997 when he was on a plane and she was the stewardess for 1st class travelers. It might have been love at first sight for the both of them.  Their son was born in 2003 and then the status of the relationship and Nicole's in Albert's life - as well as what she was or was not to the citizens of Monaco - became a difficult question.

Excerpt: ...For one thing, it is understood that Prince Albert was not at the hospital when Alexandre was born, leaving Nicole to undergo the pains of childbirth solo.  For another, he was not exactly quick to claim paternity.

On the contrary, Albert dragged his feet on the matter, allowing weeks, and then months, to pass by without taking responsibility for his first-born son.  As explained in the French tabloid L'Express, Nicole had to fight her ex-boyfriend step-by-step on the matter and struggled to obtain proof that Albert was, indeed, Alexandre's father.  In terms of genetic evidence, it has been reported that Albert took a top-secret D.N.A. test, which was performed at a lab in Switzerland.  However, this was only one step in what L'Express called a "long and tough negotiation" between the former lovers.

Missy here!  I don't think that going to the media for resolving relationship issues is the best idea. That Nicole did this tells me she was frustrated with Albert. And also that Albert did not entirely trust or believe Nicole. In this article Nicole spoke of Princess Charlene and a rivalry is revealed. 

But what we want to know is if Nicole is at all responsible for Charlene's long stay in Africa and eventually return to Monaco, only to then head to weeks in a Swiss clinic to address a mystery ailment.  So very many rumors plague these people. 

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NICOLE COSTE and CHARLENE WITTSOCK'S RELATIONSHIP BEFORE PRINCE ALBERT II "THE PLAYBOY PRINCE" MARRIED CHARLENE? NICOLE COMPLAINS TO THE MEDIA IN 2014.

Although it's certain that Albert II of Monaco and Nicole Coste had a relationship, as their son Alexandre, born in August 2003 has proven, exactly how the Prince was proceeding with Charlene Wittstock is not known.

Albert met Nicole in 1997. 

He and Charlene met in 2000 in Monaco where Charlene was in a swimming competition, and their engagement was announced by the palace June, 2010. They were married in July 2011. So we can figure that the Prince had both women in his life, in some way, for at least a couple years before the birth of Alexandre, and continuing on.

Were the two women rivals for the Prince for some time? Truthfully we do not know that. But we do wonder.... Since we know here at Mistress Manifesto that adultery is not required to have or be a Mistress, it is actually a question of when Albert had Nicole as a Mistress AND when he had Charlene as a Mistress.

Tricky, because it's implied that being a Mistress has to do with a man providing financial advantages to a woman who may have her own work or career.  Due to his fabulous wealth, no doubt he made Nicole's life easier, and as for Charlene, I would say yes he did.

However, in April of 2005, Prince Rainier, Albert's father died, and he was the heir to the throne, which he formally took to in July of 2005. He admitted to having a two year old son.  (He had also admitted to having a daughter as the result of an affair previously.) 

DAILY MAIL :PRINCE ALBERT NOT SEEING SON SINCE MARRYING PRINCESS CHARLENE? by Alexis Parr for Mailonline  published in April 2014

In this article it is stated that Nicole and Albert had a six year relationship.

Excerpt:

In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, Nicole, who has fought hard - but unsuccessfully - for Alexandre to be recognized as a prince, tells how she was shunned by Monaco society and left to explain to her tearful son why his father no longer sees him.

'The truth is that, I'm sorry to say, Albert hasn't seen Alexandre since a brief visit last September.  It has become impossible since he married that girl,' she says referring to Charlene, 36. 'I suppose as a new wife, how would one feel? But she should think about my innocent child.  I don't want to attack her but I think it is just jealousy and I don't know why.  I have been through hell in my fight for my son's name and future.'

Understandably loath to go into the detail about her son's distress, Nicole leaves it to a close confidante to explain how the distance has affected her son. 'Alexandre misses his daddy dreadfully,' the friend says. 'He has started to feel sad and rejected. He asks, "Why can't I see Daddy?" He has to be told that his father is busy.'

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CARNATION : THE NATIONAL FLOWER OF MONACO

The carnation is the national flower of Monaco.

 

NICOLE COSTE : PRINCE ALBERT II IS RUMORED TO HAVE BEEN BANNED FROM MARRYING HER BY HIS FATHER : HER LOVE CHILD WITH THE PRINCE IS ACCEPTED AND REACHES ADULTHOOD

Back in September 2010, I elected NICOLE COSTE as Mistress of the Month. It's time to update ourselves on this beautiful African woman who, as Mistress of Prince Albert II of Monaco, is rumored to have wanted to marry back in the day before he did marry his forever wife, Princess Charlene. The son of Nicole and Albert, Alexandre, has been featured in more recent magazine and news stories as reaching adulthood as an accepted member of Prince Albert's family. It's not easy to sort through media and know for sure what's true and what is not about these relationships. For instance, I'm skeptical of the stories that Princess Charlene, Prince Albert II's wife, tried to flee her wedding and I dislike the misinterpretation of her emotional tears at the wedding as negative. But Charlene did go to Africa in recent years and stay there for a suspiciously long time, and then after a return to Monaco, entered a Swiss clinic. People do wonder at the status of Charlene's marriage to Albert and if Albert persists in faithfulness and loyalty to Charlene.

Let's start with the posts from 2010 and I'll add the updates.

- Missy

Here's what I posted in September 2010:

Nicole Valérie Tossoukpé, now called NICOLE COSTE, was a flight attendant from the African country of Togo when worldly Prince Albert of Monaco met her, and things were so good between them that Albert, who some say has outdone Mick Jagger when it comes to the numbers of women he has had, decided to set her up in Paris as his mistress. A few years into it, the couple had a son, Alexandre. Albert wanted to marry Nicole but his father said no...***

Now, I looked around the net for information and picture on NICOLE COSTE, and I'm linking to this one (click on the title above); it has some great pictures of the couple together and Albert with his son as well as strong suggestions that Monaco look no further for it's heir. Yes, there are some who want little Alexandre to become the heir to the throne and I know - Albert is marrying Charlene  - sometime in July 2011 - but this is MISTRESS MANIFESTO BLOGSPOT!

Just a few months ago Nicole emerged at Cannes...

C 2010-2015 Mistress Manifesto First published September 1, 2010

 

NICOLE COSTE BRINGS FORTH HER CHARITY 2010!

Miss Afrique 2010, first beauty contest of its kind on African soil ... NICOLE CONTE is busy, looking terrific, and doing something important with her life! The contest was partially sponsored by Nicole's charity...

*** In 2025 I still hear and read this.

NICOLE VALERIE COSTE

Nicole Valérie Tossoukpé

1971- present

She legally changed her surname to Coste in November 2004.

She has two sons from a previous marriage.

She and Albert II met on an Air France flight where she served as a 1st Class flight attendant.

This month I will go further with the Nicole Coste story than I did years ago. Although there may once have been talk of marriage, and Nicole has in interviews promoted the idea that the people of Monaco love her and that she could well as a Princess, it is also true that she is accused of having a rivalry with Princess Charlene and possibly the cause of Charlene's distress. She may or may not have had men in her life since Albert but if so, this seems to be a secret. Paris and London figure in her story too, not just Monaco.

If you would like to read past coverage about Monaco, you may want to visit my archives!

January  2015  

The GRIMALDI CURSE and the MISTRESSES OF THE PRINCES OF MONACO

C2010 Mistress Manifesto - BlogSpot  First published September 9, 2010

C2025 Mistress Manifesto - BlogSpot

LILLIE LANGTRY "THE JERSEY LILY" SINGS ON THE MARGATE BOAT 1903

I searched for the silent film that Lillie Langtry made - just one - and apparently a copy does not exist.  However, the model -actress-singer did record some songs and this YouTube video was a find. It also has many a photograph.  She was a Pear's Soap model and is credited as the first celebrity to endorse a product during her early days.

The Margate Boat was recorded in 1903. (She was in midlife.)

The one film she appeared in, in 1913, was titled "His Neighbor's Wife." (She was nearing her senior years.)

Born in 1853, the woman born Emilie Charlotte de Bathe, known to the world as an model, actress, singer - and Royal Mistress, died in 1929 in Monaco, age 75.

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LILLIE LANGTRY : A NEW HUSBAND INFLUENCES HER TO SELL OUT OF THE HORSE AND RACING BUSINESS

Excerpt pages 247-248

In 1899, when she was forty-five, she married Hugo de Bathe. He was an odd choice for her.  He was nineteen years younger than her and he had no money to speak of. His main attraction seems to have been his father's title and Lillie would become Lady de Bathe. She was able to go ahead with the marriage with a clear conscious, because her troublesome first husband, Edward, had died of a brain hemorrhage in an insane asylum just over a year earlier, ending the speculation over the validity of her Californian divorce.

Hugo persuaded Lillie to sell her riding stable and horses, because he didn't think it was proper for a woman to own racehorses. The couple lived on Jersey for a time, but when Hugo volunteered for army service in the Boer War and left for South Africa, she returned to London and resurrected her stage career. Initially, she was just as successful as before, but her appeal was slowly waning. She tired vaudeville in New York and she made a film. In 1907, her marriage to Hugo finally paid off. Hugo's father died and she became Lady de Bathe....

It's my suspicion that Lillie supported her younger husband and that they both went their separate ways without considering divorce. In this way during the Victorian Era both would have been considered more respectable.   

I have a question for you: Have you given up a business in order to keep a relationship?

MARIA CALLAS : METAMORPHASIS : THE END OF MARRIAGES andTHE BEGINNINGS OF A DIFFICULT RELATIONSHIP WITH ARISTOTLE ONASSIS

In her early thirties, soprano opera star Maria Callas finally lost the weight  that had plagued her and became fashionable. On stage she wore gorgeous costumes but it was now the time in her life to dress for her fans, the international public. In 1954 Maria went to a Swiss clinic where she accepted a new type of weight loss medical treatment; Special shots to stimulate the weight loss and injections into her thyroid. She lost 140 pounds and developed an hour-glass figure. She also had her teeth capped and surgery to slim her upper arms and lift her eyes. She had spa treatments like massages and facials. But the more fascinating fiction was the rumor that she had swallowed a tape worm in a glass of champagne out of desperation!

Then Maria Callas went out shopping and bought in excess. She possessed hundreds of dresses, hats, and shoes.

She was recording. She was performing. Her new beauty attracted to her even more men fans. Yet she was very married, and by the Italian way of thinking, however her confidence improved with her appearance, however "flirty" she might be at times, she was off limits.  Even if her marriage was one of "convenience" and her husband was rumored to go for fat prostitutes?

By 1949, Maria may have reached her most commanding and demanding phase, the Diva phase, you could say. She was having issues with her contracts, lawsuits had started to fly, and she was cast in the press as not just difficult, but a tyrant. However, she was also doing interviews and performances on television. Would we in our feminist consciousness think she was too demanding? Hadn't she earned the right to defy her husband as agent?

Her reason for living was singing but, some realized that her voice was in decline. After years of training and exercise, the sour or shrill note was noticed. In the 1958-1959 contract era, Maria Callas was fired from the Metropolitan, the opera company in New York that had been her goal in coming to America all those years before because she hesitated to sign the contract. However, she made appearances in many other cities in America and Europe and these productions might not have been the Met, but they were sold out.

And Maria Callas still wanted a child. Time was running out. She spoke of remarrying after her husband died just as rumors that she was infertile swirled. She was married when, after a performance, she met Aristotle Onassis and his much younger wife, Tina, who invited them to sail on the Christina, the Onassis pleasure ship. This first invitation was declined. Aristo's marriage with Tina had been breaking before he met Maria. Tina had two children with Aristotle but was bored with the jet set life style and her husband's abuse.

A society hostess, Elsa Maxwell, got herself into the situation, encouraging the two towards each other, and told Maria to take everything in life that was offered her. Meanwhile, Onassis' attitude towards love was that all women eventually had sex for money - so to speak.  Not outright cash but in exchange for jewelry, gifts, travel. He pursued Maria, claiming he was married in name only. She was flattered to be pursued by a man with such ardor, passion and intensity.  Maria began to have serious problems with her husband who she now considered to have been pimping her - as her manager. As confrontations with her husband increased, Maria was also not taking Aristo's calls. However, she well knew that the Italian attitude laws regarding divorce put her at a terrible disadvantage and then there was her career and reputation both as a woman and an artist.

The Principality of Monaco figured into the romance. The tiny principality might not have been officially owned by Onassis but he owned the casino and so the income into Monaco. And his boat, the Christina, named after his only daughter, was docked in Monaco.

Another invitation to cruise came from Onassis, who had the famous British Winston Churchill and his family aboard the Christina. This time Maria Callas and her husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, accepted the invitation.

Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis had things in common. They spoke Greek together. She laughed at his jokes. They dined alone. The two of them went to a holy site of the Greek Orthodox church, the religion they both were raised in, knelt together, and received a blessing: Maria would consider this to be like a marriage. (Though not divorced, her Italian marriage was not recognized by the Greek Catholic Church.) Then, it was clear to others on the Christina that Aristo and Maria were having an affair. Tina Onassis used the situation to her advantage in asking for a divorce from Aristotle. But, had Maria misunderstood her seduction?  Aristo had told her of his sexual exploits and at the end of the cruise he gave her a bracelet which was his way when he was through with a mistress.

Ten years younger than her husband, but still an "older man," Aristo became Maria's obsession. Back home in Milan she immediately asked her Giovanni for a divorce. Since she was an American citizen, Maria wanted to have a fast American divorce, which, at the time, was fastest in the state of Alabama. (Tina Onassis too would consider Alabama.) Maria's husband was not going to let her go easily.  He showed his character by using threats of International shame to keep her married to him. To the public she stated that Onassis had nothing to do with the divorce. Maria's horrible mother threatened to put a curse on her, again not concerned with her daughter's happiness, only that Maria continue to earn and keep her family in money. As rumors of the affair became international, Maria threatened to kill her mother.

Was Ari the real reason for demanding a divorce - finally - when her marriage had been a disappointment to her as a woman? According to Lyndsy Spence, whose book Cast a Diva, is the prime reference for my posts this month, here at Mistress Manifesto BlogSpot, Maria did become pregnant by Aristotle Onassis.

I'm aware from other books that this has been a controversial question.  Some suggest that Maria had a baby in secret and the child was adopted.

In 1959 Giovanni Battista Meneghini did file for a legal separation from Maria Callas.  The Italian law was in his favor and if she remarried without an Italian divorce, she might be considered a bigamist. Italy had been of great importance to her opera career. She worried that if she had a child, her husband would take it from her. Onassis wanted her to have an abortion and it was rumored his wife, Tina, had abortions as well. Maria had wanted a child for years and so it must have been crushing when, around her fourth month, she either had an abortion or a miscarriage.

In Monaco Arstoi and Maria and been photographed dancing together. She announced that they would marry, which he dismissed as a joke. By 1961, Onassis had gone on cruises on the Christina without Maria but also with her. There were opinions that she was loosing her voice, but could any opera singer go on for decades? Onassis became verbally abusive of Maria, and it was her weight and her looks, the things she had so little confidence because of, that he picked on.

It occurs to me that Onassis was one to enjoy the pursuit of a woman and that Maria seems to have been far more serious about him than he was to her. Did he ever actually love her?

I will continue on in the next posts about Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis...

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You may find other posts by searching for Onassis in the Google Blogger search feature!

PRINCE ALBERT II and the SO CALLED SECRET ACCOUNTS TO SUPPORT EX MISTRESS NICOLE COSTE and HIS EXTRAMARITAL CHILDREN :OPINION BY MISSY

PRINCE ALBERT II and the SO CALLED SECRET ACCOUNTS TO SUPPORT 

EX MISTRESS NICOLE COSTE and HIS EXTRAMARITAL CHILDREN

Today I walked the equivalent of Monaco by the sea.  It took me about forty minutes on flat sidewalks.  Of course, Monaco is far more picturesque and has a far greater and unique history in Europe than the California beach area that  I walked.  As I walked I thought about what it must be to Princess Charlene, the commoner athlete who has had to adapt to Europe's longest reigning aristocratic family with its tragedies and eccentric characters, made worse by International news coverage.

All over the news, is the revelations supposed to come from an ex-accountant for the Prince, that he has secret accounts to support his ex mistress and extramarital children.  Why would this story be so important?  

The subtext is that Princess Charlene did not know about the accounts.  But Charlene has said nothing about it.  Why would she?  Charlene dated Albert for years before they finally married and pressure was put upon her to become pregnant and give birth to heirs.  I believe Charlene to be a sensitive person in general but I doubt that she was unaware that Prince Albert had children from two affairs, one brief, and one that went on and might have turned into marriage if not for the objections of his father. This is old news to Charlene. Many women today enter into serious relationships with men who have had children in and out of marriage or with men who have been married before and had children with other wives.

If Princess did, as some speculate, have a breakdown which lead to a prolonged stay in Africa a couple years back, it would likely have been that another such revelation about her husband, Prince Albert II, had come up.  One she had not known about and frankly, one he himself did not know about. Such rumors are likely to come up for Albert. He was known to be a sexual animal prone to promiscuity for a good part of his pre-commitment life and to be fair to him, he didn't have to work hard at meeting women and the women were into it too. Actually, it's surprising there were not more children. 

Two things must be remembered about Albert, and the first is that he was born into wealth and advantage but also the burden of responsibility that he become the business-savvy ruler of a tiny principality, the country of Monaco.  While his father was the Prince, Monaco was in financial difficulties that were turned around. The country also agreed that it would be taken over by France in certain conditions are not met.  To the point, Albert does not dare allow his country, a city-state, to become in financial peril again.  It's speculation when it comes to the notion of "over-spending" and it could be that the reported allowances and real estate gifted is actually a pittance.

Albert is one of the world's richest men who took responsibility for support and that support follows some agreement that was likely made. His advisors would not likely put an end to that support or what seems to be the over-spending of Princess Charlene. In actuality, generosity is about not unwisely overspending when we support others, but in considering their situation without our contribution.

I personally do not think these accounts are "secret" but rather to separate out money for one purpose and another. Had Albert married the mothers of his extramarital children, he would have had to make financial arrangements for them, so why not this way?  It would be ridiculous for his daughter, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, or his son Alexandre Grimaldi, to not live well.

Another aspect of this is something some friends of mine along the way who experienced wealth after living in relative poverty have experienced.  There's a loss of perspective that includes forgetting their days when they had to live paycheck to paycheck or how it was to grow up without. They simply loose their perspective about what things cost. Relatively unlimited funds and a new social group of spenders pushes them to buying whatever they like without consideration. Some of us have fantasies about what it would be like to be in their position but how many of us would like to be on the world-stage where our every haircut, every pound gained or lost, every fashion choice we made, was commented upon? It's near impossible for such a person to keep their privacy.

For readers of Mistress Manifesto, there is also another aspect to this reportage of Monaco of interest and that is exactly how men who are married and have a mistress as well handle the financing of their lifestyle. There certainly is the the potential for secret accounts.  I wish I knew but feel sure that in some cases the mistress is not a secret and in some cases the money is not a secret either. Mistresses are thought to be kept by rich men who can afford them, but today the financial help a man can give a woman who he's involved with can be not so much, an amount that betters her life but does not fully financially support her.  The woman who is fully financially supported by a man, sometimes for the rest of her life, is what I call a Classic Mistress.  We do not hear much about these women who live private lives. 

C 2024 Mistress Manifesto BlogSpot

You may be interested in the following archived posts:

September 2010

NICOLE COSTE  Mistress of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Mother of His First Son

January 2015

THE GRIMALDI CURSE and THE MISTRESSES OF THE PRINCES OF MONACO

Here is an article that has appeared recently about these "secret" payments.

DAILY BEAST : Albert Battles Secret Data Dumps

VALTESSE DE BIGNE's LETTERS FROM LIANE DE POUGY END UP SOLD and HER GRANDDAUGHTER ANDRE DE LA BIGNE FOLLOWS IN HER FOOTSTEPS

After her death in 1910 at the age of 62, the famous old courtesan, Valtesse De Bigne not only gave herself a decorative grave, but her estate held some beautiful antiques and paintings that were selectively given to her friends.

Courtesans of Paris often had a child somewhere in their youthful past, often raised by others, while they sent money. My observation is that the child was usually from a very early relationship, and that somehow these women managed to avoid further pregnancies. It is unknown to me, but I speculate that they may have also denied having any children to the men who they had affairs with. If you read Mistress Manifesto BlogSpot, you know that these relationships varied, that some courtesans had many, some had one at a time, and the definition of Courtesan varies. I always wonder who in the family knew about the child and if the child grew up to know its mother or even know her reputation or if that child admired its courtesan mother.

Valtesse's own granddaughter took the letters that Liane de Pougy had sent to Valtesse and she sold them.  (Page 293)  My guess is that she read them. That she did come to understand some things and might have been inspired.

Perhaps you watch The Crown, as I do, and you caught the way Prince Phillip was depicted, a boy alone sent to a rather, in my opinion, brutal school, where team work was emphasized. After the devastating loss of relatives due to a plane crash, it would seem that his mother, who had been mentally ill and received treatment in a hospital, joined a nunnery.  His father was not much in his life.  His father was with his Mistress in Monaco.

Guess who Prince Phillip's father, Prince Andrew of Greece, had as a Mistress in Monaco!

Comtesse Andre de la Bigne, as she called herself was the grand-daughter of Valtesse de la Bigne.  

She deserves a month all to her own here, so I'll stop with that teaser here...

C 2022 Mistress Manifesto BlogSpot

Our primary reference for this month's subject, Courtesan Laine De Pougy, is the book titled the Mistress of Paris by author Catherine Hewitt. Additional information comes from other sources, such as, for this post, wikipedia.

PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO TAKES MISTRESS NICOLE COSTE TO THE RED CROSS BALL

Nicole Coste was our Mistress of the Month in September 2010 here at Mistress Manifesto BlogSpot because of her long relationship with Prince Albert II of Monaco, who met her when she was an flight attendant in first class. Now, all these years later, it is clear that she and their son have continued to be in Albert's life in some way although it seems they have been living discreetly enough to barely make the papers.

THE GRIMALDI CURSE and THE MISTRESSES OF THE PRINCES OF MONACO was the subject in January 2015.

Though the Grimaldis are the royal family with the longest duration in Europe, it seems none of the children of Ranier and actress Grace Kelly have had an easy time of it romantically. Albert II was a long time bachelor who had the reputation of being a womanizer. He is currently being accused of fathering a third love child, having been forced to recognize two children through DNA testing before, including the son of Nicole. If it turns out to be true, he would have fathered this third child while dating Charlene.

For several months now there has been speculation that Albert's wife, Princess Charlene, the mother of their twins, whose son will take the throne after Albert, has absconded to South Africa to get away from him - and Monaco - and is only using her work saving the rhinos or trouble with her sinuses to stay away. Perhaps they are actually in a trial separation or she is taking time out to find herself or decide if she wants to stay married to him.

What I've heard is that Albert wanted to marry Nicole, but his father refused to allow him to do so. The Red Cross Ball in Monaco is perhaps the biggest event the small country hosts. It is a fund raiser.  While through the years in his bachelorhood Albert has had one of his siblings attend events with him, allowing Nicole to the ball has to be a statement. He has provided heirs to the throne, his parents are no longer alive to tell him what to do, and though we may feel for Charlene, as a man he has the right to be happy.  If for years now Nicole has endured some social estrangement over her relationship with Albert, to me what Albert is announcing is that Nicole is to be accepted.

Together Nicole and Albert have a son who has just celebrated his eighteenth birthday.

In this article from Daily Mail - Online by Harriet Johnston, there are photos of Nicole and Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, the son. DAILY MAIL : REVEAL OF ROCKY MARRIAGE PRINCE ALBERT PRINCESS CHARLENE 

EXCERPT: (Quoting Nicole) :  Many criticized Nicole in public, dubbing her 'audacious' for demanding recognition and rights for her son.  She also caused anger by being pictured strolling with her son in the Monaco sunshine on the eve of Albert and Charlene's wedding in 2011.  'I was fed up being a secret,' she said.

After the wedding I suffered because some socialites stopped inviting me to events if they thought the Prince and Princess would be there.  They thought it would cause embarrassment.

THE COSMOPOLITAN ARTICLE THAT QUOTES ANNA BEY

Cosmopolitan: The Secret Lives of Instagram "It Girls" by Jennifer Savin  

Quoting Anna Bey in 2018; "The men of this world are obsessed with status in the way that the women all want to be with the richest man. The men want to be seen with the most desirable, hard to get women..."

Go to the article to read what else Anna had to say about the her set lifestyle.

THE LONGINES ATHINA ONASSIS HORSE SHOW FEATURES SIGNIFICANT PRIZE MONEY

ATHINA ONASSIS HORSE SHOW OFFICIAL SITE

EXCERPT:  The Longines Athina Onassis Horse Show will include two different levels of competition for professional and amateur riders for a total of 617,000 pounds in prize money.  Six CSI5 classes will host the best ho9rse and rider combination in the world, all aiming for points toward the Longines Rankings.  Among these; the Longines Global Champions Gran PRix, with 300,000 in prize money, and the Global Champions League team competition, where top riders from various countries compete together in high stakes, multi round events around the world.


I
Athina has established her own Equestrian Events - https://www.athinaonassis-horseshow.com/ and that she is friendly with Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco: rumors that Monaco was saved financially by Ari Onassis persist.  Clearly the offspring of the men who were once in business together and who ended their business relationship aren't holding any grudges.

MAP OF MONACO

 

TRAVEL FACT.COM FRANCE MONACO MAP LINK

THE GRIMALDI COAT OF ARMS

 

 

THE GRIMALDI CURSE and THE MISTRESSES OF THE PRINCES OF MONACO : MISTRESSES OF THE MONTH

MONACO - a tax haven and playground for the extremely rich, a great place to loose a lot of money at the Monte Carlo Casino for those who don't care how much they loose, with its plethora of multimillionaires and billionaires and some of the highest real estate values on earth, a harbor full of boats, Grand Prix races, and home of the unruly Grimaldi family - is, in my not so humble opinion, possibly one of the best places on earth to have a Mistress, be a Mistress, or meet a woman who wants to be one, at least before marriage. 

In September of 2010, I featured Nicole Coste, the ex airline stewardess who has a son with Albert II of Monaco, as Mistress of the Month here at MISTRESS MANIFESTO.  It's said that Albert II might have married her but his father, Ranier III, objected strongly.  (Is Albert II still seeing her?  Most likely he still visits with his son.  They live not too far away.)

I've asked "Is Monaco the Mistress Capital of the World?"

I've never been there but I'm a Monaco watcher.  I like to read about what's going on in this teeny tiny principality, maybe because my mom liked Princess Grace.  

So, to get one thing out of the way before I go on, I want to say that I think Princess Charlene is terrific and I hate erroneous stories that have her fleeing her own wedding or interpreting her crying at her wedding as a negative.  What woman doesn't shed at least a few tears of heartfelt emotion at a wedding?  I know I do as a wedding guest!  

Princess Charlene is one more Princess who proves being one is no easy life.  I do think all of Charlene's sports training and swim competitions, which included Olympic training and competition, helped her gain endurance, courage, and a fighting spirit for life.  Mid December 2014, the 36 year old Princess, who was with Albert II for six years before they wed about three years ago, had twins, Jacques (first in line for the throne) and Gabriella (second in line for the throne though born two minutes earlier than Jacques by cesarean delivery).  The pictures released by the palace of the happy family are adorable.

It's not lost on me that Princess Charlene converted to Catholicism before marriage in order to marry Albert II, that a woman who begins dating a man when she's 30ish and more fertile may have to resort to fertility treatments to get pregnant all those years later, or that she is the one more likely to raise those children to adulthood since Albert II is 20 years older than her!

The billionaire Albert II, besides being long known as one of the world's most dedicated Players,  is one of the busiest men on this earth, keeping a relentless schedule, and is now a major contributor to oceanic science as his grandfather once was.

It is also not lost on me, however, that Charlene was surely Albert's mistress before she was his fiancée or wife, similar to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who put a lot of mistress time in before her marriage to Prince William, the Duke; both women were available for travel and not known for developing careers during their extremely long courtships and never mind if their love interest was unmarried.

There is a tradition of having Mistresses in the Grimaldi family and, as you may have heard, there is speculation that the reason so many Grimaldi's have had unconventional or unusual marriages is because of something called "The Grimaldi Curse."  That Curse may be the real reason Albert II waited to near senior citizen-hood to wed!

The origins of this Curse are said to have been as far back as in the 13th Century when their tricky ancestor managed to take the territory for his family, a territory which was once something like 20 times bigger than it is today.   He pretended to be a monk but had a sword under his cloak.  It all happened on that huge rock where the Palace is now.  Various stories have emerged as to the origins of the bad luck in marriage that the Grimaldi's have had such as that a witch was raped by a Grimaldi ancestor. The Curse may also extend to unusual ways to die, such as boating (Princess Caroline's second husband) and car accidents (Princess Grace).

In this month's featured book, THE FRENCH RIVIERA - A Cultural History, by Julian Hale, we learn that ownership of the territory of Monaco was not always a sure thing for the family, that at points they were near impoverished,  that there have been a number of issues with succession that included a Norman man who married into the family changing his name to Grimaldi, and well, that they indeed have had a terrible time with marriage.  It's the best book that included the history of the family that I've read.

Fast forward to the 20th and 21st century.  Why does the current younger generation of Grimaldi's have such extremely long engagements before marriage and even bear illegitimate children? 

Princess Caroline, the oldest daughter of Ranier III and Grace Kelly, has been married thrice: an early marriage with a much older Player which was - eventually - annulled, the marriage to Stephano Casiraghi that she had three children in, which ended when her husband was killed in a boating accident, and a third later in life marriage with a Prince she "stole" from a friend and had a child with.  (The whereabouts of Ernst August are always a mystery.  He does not appear to have been anywhere near Monaco in years and is speculated to most likely be keeping a mistress somewhere, maybe Thailand?  As I understand it his name is not spoken in Monaco.)

Princess Stephanie has three children, and a history of many generally very unstable relationships, including a marriage to the father of two of her children which her own father disapproved of that ended in disgrace when he was caught cheating.  She says she may be a Princess but first of all she is human.  Ok, we can relate.

The children of Caroline and her second husband, the late Italian businessman Stefano Casiraghi are Andre, Pierre, and Charlotte.

Andre, the heir apparent, until Charlene had her babies, was with his girlfriend Tatianna Santo Domingo for years - a decade? - before they married, and then only after they had a child.  His brother Pierre, has been with Beatrice Borromeo for years.  (They are reportedly to wed in April 2015.)  They've been in no rush. Charlotte, has had a love child with comedian and actor Gad Elmaleh.  He's Jewish.  The child was baptized.  

Are all these delays and extreme engagements an attempt to beat the Curse?

That's my guess. 

After all, you love who you love, and after years with someone you kind of know that you get along!

To be more pragmatic, I imagine that two very rich young people might need their lawyers to figure out their finances and possibly contracts regarding divorce for years past when one has a baby. 

But you must remember, this family is Catholic.  That's right.  Charlene converted to Catholicism, met the Pope, and is said to have even prayed to saints in order to become pregnant.  Catholics are supposed to be more conservative, faithful in marriage, and do marriage before having babies.

One of the ways that various Grimaldi have held on to marriages or circumvented the displeasures of the marriages they made was to have mistresses.

In 1869 Albert I, who would succeed his father Charles III in 1889 and might be considered one of Monaco's first Playboy Princes, married Marie-Victoire de Douglas - Hamilton, but he took a mistress.  Marie-Victoire then fell for a Hungarian Count and (pages 46-47 of the book) after a "bitter and almost bankrupting divorce, the marriage was annulled."  Then Albert I married his mistress, the former American Alice Heine, who was not only American but from a German-Jewish background, and was formerly also still known as the widowed Duchess de Richelieu.  She played the part Princess Grace would play decades later in being a kind of First Lady of Monaco. Alice then had an affair with a British composer while Albert I was off one of his scientific oceanographic trips.  She still held her title and her marriage when she died in 1925.

 

(February 10, 1858 - December 22, 1925)

 

This picture of Alice is from

RICHELIEU EMINENCEROUGE BLOGSPOT - check it out - great writing!

So Louis II, the son of Albert and Marie-Victoire, had a daughter named Princess Charlotte, and she married Prince Pierre de Polignac.  (Are the family given names sounding familiar?) and they had Prince Ranier III in 1923, the man who would marry Grace Kelly, the Hollywood actress from a well to do Philadelphia family and mother of today's Albert, Caroline, and Stephanie.  Ranier III's upbringing was in a dysfunctional family.  (Page 50)  Ranier III had to face the problem of not having an heir by 1949, five years after having been formally made heir to the throne in 1944 at the young age of twenty-one.  He had a long-standing relationship with a French film star for six years, named Gisele Pascal.

 

(17 September 1921 - 2 February 2007)

 

This picture of Gisele Marie Madeleine Tallone AKA Gisele Pascal is from

LESGENSDUCINEMA.COM Bio and Filmography of GISELE PASCAL (in French)

Maybe few Americans have heard of her because she wasn't a Hollywood actress.

 

Supposedly this mistress of Ranier III, an actress of less fame than Grace Kelly, was rejected because she was infertile.  Gisele was the daughter of a flower seller from nearby Nice, a humble background.   She and Ranier III shared a villa at Beaulieu, she kept up with her career, and he with his - as a ceremonial figurehead.  Funny how after they split, she married, and had a child.

Ranier III also came to the throne having to face that his father had left half his - or Monaco's - fortune to his latest mistress.  He fought to get it back. 

Though he clearly mourned Grace Kelly, his wife and mother of his children, it is said that Rainier III also kept at least one mistress during his marriage.  It is said that he would claim to be going to a sporting event, have a retainer go to the event and report back to him so he could report back to Grace, and go off to visit his mistress.

 

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C 2015  MistressManifesto.blogspot.com/ Missy Rapport  All Rights Reserved including International and Internet Rights on all original writing.  Pictures and links/ writing at links continue to be the intellectual property of their owners.

CHARLENE PRISONER OF MONACO or ALBERT HAS ALREADY CHEATED or A LOT OF NONSENSE

JANUARY 2015 -  Please see my archives for this edition " THE GRIMALDI CURSE AND THE MISTRESSES OF THE PRINCES OF MONICO."

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The Bride cried - so what? And maybe had a difficult time getting through her wedding due to rumors that Albert may have a third love child conceived during their 5 year courtship, but 88 million dollars spent on the wedding, it's difficult to believe, as the New York Post has published, that Charlene tried to run away a couple times and had her passport taken from her to make escape impossible. Heck, we we think that Charlene has to know that Albert has long slept around and that she's going to be the mother of the official heirs. Click on the title here to read the bad report.

A lot of brides cry at their own weddings, all that emotion, and becoming a Princess and First Lady of Monaco couldn't be easy, could it? Today the wedding reception in South Africa - and pictures are looking happy.

This Huffington Post article has great pictures and a more optimistic report:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/02/royal-wedding-prince-albert-charlene-wittstock_n_889217.html

UPDATE OCTOBER 2013!

My opinion these days is that Charlene is settling into her role as Princess of Monaco very well, but my guess is that she is not having any easy time getting pregnant.  Our female fertility peaks in our twenties and athletic women sometimes loose the hormone balance that keeps them fertile.  If it turns out she's on fertility treatments I won't be surprised.  Anyway, the next in line to the throne is Princess Caroline - WHY NOT?

LINK TO THE OFFICIAL SITE FOR MONACO

Want to link to Monaco? ... on this site I learned that Albert and Charlene will marry in JULY of 2011... moving the wedding date forward. A long engagement. Like no one is in a rush to have children and a heir to the throne...

IS MONTE CARLO THE PLACE TO FIND MISTRESSES?

I've been reading about MONTE CARLO - and MONACO where it is - and I'm convinced it might be one of the best places on earth for mistresses...

NOTE: 2020 : This is one of the early posts I made a decade ago before I got into the more magazine type format that features a subject or person each month.

Besides Monte Carlo being a part of the Ari Onassis story, and posts on Ari, his Mistress Maria Callas, and so on,  in January 2015 I did a month entitled THE GRIMALDI CURSE and the Mistresses of the Princes of Monaco.  You can find it in the archive of this blog.