Garden Dreams - Princess Caroline

Princess Caroline (SAS Princess of Hanover) is the President of the Garden Club of Monaco and as you can see in the small photo, there was a large group of photographers waiting for her. She visited all the strands and also awarded prizes in the many flower arranging categories.

The Judas Tree

A Judas tree in bloom on the terrace of the Palace. This half of the Palace has now been cleaned and painted ready for the wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock in July. Work continues on the other half - you can just see a glimpse of the protective covering on the far right in this shot.

Monaco Mourns...

Monaco mourns HSH Princess Antoinette who died the other day. Note how all the flags, even tiny ones in a jewellry shop window, are tied up with black ribbon.

The funeral takes place today.

HSH Princess Antoinette

After all the razzmatazz of the Venetians, let's pause for peace in the Japanese Garden.

A sad time in Monaco at the moment as Princess Antoinette died a few days ago. Princess Antoinette was the sister of Prince Rainier, father to Prince Albert and his sisters, Princesses Caroline and Stephanie. She was 90 years old. The Principality is now in mourning for two weeks with the funeral taking place on Thursday. She had quite a life and was married three times - click on the link.

Princess Antoinette adored dogs, indeed she kept many dogs at her house, Au Bout du Monde, at Eze-bord-de-Mer. She was involved in animals rights and was President of Monaco's Society for the Protection of Animals. She was very knowledgeable on the subject of dogs and I remember a lovely conversation I had with her at one of the Monaco dog shows when I sat opposite her at lunch that day.

The Wedding: Clean-up at the Palace

In five short months, Monaco will celebrate the wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock and there's a lot to do!

Not least - the palace. Here you see the facades are undergoing a massive clean-up.

There's also a big renovation going on at the Hôtel de Paris on Casino Square which is where many of the most prestigious guests will stay.

And THE dress? That will be designed by Georgio Armani.

Palace

Despite the blue skies in this shot, the sun isn't back yet ...although it's promised for tomorrow which will be a great start to the New Year.

This photo of the Palace was taken at the end of November and is perhaps a fitting photo to end 2010 and welcome 2011, when Monaco will celebrate the Wedding of HSH Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock.

Princess Caroline, the Nurses and the Party!

Above, the Princess as she was about to leave the party. I'd changed the lens on my camera but stupidly (grrrr) forgotten to change the settings on the camera so it's far too grainy.

In the small photo, you see S.A.S. la Princesse Caroline handing out diplomas to the nurses and in the last photo, lots of goodies to eat along with the champagne on offer at the party.

More tomorrow...

S.A.S. la Princess Caroline & the Nurses' Graduation

A couple of evenings ago my wonderful friend, Nathalie (Avignon in Photos) invited me to meet her at the Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco to witness the graduation from the nursing school of her friend's daughter. It's the day the nurses receive their official badges from S.A.S. la Princesse Caroline. S.A.S stands for Son Altesse Sérénissime, which translates as Her Serene Highness.

In the main photo, the graduating nurses are waiting for her arrival. The atmosphere - the enthusiasm and excitement - amongst all the nurses and there were seemingly hundreds of them aound the room was so contagious and such fun.

In the smaller photo two of the nurses deliver short speeches: one on Florence Nightingale and the other spoke, movingly, of her time at the school. You see Princess Caroline sitting on the left and a photo of her late mother, Princess Grace, prominently displayed. Monaco's hospital, of course, is named for her.

And in the last photo, a rather grainy shot of the beautiful S.A.S. la Princesse Caroline on the stage.

More tomorrow...

Marriage in Mind

The forthcoming marriage between Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock is something everyone in Monaco is looking forward to. The big day will be July 9th next year. This shop on Avenue Princesse Grace is already getting ready.

Vanity Fair features Charlene Wittstock. (Click to view)

Congratulations to Prince Albert II and Charlene Wittstock!

Yesterday the Palace announced that Prince Albert II is engaged to his long-term girl-friend, the South African Olympic swimmer, Charlene Wittstock. After months of speculation, everyone in the Principality is delighted.

The wedding, likely to take place in summer 2011, will surely be a lavish ceremony and perhaps similar to that amazing day when Prince Albert's mother - the American film actress Grace Kelly - married Prince Rainier III in 1956.

Regular readers of the blog will have seen these photographs before but no apologies - this is a great day in Monaco. I snapped the one of the Prince during No Finish Line last November. The smaller photo of the Prince and Charlene Wittstock was taken by Philippe Mazza during the Bain de Noel in December.

Isn't it exciting! Monte Carlo Daily Photo sends many congratulations to the happy couple. You can see the official photograph of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock in Monaco-Matin yesterday.

And you can read a detailed account in English, with several photos of Prince Albert and his beautiful lady by clicking on the Associated Press link.

Tomorrow - back to the boat trip!