Common name	Monaco
Native name	''Principatu de Múnegu'' (Monegasque) ''Principato di Monaco'' (Italian) ''Principauté de Monaco'' (French)
Conventional long name	Principality of Monaco
Image coat	Coat of Arms of Monaco.svg
Map caption
National motto	''"Deo Juvante"''(Latin)"With God's Help"
National anthem	''Hymne Monégasque''File:Monaco National Anthem.ogg
Capital	Monaco
Largest settlement type	Most populated ''Quartier''
Largest settlement	Monte Carlo
Official languages	French
Languages type	Common languages
Languages	Monégasque, Italian and English
Ethnicities	French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21%
Government type	Unitary, principality and Constitutional monarchy
Leader title1	Prince
Leader title2	Minister of State
Leader title3	President of the National Council
Leader name1	Albert II
Leader name2	Michel Roger
Leader name3	Jean-François Robillon
Legislature	National Council
Area km2	1.98
Area sq mi	0.76
Area rank	235th
Area magnitude	1 E6
Percent water	0.0
Population estimate	35,986
Population estimate year	2011
Population estimate rank	218th
Population density km2	15,142
Population density sq mi	39,217
Population density rank	1st
Population census	35,352
Population census year	2008
Gdp ppp	$6.888 billion
Gdp ppp year	2011
Gdp ppp rank	n/a
Gdp ppp per capita	$186,175
Gdp ppp per capita rank	n/a
Gdp nominal	$6.581 billion
Gdp nominal year	2011
Gdp nominal rank	136th
Gdp nominal per capita	$172,676
Gdp nominal per capita rank	1st
Hdi year	2010
Hdi	0.946 (1st)
Hdi category	very high
Sovereignty type	Independence
Established event1	House of Grimaldi
Established date1	1297
Established event2	Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861
Established date2	1861
Established event3	Constitution
Established date3	1911
Established event4	Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 2002
Established date4	2002
Currency	Euro (€)
Currency code	EUR
Time zone	CET
Utc offset	+1
Time zone dst	CEST
Utc offset dst	+2
Demonym	Monégasque or Monegasque
Cctld	.mc
Calling code	+377
|drives on	Right
Footnote1	Monaco is a city-state.
Footnote2	GDP per capita calculations include non-resident workers from France and Italy. }}

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco (; Monégasque: ''Principatu de Múnegu''; ; ), is a sovereign city state, located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. Bordered by France on three sides, with one side bordering the Mediterranean Sea, its center is about from Italy, and is only north east of Nice, France. It has an area of , and a population of 35,986, making Monaco the second smallest and the most densely populated country in the world. Monaco has a land border of only , a coastline of , and a width that varies between and 349 metres (382 yards). The highest point in the country is a narrow pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires district, which is 161 metres (528 feet) above sea level. Monaco's most populated ''Quartier'' is Monte Carlo, and the most populated ''Ward'' is Larvotto/Bas Moulins. After a recent expansion of Port Hercules, Monaco's total area is , with new plans to extend the district of Fontvieille, with land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea.

Monaco is a principality governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, with Prince Albert II as head of state. However, even though Prince Albert II is a constitutional monarch, he still has immense political power. The House of Grimaldi have ruled Monaco, with brief interruptions, since 1297. The official language is French, but Monégasque, Italian, and English are widely spoken and understood. The state's sovereignty was officially recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861, with Monaco becoming a full UN voting member in 1993, after much political debate. Despite Monaco's independence and separate foreign policy, its defence is the responsibility of France. However, Monaco does maintain two small military units, totaling 255 officers and men, the Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers de Monaco, and the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince.

Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with a railroad line to France, and the opening of the first casino, Monte Carlo Casino. Since then, the principality's mild climate, splendid scenery, and gambling facilities have made Monaco world-famous as a tourist and recreation center for the rich and famous. However, in more recent years Monaco has become a major banking center holding over 100 billion euro worth of funds, and has successfully sought to diversify its economy into the services and small, high-value-added, nonpolluting industries. The state has no income tax and low business taxes, and is well known for being a tax haven. Monaco boasts the world's highest GDP nominal per capita at $172,676 and GDP PPP per capita at $186,175. Monaco also has the world's highest life expectancy at almost 90 years, and the lowest unemployment rate at 0%, with over 48,000 workers who commute from France and Italy each day. For the third year in a row, Monaco in 2011 had the world's most expensive real estate market, at $56,300 per square metre. According to the CIA World Factbook, Monaco has the world's lowest poverty rate, and the highest number of millionaires and billionaires per capita in the world.

History

Early history

Monaco's name comes from the 6th century BC nearby Phocaean Greek colony. Referred to the Ligurians as ''Monoikos'', from the Greek "μόνοικος", "single house", from "μόνος" (''monos'') "alone, single" + "οἶκος" (''oikos'') "house", which bears the sense of a people either settled in a "single habitation" or of "living apart" from others. According to an ancient myth, Hercules passed through the Monaco area and turned away the previous gods. As a result, a temple was constructed there, the temple of Hercules Monoikos. Because the only temple of this area was the "House" of Hercules, the city was called Monoikos.

Following a land grant from Emperor Henry VI in 1191, Monaco was refounded in 1215 as a colony of Genoa. Monaco was first ruled by a member of the House of Grimaldi in 1297, when Francesco Grimaldi, known as "''Il Malizia''" (translated from Italian either as "The Malicious One" or "The Cunning One"), and his men captured the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco while dressed as a Franciscan monk – a ''Monaco'' in Italian, although this is a coincidence as the area was already known by this name. Francesco, however, was evicted only a few years afterwards by the Genovese forces, and the struggle over "the Rock" continued for another century.

In 1419, the Grimaldis purchased Monaco from the crown of Aragon and became the official and undisputed rulers of "the Rock of Monaco", and in 1612 Honore II began to style himself "Prince" of Monaco. In the 1630s, Honore II sought French protection against the Spanish forces and was eventually, in 1642, received at the court of Louis XIII as "Duc et Pair Etranger". The princes of Monaco thus became vassals of the French kings while at the same time remaining sovereign princes. As successive princes and their families spent most of their lives in Paris, and through marriages with French nobilities, the House of Grimaldi, though Italian in origin, became thoroughly French in character. The principality continued its existence as a protectorate of France until the French Revolution.

In 1793, Revolutionary forces captured Monaco and it remained under direct French control until 1814, when the Grimaldis returned to the throne. The principality was reestablished that year, only to be designated a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Monaco remained in this position until 1860 when, by the Treaty of Turin, the Sardinian forces pulled out of the principality and the surrounding county of Nice (as well as Savoy) was ceded to France. Monaco became a French protectorate once again. Prior to this time there was unrest in Menton and Roquebrune where the townspeople had become weary of heavy taxation by the Grimaldis. They declared their independence, hoping for annexation by Sardinia, France protested. The unrest continued until Charles III gave up his claim to the two mainland towns, (some 95% of the principality at the time) which had been ruled by the Grimaldis for over 500 years. These were ceded to France in return for 4,100,000 francs. The transfer and Monaco's sovereignty was recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. In 1869, the principality stopped collecting income tax from its residents - an indulgence the Grimaldis could afford to entertain thanks solely to the extraordinary success of the casino. This made Monaco not only a playground for the rich, but a favored place for them to live.

20th century

Until the Monegasque Revolution of 1910 forced the adoption of the 1911 constitution, the princes of Monaco were absolute rulers. The long overdue constitution, however, barely reduced the autocratic rule of the Grimaldis and in any case Albert I soon suspended it. In July 1918, the Franco-Monegasque Treaty was signed, providing for limited French protection over Monaco. The treaty, endorsed in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles, established that Monegasque international policy would be aligned with French political, military, and economic interests, and resolved the Monaco Succession Crisis.

In 1943, the Italian army invaded and occupied Monaco, setting up a Fascist administration. Shortly thereafter, following the collapse of Mussolini, the German Wehrmacht occupied Monaco and the Nazi deportation of the Jewish population began. René Blum (Paris, 13 March 1878 – Auschwitz, 30 April 1943), the prominent French Jew who founded the Ballet de l'Opera in Monte Carlo, was arrested in his Paris home and held in the Drancy deportation camp outside Paris, hence he was then transported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was killed. Blum's colleague Raoul Gunsbourg, the director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, helped by the French Resistance, escaped arrest and fled to Switzerland.

Rainier III, who ruled until 2005, succeeded to the throne following the death of his grandfather, Prince Louis II, in 1949. On 19 April 1956, Prince Rainier married the American actress Grace Kelly; the event was widely televised and covered in the popular press, focusing the world's attention on the tiny principality.

A 1962 amendment to the constitution abolished capital punishment, provided for women's suffrage, and established a Supreme Court of Monaco to guarantee fundamental liberties. In 1993, the Principality of Monaco became a member of the United Nations, with full voting rights. In 2002, a new treaty between France and Monaco specified that, should there be no heirs to carry on the Grimaldi dynasty, the principality would still remain an independent nation rather than revert to France. Monaco's military defense, however, is still the responsibility of France.

On 31 March 2005, Prince Rainier III, too ill to exercise his duties, relinquished them to his only son and heir, Prince Albert II. Prince Rainier died on 6 April 2005, after a reign of 56 years, his son Prince Albert II succeeded him, and was thereafter titled Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

Following a period of official mourning, Prince Albert II formally assumed the princely crown on 12 July 2005, in a celebration that began with a solemn Mass at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, where his father had been buried three months earlier. His accession to the Monegasque throne was a two-step event, with a further ceremony, drawing heads of state for an elaborate ''levée'', held on 19 November 2005 at the historic Prince's Palace in Monaco-Ville.

Law and government

Monaco has been governed under a constitutional monarchy since 1911, with the Sovereign Prince of Monaco as monarch. The executive branch consists of a Minister of State (the head of government), who presides over a five-member Council of Government. Until 2002, the Minister of State was a French citizen appointed by the prince from among candidates proposed by the French government; since a constitutional amendment in 2002, the Minister of State can be French or Monegasque. However, Prince Albert II appointed, on March 3, 2010, the Frenchman Michel Roger as Minister of State.

Under the 1962 constitution, the prince shares his power with the unicameral National Council (parliament). The 24 member National Council are elected for five-year terms; 16 are chosen through a majority electoral system and 8 by proportional representation. All legislation requires the approval of the National Council, which is currently dominated by the central-right Union of Monaco (UPM), who hold twenty-one seats. The only other party represented in the National Council is the right-wing Rally and Issues for Monaco (REM), which holds just three seats. The principality's city affairs are directed by the Communal Council, which consists of fourteen elected members and is presided over by the mayor. As with the National Council UPM holds the majority with ten seats, while REM holds two seats, and the rest are independent.

Economy

One of Monaco's main sources of income is tourism. Each year many are attracted to its casino and pleasant climate. Monaco's own citizens are not allowed to gamble in the casino. In 2001, a major new construction project extended the pier used by cruise ships in the main harbour. The principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, non-polluting industries, such as cosmetics and biothermics.

The state retains monopolies in numerous sectors, including tobacco and the postal service. The telephone network (Monaco Telecom) used to be fully owned by the state; it now owns only 45%, while the remaining 55% is owned by both Cable & Wireless Communications (49%) and Compagnie Monégasque de Banque (6%). It is still, however, a monopoly. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas.

Monaco is not a member of the European Union. However, it is very closely linked via a customs union with France, and as such, its currency is the same as that of France, the euro. Before 2002, Monaco minted its own coins, the Monegasque franc. Monaco has acquired the right to mint euro coins with Monegasque designs on its national side.

Gambling industry

The plan for casino gambling was mooted during the reign of Florestan I in 1846. Under Louis-Philippe's petite-bourgeois regime, however, a dignitary such as a Prince of Monaco was not allowed to operate a gambling house. All this changed in the dissolute Second French Empire under Napoleon III. The House of Grimaldi was in dire need to generate cash. Menton and Roquebrune, which had been main source of income for the Grimaldis for centuries, now accustomed to much improved standard of living and lenient taxation thanks to Sardinian intervention, clamoured for financial and political concession, even for separation. The Grimaldis hoped the newly legal industry would help alleviate the difficulties they faced, above all the crushing debt the family had incurred, but Monaco's first casino would not be ready to operate until after Charles III assumed the throne in 1856.

The grantee of the princely concession (license) was unable to attract enough business to sustain the operation and, after relocating the casino several times, sold the concession to French casino magnates François and Louis Blanc for 1.7 million francs. The Blancs had already set up a highly successful casino (in fact the biggest in Europe) in Bad-Homburg in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Homburg, a small German principality comparable to Monaco, and quickly petitioned Charles III to rename a depressed seaside area known as "Les Spelegures (Den of Thieves)" to "Monte Carlo (Mount Charles)." They then constructed their casino in the newly dubbed "Monte Carlo" and cleared out the area's less-than-savory elements to make the neighborhood surrounding the establishment more conducive to tourism.

The Blancs opened Le Grand Casino de Monte Carlo in 1858, and the casino benefited from the tourist traffic the newly built French railway system created. Due to the combination of the casino and the railroads, Monaco finally recovered from the previous half century of economic slump, and the principality's success attracted other businesses. In the years following the casino's opening Monaco founded its Oceanographic Museum and the Monte Carlo Opera House, 46 hotels sprang up and the number of jewelers operating in Monaco increased by nearly 500 percent. By 1869, the casino was making such a vast sum of money that the principality could afford not to collect tax from the Monegasques; a master stroke that was to attract affluent residents from all over Europe.

Today, Société des bains de mer de Monaco which owns Le Grand Casino still operates in the original building the Blancs constructed and has been joined by several other casinos, including Le Casino Café de Paris, the Monte Carlo Bay Casino, the Monte Carlo Sporting Club & Casino (Summer Casino) and the Sun Casino. The most recent addition to the list—the first casino to open in Monte Carlo in 75 years—is the Monte Carlo Bay Casino, which sits on 4 hectares of the Mediterranean Garden and, among other things, offers 145 slot machines, all equipped with "Ticket-In, Ticket-Out" (TITO); it is the first Mediterranean casino to use this technology.

Tax haven

Monaco levies no income tax on individuals. The absence of a personal income tax in the principality has attracted to it a considerable number of wealthy "tax refugee" residents from European countries who derive the majority of their income from activity outside Monaco; celebrities such as Formula One drivers attract most of the attention, but the vast majority of them are less well-known business people.. This applies to all residents of Monaco of any nationality except French citizens whose residency started after 1957. These French citizens still must pay French income tax.

In 1998, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a first report on the consequences of the tax havens' financial systems. Monaco did not appear in the list of these territories until 2004, when OECD became indignant regarding the Monegasque situation and denounced it in its last report, as well as Andorra, Liechtenstein, Liberia and the Marshall Islands, underlining its lack of co-operation as regards financial information disclosure and availability.

In 2000, a report by the French parliamentarians, Arnaud Montebourg and Vincent Peillon, alleged that Monaco had lax policies with respect to money laundering, including within its famed casino, and that the government of Monaco had been placing political pressure on the judiciary, so that alleged crimes were not being properly investigated.

In 2000, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) stated: "The anti-money laundering system in Monaco is comprehensive. However, difficulties have been encountered with Monaco by countries in international investigations on serious crimes that appear to be linked also with tax matters. In addition, the FIU of Monaco (SICCFIN) suffers a great lack of adequate resources. The authorities of Monaco have stated that they will provide additional resources to SICCFIN." The Principality is no longer blamed in the 2005 FATF report, as well as all other territories. However, since 2003, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has identified Monaco, along with 36 other territories, as a tax haven.

The Council of Europe also decided to issue reports naming tax havens. Twenty-two territories, including Monaco, were thus evaluated between 1998 and 2000 on a first round. Monaco is the only territory that refuses to perform the second round, initially forecast between 2001 and 2003, whereas the 21 other territories are implementing the third and last round, planned between 2005 and 2007.

However, Monaco has high social insurance taxes payable by both employer and employee. The employer's contribution is between 28%–40% (averaging 35%) of gross salary including benefits and the employee pays a further 10%–14% (averaging 13%).

Numismatics

In Monaco, the euro was introduced in 2002, having been preceded by the Monegasque franc. In preparation for this date, the minting of the new euro coins started as early as 2001. This is why the first euro coins from Monaco have the year 2001 on them, instead of 2002, like other countries of the Eurozone. Three different designs were selected for the Monegasque coins. However, In 2006, the design was changed after the death of ruling Prince Rainier to have the effigy of Prince Albert.

Monaco also has a rich and valuable collection of collectors' coins, with face value ranging from €5 to €100. These coins are a legacy of an old national practice of minting silver and gold commemorative coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not legal tender in all the Eurozone. For instance, a Monegasque commemorative coin cannot be used in any other country. The same practice concerning commemorative coins is exercised with all eurozone countries. Commemorative coins are legal tender only in their country of issue, unlike normal circulation coins, which are accepted in all euro-zone countries.

Geography

Monaco is a sovereign city state, with 5 ''Quartiers'', 10 ''Wards'', located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. Bordered by France on three sides, with one side bordering the Mediterranean Sea; its center is about from Italy, and is only south east of Nice, France. Its area is or 198 ha (490 acres), with a population of 35,986, making Monaco the second smallest and the most densely populated country in the world, as of 2012. Having a land border of only , a coastline of , a maritime claim that extends , and a width that varies between and 349 meters (382 yards), Monaco is unique. The highest point in the country is a narrow pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires district, it is 161 meters (528 feet) above sea level. Monaco's most populated ''Quartier'' is Monte Carlo, and the most populated ''Ward'' is Larvotto/Bas Moulins. After a recent expansion of Port Hercules, Monaco's total area is or 205 ha (506 acres), with new plans to extend the district of Fontvieille, with land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea. There are two ports in Monaco, Hercules and Fontvieille, as well the neighboring French port of Cap d'Ail. Monaco's only natural resource is fishing, with almost the entirely country being an urban area, Monaco lacks any sort of commercial agriculture industry.

Administrative divisions

Overview

Monaco is the second smallest country (by size) in the world; only Vatican City is smaller. Monaco is also the world's second smallest monarchy, and is the most densely populated country in the world. The state consists of only one municipality (''commune''). There is no geographical distinction between the State and City of Monaco, although responsibilities of the government (state-level) and of the municipality (city-level) are different. According to the constitution of 1911, the principality was subdivided into three municipalities:

Monaco (Monaco-Ville), the old city on a rocky promontory extending into the Mediterranean, known as the Rock of Monaco, or simply Le Rocher (the Rock), where the palace is located;

Monte Carlo, the principal residential and resort area with the Monte Carlo Casino in the east and northeast;

La Condamine, the southwestern section including the port area, Port Hercule.

The municipalities were merged into one in 1917, after accusations that the government was acting according to the motto "divide and conquer," and they were accorded the status of ''Wards'' or ''Quartiers'' thereafter.

Fontvieille was added as fourth ward, a newly constructed area reclaimed from the sea (in the 1970s) also a new district inside of Fontvieille is planned;

Moneghetti became the fifth ward, created from a part of La Condamine;

Larvotto became the sixth ward, created from a part of Monte Carlo;

La Rousse/Saint Roman (including Le Ténao) became the seventh ward, also created from a part of Monte Carlo.

Subsequently, three additional wards were created:

Saint Michel, from a part of Monte Carlo;

La Colle, from a part of La Condamine;

Les Révoires, from a part of La Condamine.

An additional ward was planned by new land reclamation to be settled beginning in 2014; but Prince Albert II announced in his 2009 New Year Speech that he had ended plans due to the current economic climate. However, Prince Albert II in mid 2010 firmly restarted the program.

Traditional quarters and modern geographic areas

The four traditional ''Quartiers'' of Monaco are: Monaco-Ville, La Condamine, Monte Carlo and Fontvieille. However, the suburb of Moneghetti, the high-level part of La Condamine, is generally seen today as an effective fifth ''Quartier'' of the Monaco, having a very distinct atmosphere and topography when compared with low-level La Condamine.

Wards

Currently Monaco is subdivided into ten ''Wards'', with their official numbers; either Fontvieille II or Le Portier, would become the affective eleventh ward, if built:

Ward (country subdivision)City blockMonaco-VilleMonte CarloSaint Roman (community)LarvottoSaint Michel, MonacoLa CondamineLa Colle, MonacoLes Révoires (''Hector Otto-Honoré Labande'')MoneghettiFontvieille, MonacoFontvieille IILe Portier Monaco

No.	Ward ||	Area(km²)	Population(Censusof 2008)	Density(km²)	CityBlocks''(îlots)''||Remarks
colspan="7" style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"	Former municipality of Monaco
05	|	0.19	1,034	5597	19	Old City
colspan="7" style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"	Former municipality of Monte Carlo
01	Monte Carlo/Spélugues (''Bd. Des Moulins-Av. de la Madone'')||	0.30	3,834	10779	20	Casino and resort area
02	La Rousse/Saint Roman (''Annonciade-Château Périgord'')||	0.13	3,223	30633	17	Northeast area, includes Le Ténao
03	Larvotto/Bas Moulins (''Larvotto-Bd Psse Grace'')||	0.34	5,443	16570	17	Eastern beach area
10	Saint Michel (''Psse Charlotte-Park Palace'')||	0.16	3,907	26768	24	Central residential area
colspan="7" style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"	Former municipality of La Condamine
04	|	0.28	3,947	16213	28	Northwest port area
07	La Colle (''Plati-Pasteur-Bd Charles III'')||	0.11	2,829	15005	15	Cap-d'Ail>Cap d'Ail
08	|	0.09	2,545	33203	11	Contains the Jardin Exotique de Monaco
09	Moneghetti/ Bd de Belgique (''Bd Rainier III-Bd de Belgique'') ||	0.10	3,003	28051	17	Central-north residential area
colspan="7" style="text-align:center; background:#efefef;"	New land reclaimed from the sea
06	Fontvieille ||	0.35	3,901	10156	10	Started 1981
11(1)	|	0.05(2)	–	-	4(3)	Proposed by Prince Albert II after Le Portier was shelved
11(1)	|	0.12(2)	–	-	6(3)	Plans put on hold by Prince Albert II in 2009
10	|	2.05	35,352	16217	178

''Note: for statistical purposes, the Wards of Monaco are further subdivided into 178 city blocks (îlots), which are comparable to the census blocks in the United States''.

Climate

Monaco has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa), which is influenced by the oceanic climate and the humid subtropical climate.

As a result, it has warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Cool and rainy interludes can interrupt the dry summer season, the average length of which is also shorter. Summer afternoons are infrequently hot (indeed, temperatures > 30 °C /86 °F are rare) as the atmosphere is tempered by constant sea breezes. On the other hand, the nights are very mild, this being due to the fairly high temperature of the sea in summer. Generally, temperatures do not drop below 20 °C in this season. In winter, frosts and snowfalls are extremely rare, generally occurring once or twice every ten years.

Sport and entertainment

Formula One

Since 1955, the Monaco Grand Prix has been held annually in the streets of Monaco. It is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. The erection of the ''Circuit de Monaco'' takes six weeks to complete, and the removal after the race another three weeks. The circuit has many elevation changes and tight corners, along with a tunnel. This together with being incredibly narrow and tight makes it perhaps the most demanding Formula One track. Only two drivers have ever crashed into the harbour, the most famous being Alberto Ascari in the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix, just four days before losing his life at Monza. The other was Paul Hawkins, during the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix.

Monte Carlo Rally

The Monte Carlo Rally has been held since 1911, having originally been held at the behest of Prince Albert I and is, like the principality's Grand Prix, organised by the ''Automobile Club de Monaco''. It has long been considered to be one of the toughest and most prestigious events in rallying and from 1973 to 2008 was the opening round of the World Rally Championship. From 2009 until 2011, the rally served as the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, having most recently been run on the 19–22 January 2011 in celebration of the event's centenary.

2012 will mark the return of the Monte Carlo Rally to the WRC calendar with the event taking place from the 20–22 January 2012.

Football

Monaco hosts two major football teams in the principality; men's football club AS Monaco FC and women's football club OS Monaco. AS Monaco plays at the Stade Louis II and competes in the Ligue 2, the second division of French football. The club is historically one of the most successful clubs in France. However, it suffered relegation in the 2010–11 season. Because of the popular appeal of living in Monaco and the lack of income tax, many international stars have played for the club, such as Marcelo Gallardo, Jürgen Klinsmann, Oliver Bierhoff, George Weah, John Collins, Fernando Morientes, Thierry Henry, Fabien Barthez, Rafael Márquez, Javier Saviola, Akis Zikos, David Trezeguet, John Arne Riise, Patrice Evra, Shabani Nonda, Emmanuel Adebayor, Eiður Guðjohnsen, Jan Koller, Victor Ikpeba, Park Chu-Young and Mahamadou Diarra.

The club reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final, led by the likes of Dado Pršo, Fernando Morientes, Jérôme Rothen, Akis Zikos, and Ludovic Giuly, losing 3–0 to Portuguese team F.C. Porto. The Stade Louis II also plays host to the annual UEFA Super Cup, which is played between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. The women's team, OS Monaco, competes in the women's French football league system. The club currently plays in the local regional league deep down in the league system, however once played in the Division 1 Féminine in the 1994–95 season, but were quickly relegated. Current French women's international goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi had a short stint at the club before going to the Clairefontaine academy.

The Monaco national football team represents the nation in association football and is controlled by the Monegasque Football Federation, the governing body for football in Monaco. However, Monaco is the only sovereign state in Europe that is not a member of UEFA, and so does not take part in any UEFA European Football Championship or FIFA World Cup competitions. The team play their home matches in the Stade Louis II.

Rugby

Monaco's national rugby team, as of March 2012, is 90th in the International Rugby Board rankings.

Other sports

The Monte-Carlo Masters is currently held annually in neighbouring Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, as a professional tournament for men as part of tennis' ATP Masters Series. The tournament has been held since 1897. Golf's Monte Carlo Open was also held at the Monte Carlo Golf Club at Mont Agel in France between 1984 and 1992. Monaco has also competed in the Olympic Games, although, as of 2008, no athlete from Monaco has ever won an Olympic medal.

In 2009, the ''Tour de France'', the world's premier bicycle race, started from Monaco with a 15 km closed-circuit individual time trial starting and finishing there on the first day (4 July) and the 182 km second leg starting there on the following day and ending in Brignoles, France.

Monaco also stage part of the Global Champions Tour (International Show-jumping). Acknowledged as the most glamorous of the series, Monaco will be hosting the world's most celebrated riders, including Monaco's own Charlotte Casiraghi, in a setting facing out over the world's most beautiful yachts, and framed by the Port Hercule and Prince's palace. In 2009, the Monaco stage of the Global Champions tour took place between 25 – 27 June.

The Monaco Marathon is the only marathon in the world to pass through three separate countries, those of Monaco, France and Italy. The 2010 event took place on 21 March. Runners complete the race by returning to the Stade Louis II.

The Monaco Ironman 70.3 triathlon race is an annual event with over 1000 athletes competing and attracts top professional athletes from around the world. The race includes a 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike ride and 21.1 km run.

Since 1993, the headquarters of the International Association of Athletics Federations, the world governing body of athletics, has been located in Monaco. An IAAF Diamond League meet is annually held at Stade Louis II.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Monaco has ten state-operated schools, including: seven nursery and primary schools; one secondary school, ''Collège Charles III''; one ''lycée'' that provides general and technological training, ''Lycée Albert 1er''; and one lycée that provides vocational and hotel training, ''Lycée technique et hôtelier de Monte-Carlo''. There are also two grant-aided denominational private schools, including ''Institution François d'Assise Nicolas Barré'' and ''Ecole des Sœurs Dominicaines'', and one international school, the International School of Monaco.

Colleges and universities

There is one university located in Monaco:

International University of Monaco

Demographics

Monaco's population is unusual in that the native Monegasques are a minority in their own country comprising 21.6% of the population. The largest group are French nationals at 28.4%, followed by Monegasque (21.6%), Italian (18.7%), British (7.5%), Belgian (2.8%), German (2.5%), Swiss (2.5%) and US nationals (1.2%).

Citizens of Monaco are called ''Monacans'', while ''Monegasque'' is the proper term for describing someone who was born in Monaco.

Language

The official language of Monaco is French. English is used by American, British and Irish residents. The traditional national language is Monégasque, now spoken by only a minority of residents. It resembles Ligurian, which is spoken in Genoa. In the old part of Monaco, street signs are printed in both French and Monégasque. Italian is also spoken by the principality's sizable community from Italy.

Religion

Roman Catholic

The official religion is Roman Catholicism, with freedom of other religions guaranteed by the constitution. There are five Roman Catholic parish churches in Monaco and one cathedral, which is the seat of the archbishop of Monaco. The diocese, which has existed since the mid-nineteenth century, was raised to an archbishopric in 1981 as the Archdiocese of Monaco. The patron saint is Saint Devota.

Anglican

There is one Anglican church (St. Paul's Church), located in the Avenue de Grande Bretagne in Monte Carlo. In 2007 this had a formal membership of 135 Anglicans resident in the principality, but was also serving a considerably larger number of Anglicans temporarily in the country, mostly as tourists. The church site also accommodates an English-language library of over 3,000 books. The church is part of the Anglican Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe.

Jewish

The Association Culturelle Israélite de Monaco (founded 1948) is a converted house containing a synagogue, a community Hebrew school, and a kosher food shop, located in Monte Carlo. The community (approximately 1,000) mainly consists of retired Jews from Britain (40%) and North Africa. Two thirds of the Jewish population there are Sephardic, mainly from North Africa, while the other third is Ashkenazi.

Security

The wider defence of the nation is provided by France. Monaco has no navy or air force, but on both a per-capita and per-area basis, Monaco has the largest police force (515 police officers for 35,000 people) and police presence in the world. Its police includes a specialist unit which operates patrol and surveillance boats.

There is also a small military force. This consists of a bodyguard unit for the Prince and the palace in Monaco-Ville called the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince (Prince's Company of Carabiniers), which is equipped with modern weapons such as M16 rifles and 9 mm pistols, and which together with the militarized, armed fire and civil defence Corps (Sapeurs-Pompiers) forms Monaco's total public forces. The Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince was created by Prince Honoré IV in 1817 for the protection of the Principality and the Princely family. The company numbers exactly 116 officers and men; while the NCOs and soldiers are local, the officers have generally served in the French Army. In addition to their guard duties as described, ce the Carabiniers patrol the Principality's beaches and coastal waters.

Flag

The flag of Monaco is one of the world's oldest national flag designs. The flag of Monaco is identical to the flag of Indonesia, except for the ratio of height to width.

Transport

The Monaco-Monte Carlo station is served by the SNCF, the French national rail system. The Monte Carlo International Heliport provides helicopter service to the closest airport, Côte d'Azur Airport in Nice, France.

Notes

See also

Foreign relations of Monaco

List of rulers of Monaco

Music of Monaco

Outline of Monaco

Telecommunications in Monaco

References

External links

; Government

Official Government Portal

Official website of the Prince's Palace of Monaco

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

; General information

Monaco from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''

Monaco information about Monaco

History of Monaco: Primary documents

; Travel

Official website for Tourism

Your Monaco Monaco travel guide

Principality Monaco Principality Monaco travel and special offers site

MonacoWeb.com Interactive portal for real estate listings, events & entertainment, and free classified ads

maBoum.com Unofficial guide to what's on in Monaco

A selection of 30 very representative photos of Monaco

map of Monaco

; Work

Monaco Job Portal

; Other Order of the doctors of Monaco French Monaco Web portail

La Principauté – Le premier journal d'actualité de Monaco

Monaco Today, a daily newsletter in English, Monaco247.com

Monaco247.com English news portal

The Monaco Times – a regular feature in The Riviera Times is the English language newspaper for the French – Italian Riviera and the Principality of Monaco provides monthly local news and information about business, art and culture, people and lifestyle, events and also the real estate market.

Monaco-IQ Monaco information and news aggregator

Monte-Carlo Italian Monte-Carlo unofficial portal

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Name	Damon Hill
Nationality	British
Birth date	September 17, 1960
Years	1992–1999
Team(s)	Brabham, Williams, Arrows, Jordan
Races	122 (115 starts)
Championships	1 (1996)
Wins	22
Podiums	42
Points	360
Poles	20
Fastest laps	19
First race	1992 Spanish Grand Prix
First win	1993 Hungarian Grand Prix
Last win	1998 Belgian Grand Prix
Last race	1999 Japanese Grand Prix }}

Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE (born 17 September 1960) is a retired British racing driver from England. In 1996 Hill won the Formula One World Championship. As the son of the late Graham Hill, he is the only son of a world champion to win the title. His father died in an aeroplane crash when Hill was 15.

Personal and early life

Hill was born in Hampstead, London on 17 September 1960 to Graham and Bette Hill. Graham Hill was a racing driver in the international Formula One series. He won the world drivers' championship in 1962 and 1968 and became a well known personality in the United Kingdom. Graham Hill's career provided a comfortable living. By 1975 the family lived in a "25-room country mansion" in Hertfordshire and Damon attended the independent Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School. The death of his father in an aeroplane crash in 1975 left the 15-year-old Hill, his mother, and sisters Samantha and Brigitte in drastically reduced circumstances. Hill worked as a labourer and a motorcycle courier to support his further education.

Hill is married to Susan George ('Georgie' – born 29 April 1961) and they have four children: Oliver (born 4 March 1989), Joshua (born 9 January 1991), Tabitha (born 19 July 1995) and Rosie (born 1 February 1998). Oliver was born with Down's syndrome and Hill and Georgie are both patrons of the Down's Syndrome Association. In 2008, Damon also became the first patron of St. Joseph's Specialist School and College, a school for children with severe learning disabilities and autism in Cranleigh, Surrey. Joshua started racing in 2008, and as of 2011 is competing in the British Formula Renault Championship.

Career

Pre-Formula One

Hill started his motorsport career in motorcycle racing in 1981. He used the same simple, easily identifiable helmet design as his father: eight white oar blades arranged vertically around the upper surface of a dark blue helmet. The device and colours represent the London Rowing Club for which Graham Hill rowed in the early 1950s. Although he won a 350 cc clubman's championship at the Brands Hatch circuit, his racing budget came from working as a building labourer and he "didn't really look destined for great things" according to ''Motorcycle News'' reporter Rob McDonnell. His mother, who was concerned about the dangers of racing motorcycles, persuaded him to take a racing car course at the Winfield Racing School in France in 1983. Although he showed "above-average aptitude", Hill had only sporadic single-seater races until the end of 1984. He graduated through British Formula Ford, winning six races driving a Van Diemen for Manadient Racing in 1985, his first full season in cars, and finishing third and fifth in the two UK national championships. He also took third place in the final of the 1985 Formula Ford Festival, helping the UK to win the team prize.

For 1986, Hill planned to move up to the British Formula Three Championship with title-winning team West Surrey Racing. The loss of sponsorship from Ricoh, and then the death of his proposed team-mate Bertrand Fabi in a testing accident, ended Hill's proposed drive. Hill says "When Bert was killed, I took the conscious decision that I wasn't going to stop doing that sort of thing. It's not just competing, it's doing something more exciting. I'm at my fullest skiing, racing or whatever. And I'm more frightened of letting it all slip and reaching 60 and finding I've done nothing." Hill borrowed £100,000 to finance his racing and had a steady first season for Murray Taylor Racing in 1986 before taking a brace of wins in each of the following years for Intersport. He finished third in the 1988 championship.

In Europe in the 1990s, a successful driver would usually progress from Formula Three either directly to Formula One, the pinnacle of the sport, or to the International Formula 3000 championship. However, Hill did not have enough sponsorship available to fund a drive in F3000. He says "I ended up having to reappraise my career a bit. The first thing was to realise how lucky I was to be driving anything. I made the decision that whatever I drove I would do it to the best of my ability and see where it led." He took a one-off drive in the lower level British F3000 championship and shared a Porsche 962 at Le Mans for Richard Lloyd Racing, where the engine failed after 228 laps. He also competed in one race in the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, driving a Ford Sierra RS500. Midway through the season, an opportunity arose at the uncompetitive Mooncraft F3000 team. The team tested Hill and Perry McCarthy. Their performances were comparable but according to the team manager, John Wickham, the team sponsors preferred the Hill name. Although his best result was a 15th place, Hill's race performances for Mooncraft led to an offer to drive a Lola chassis for Middlebridge Racing in 1990. He took three pole positions and led five races in 1990, but did not win a race during his Formula 3000 career.

Formula One

1992: Brabham

Hill started his Grand Prix career during the 1991 season as a test driver with the championship-winning Williams team while still competing in the F3000 series. However, midway through 1992 Hill broke into Grand Prix racing as a driver with the struggling Brabham team. The formerly competitive team was in serious financial difficulties. Hill started the season only after three races, replacing Giovanna Amati after her sponsorship had failed to materialise. Amati had not been able to get the car through qualifying but Hill matched his team-mate, Eric van de Poele by qualifying for two races, the mid-season British and Hungarian Grands Prix. Hill continued to test for the Williams team that year and the British Grand Prix saw Nigel Mansell win the race for Williams, while he finished last in the Brabham. The Brabham team collapsed after the Hungarian Grand Prix and did not complete the season.

1993–1996: Williams

When Mansell's team-mate Riccardo Patrese left Williams to drive for Benetton in 1993, Hill was unexpectedly promoted to the race team alongside triple world champion Alain Prost ahead of more experienced candidates such as Martin Brundle and Mika Häkkinen. Traditionally, the reigning driver's world champion carries the number '1' on his car and his team-mate takes the number '2'. Because Mansell, the 1992 champion, was not racing in Formula One in 1993, his Williams team were given numbers '0' and '2'. As the junior partner to Prost, Hill took '0', the second man in Formula One history to do so, after Jody Scheckter in 1973.

The season did not start well when Hill spun out of second place shortly after the start of the South African Grand Prix and failed to finish the race after colliding with Alex Zanardi on lap 16. However, at the Brazilian and European Grands Prix, Prost fared poorly in the rain and Hill drove well enough to finish second behind another triple world champion, Ayrton Senna. In his first full season, Hill benefited from the experience of his veteran French team-mate. His results continued to improve as the season went on. He took pole at the French Grand Prix and closely followed Prost, team orders preventing him from seriously challenging for the win. He suffered an engine failure while leading the British Grand Prix and a puncture near the end of the German Grand Prix also while leading. Hill went on to win three successive races at the Hungarian, Belgian and Italian Grands Prix. In doing so he became the first son of a Formula One Grand Prix winner to take victory himself. Hill's third consecutive win clinched the constructors' championship for Williams and moved him temporarily to second in the drivers' standings until McLaren's Ayrton Senna passed him by winning the last two races. Prost finished the season as champion.

In 1994, Senna joined Hill at Williams. As the reigning champion, this time Prost, was again no longer racing, Hill retained his number '0'. The pre-season betting was that Senna would coast to the title, but with the banning of electronic driver aids, the Benetton team and Michael Schumacher initially proved more competitive and won the first three races. At the San Marino Grand Prix on 1 May, Senna died after his car went off the road. With the team undergoing investigation from the Italian authorities on manslaughter charges, Hill found himself team leader with only one season’s experience in the top flight. It was widely reported at the time that the Williams car's steering column had failed, though Hill told BBC Sport in 2004 that he believed Senna simply took the corner too fast for the conditions, referring to the fact that the car had just restarted the race with cold tyres after being slowed down by a safety car.

Hill represented Williams alone at the next race, the Monaco Grand Prix. His race ended early in a collision involving several cars on the opening lap of the race. For the following race, the Spanish Grand Prix, Williams' test driver David Coulthard was promoted to the race team alongside Hill, who won the race just four weeks after Senna's death. Twenty-six years earlier Graham Hill had won in Spain under similar circumstances for Lotus after the death of his team-mate Jim Clark. Championship leader Schumacher finished second with a gearbox fault restricting him to fifth gear, having led the early laps.

Schumacher led by 66 points to 29 by the mid-point of the season. At the French Grand Prix, Frank Williams brought back Mansell, who shared the second car with Coulthard for the remainder of the season. Mansell earned approximately £900,000 for each of his four races, while Hill was paid £300,000 for the entire season, though Hill's position as lead driver remained unquestioned. Hill came back into contention for the title after winning the British Grand Prix, a race which his father had never won. Schumacher was disqualified from that race and banned for two further races for overtaking Hill during the formation lap and ignoring the subsequent black flag. Four more victories for Hill, three of which were in races where Schumacher was excluded or disqualified, took the title battle to the final event at Adelaide. At Schumacher's first race since his ban, the European Grand Prix, he suggested that Hill (who was eight years his senior) was not a world class driver. However, during the penultimate race at the Japanese Grand Prix, Hill took victory ahead of Schumacher in a rain-soaked event. This put Hill just one point behind the German before the last race of the season.

Neither Hill nor Schumacher finished the season-closing Australian Grand Prix, after a controversial collision which gave the title to Schumacher. Schumacher ran off the track hitting the wall with the right-hand side of his Benetton while leading. Coming into the sixth corner Hill moved to pass the Benetton and the two collided, breaking the Williams' front left suspension wishbone, and forcing both drivers' retirement from the race. BBC Formula One commentator Murray Walker, a great fan and friend of Hill, has often maintained that Schumacher did not cause the crash intentionally. WilliamsF1 co-owner Patrick Head feels differently. In 2006 he said that at the time of the incident "Williams were already 100% certain that Michael was guilty of foul play" but did not protest Schumacher's title because the team was still dealing with the death of Ayrton Senna. In 2007, Hill explicitly accused Schumacher of causing the collision deliberately.

Hill's season earned him the 1994 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Coming into the 1995 season, Hill was one of the title favourites. The Williams team were reigning constructors' champions, having beaten Benetton in 1994, and with young David Coulthard, who was embarking on his first full season in Formula One, as team-mate, Hill was the clear number one driver. The year started badly when he spun off in Brazil due to a mechanical problem, but wins in the next two races put him in the championship lead. However, Schumacher won seven of the next twelve races, and took his second title with two races to spare, while Benetton took the constructors' championship. Schumacher and Hill had several on-track incidents during the season, two of which led to suspended one race bans. Schumacher's penalty was for blocking and forcing Hill off the road at the Belgian Grand Prix; Hill's was for colliding with Schumacher under braking at the Italian Grand Prix. Hill's season finished positively when he won the Australian Grand Prix by finishing two laps ahead of the runner-up, Olivier Panis in a Ligier.

1995 was a disappointing season for Hill: some of the Williams team had been frustrated with his performances and Frank Williams began to consider bringing in Heinz-Harald Frentzen to replace him. With Hill already under contract for 1996, his place at the team was secure for one more season, but it would prove to be his last at Williams.

In 1996 the Williams car was clearly the quickest in Formula One and Hill went on to win the title ahead of his rookie teammate Jacques Villeneuve, becoming the only son of a Formula One champion to win the championship himself. Taking eight wins and never qualifying off the front row, Hill enjoyed by far his most successful season. At Monaco, where his father had won five times in the 1960s, he led until his engine failed, curtailing his race and allowing Olivier Panis to take his only Formula One win. Near the end of the season, Villeneuve began to mount a title challenge and took pole in the Japanese Grand Prix, the final race of the year. However, Hill took the lead at the start and won both the race and the championship after the Canadian retired.

Hill equalled the record for starting all 16 races of the season from the front row, matching Ayrton Senna in and Alain Prost in . Sebastian Vettel holds the record for the highest number of front row starts in a season, with 18 in .

Despite winning the title, Hill learned before the season's close that he was to be dropped by Williams in favour of Frentzen for the following season. Hill left Williams as the team's second most successful driver in terms of race victories, with 21, second only to Mansell. Hill's 1996 world championship earned him his second BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Award, making him one of only three people to receive the award twice – the others being boxer Henry Cooper and Mansell. Hill was also awarded the Segrave Trophy by the Royal Automobile Club. The trophy is awarded to the British national who accomplishes the most outstanding demonstration of the possibilities of transport by land, sea, air, or water.

1997: Arrows

Hill became the fourth driver in nine years to win the World Drivers' Championship and not drive for Williams the following season following in the footsteps of Nelson Piquet ( WDC - drove for Lotus), Nigel Mansell ( WDC - 1993 competed in the US based Champ Car World Series instead of F1) and Alain Prost (1993 WDC - Retired). As world champion, Hill was in high demand, and had offers to drive from McLaren, Benetton and Ferrari. However, in Hill's opinion neither fully financially valued his World Champion status. Instead, he signed for Arrows, a team which had never won a race in its 20-year history and had scored only a single point the previous year. His title defence in 1997 proved unsuccessful, getting off to a poor start when he only narrowly qualified for the Australian Grand Prix, and then retired on the parade lap. The Arrows car, using tyres from series debutant Bridgestone and engines from previously unsuccessful Yamaha, was generally uncompetitive, and Hill did not score his first point for the team until the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July. The highlight of the year came at the Hungarian Grand Prix. On a day when the Bridgestone tyres had a competitive edge over their Goodyear rivals, Hill qualified third in a car which had not previously placed higher than 9th on the grid. During the race he passed championship contender Michael Schumacher on the track and was leading late in the race, well ahead of the eventual 1997 World Champion Villeneuve, when a hydraulic problem drastically slowed the Arrows. Villeneuve passed Hill, who finished second and achieved the team's first podium since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix.

1998–1999: Jordan

Hill left Arrows after one season and after coming close to signing for the Prost team run by his former team-mate, decided instead to sign for the Jordan team for the 1998 season. His driving partner there was Ralf Schumacher, the younger brother of Michael. In the first half of the season the car was off the pace and unreliable. At the Canadian Grand Prix however, things began to improve. Hill moved up to second place as others retired or pitted for fuel. On lap 38, Schumacher, delayed by a stop-and-go penalty for forcing Frentzen's Williams off the track, caught Hill on the home straight; Hill moved across the track three times to block Schumacher, who missed his braking point and ran over the kerbs at the chicane to take the place. Hill was running fourth after his only pit stop when he retired with an electrical failure. After the race Schumacher accused Hill of dangerous driving. Hill responded that Schumacher "cannot claim anyone drives badly when you look at the things he's been up to in his career. He took Frentzen out completely." Only eight drivers finished the race. The victory was his first since being dropped by the Williams team, which won no races that season. Hill finished the year with a last lap move on Frentzen at the Japanese Grand Prix which earned him fourth place in the race, and Jordan fourth in the constructors' championship.

Hopes were high for 1999, but Hill did not enjoy a good season. Struggling with the new four-grooved tyres introduced that year, he was outpaced by his new team-mate—Heinz-Harald Frentzen, his replacement at Williams two years previously—and appeared to lose motivation. After a crash at the Canadian Grand Prix he announced plans to retire from the sport at the end of the year, but after failing to finish the French Grand Prix, which Frentzen won, he considered quitting immediately.

Jordan persuaded Hill to stay on for the British Grand Prix. Going into the weekend, Hill announced he would retire after the race, so Jordan had Jos Verstappen test their car ready to replace Hill should the need arise. Following a strong fifth place at his home event, Hill changed his mind, and decided to see out the year. His best result for the remainder of the season was sixth place, which he achieved in both Hungary and Belgium. With three races of 1999 to go, there were rumours that the Prost team would release Jarno Trulli, who had signed for Jordan for 2000, early to replace Hill, but the Briton completed the season. Meanwhile, his team-mate Frentzen was a title contender going into the final few races, and eventually finished third in the championship. Hill and Frentzen helped Jordan to its best-ever finish of third in the constructors' championship. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Hill's last race in Formula One ended when he spun off the track and pulled into the pits to retire a healthy car.

After racing

In retirement Hill has continued to be involved with cars and motorsport. He founded the Prestige and Super Car Private Members Club P1 International with Michael Breen in 2000; Breen bought Hill out in October 2006. Hill also became involved in a BMW dealership, just outside Royal Leamington Spa, that bore his name and an Audi dealership in Exeter. In April 2006, Hill succeeded Jackie Stewart as President of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC).

In 2009 he received an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Northampton recognising his successful career and his connection with Northampton through Silverstone and the BRDC.

Hill has also regularly appeared in the British media. He has contributed many articles to F1 Racing magazine and has twice appeared in ITV F1's commentary box, covering for Martin Brundle at the 2007 and 2008 Hungarian Grands Prix. Hill also made a UK television advert with F1 commentator Murray Walker for Pizza Hut, in which Walker commentated on Hill's meal as if it were a race. Hill has also appeared on many British television programmes, including ''Top Gear'', ''This is Your Life'', ''TFI Friday'', ''Shooting Stars'' and ''Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer''.

Hill has raced both cars and motorcycles at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and in 2005 he tested the new GP2 Series car. Hill was back behind the wheel of a single-seater race car in the summer of 2006, when he took a Grand Prix Masters machine for a test run around the Silverstone circuit. Hill said that he enjoyed the experience and "I wouldn’t rule [a return to racing] out, but I can’t honestly say that right now I need to race. That is the bit that is missing. I love driving, I love pushing the limit and all the rest of it but racing for me…I don’t have an ambition to do it and I think that’s an important part of the equation."

In January 2012, British Sky Broadcasting announced that they had signed Hill to join Martin Brundle as a commentator for the 2012 Formula One season.

Music career

Hill was interested in music from an early age and formed the punk band "Sex, Hitler and the Hormones" with some friends while at school. After achieving success in Formula One, he was able to play guitar with several famous musicians, including his friend George Harrison, and appeared on "Demolition Man", the opening track of Def Leppard's album ''Euphoria''. Hill also made a regular appearance at the British Grand Prix alongside other Formula One musicians such as Eddie Jordan. After his retirement at the end of the 1999 season, Hill devoted more time to music and played with celebrity bands including Spike Edney's SAS band, and Pat Cash's Wild Colonial Boys. Hill also formed his own band, The Conrods, which was active between 1999 and 2003 and played cover versions of well known songs from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and The Kinks. Since becoming president of the BRDC in 2006, Hill says he has abandoned the guitar, being "too busy doing school runs and looking after pets."

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! DC

! Points

! GA Motorsports

Lola Cars>Lola T88/50

Cosworth>Ford Cosworth

style="background:#efcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

! –

! 0

Footwork Arrows>Footwork

Mooncraft>Mooncraft/89

Mugen Motorsports>Mugen Honda

style="background:#efcfff;"

style="background:#efcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

! –

! 0

! Middlebridge Racing

Lola Cars>Lola T90/50

Cosworth>Ford Cosworth

style="background:#ffcfcf;"

style="background:#efcfff;"

style="background:#efcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#efcfff;"

style="background:#efcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#efcfff;"

style="background:#efcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

! 13th

! 6

Jordan Grand Prix>Jordan Racing

Lola Cars>Lola T91/50

Cosworth>Ford Cosworth

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#efcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#efcfff;"

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! 7th

! 11

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

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List of Formula One World Championship points scoring systems>Points

Brabham>Motor RacingDevelopments Ltd.

Brabham Brabham BT60>BT60B

Judd (engine)>Judd

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! Canon (company)

! [[Williams F1

Renault

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! [[Williams F1

Renault

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Rothmans International>Rothmans Williams F1

! [[Williams F1

Renault

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Rothmans International>Rothmans Williams F1

! [[Williams F1

Renault

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! Danka (copier supplier)

Arrows A18>A18

Yamaha Motor Company>Yamaha

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! 12th

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Benson & Hedges>B&H

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! 6th

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! [[Benson & Hedges

! [[Jordan Grand Prix

! [[Mugen Motorsports

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! 12th

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References

Further reading

Damon Hill, ''Damon Hill: Through the eyes of Damon Hill'' ISBN 0-316-85392-5

[[David Tremayne">Total S.A.

! [[Jordan Grand Prix ! [[Mugen Motorsports style="background:#cfcfff;" style="background:#000;" style="background:#cfcfff;" style="background:#cfcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#cfcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#cfcfff;" style="background:#dfffdf;" style="background:#dfffdf;" style="background:#ffffbf;" style="background:#dfffdf;" style="background:#cfcfff;" style="background:#dfffdf;" ! 6th ! 20 ! [[Benson & Hedges ! [[Jordan Grand Prix ! [[Mugen Motorsports style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#dfffdf;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#cfcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#dfffdf;" style="background:#cfcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#dfffdf;" style="background:#dfffdf;" style="background:#cfcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" style="background:#efcfff;" ! 12th ! 7

References

Further reading

Damon Hill, ''Damon Hill: Through the eyes of Damon Hill'' ISBN 0-316-85392-5

[[David Tremayne, ''Damon Hill: World Champion'' ISBN 0-297-82262-4

Alan Henry, ''Damon Hill: From Zero to Hero'' ISBN 1-85260-517-0

Mike Baldock, ''Damon Hill: Clipping the Apex'' http://members.lycos.co.uk/justbuzzin/DamonHill/damon_main.htm

}}

Category:People from Hampstead Category:Sportspeople from London Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:BRDC Gold Star winners Category:BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners Category:Segrave Trophy recipients Category:People educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Category:English racing drivers Category:English Formula One drivers Category:Williams Formula One drivers Category:Formula One World Drivers' Champions Category:Formula Ford drivers Category:British Formula Three Championship drivers Category:British Formula 3000 Championship drivers Category:British Touring Car Championship drivers Category:International Formula 3000 drivers Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Category:1960 births Category:Living people

bg:Деймън Хил br:Damon Hill ca:Damon Graham Devereux Hill cs:Damon Hill cy:Damon Hill da:Damon Hill de:Damon Hill et:Damon Hill es:Damon Hill eu:Damon Hill fr:Damon Hill gl:Damon Hill hr:Damon Hill id:Damon Hill it:Damon Hill he:דיימון היל ka:დეიმონ ჰილი lv:Deimons Hils lt:Damon Hill hu:Damon Hill mr:डेमन हिल nl:Damon Hill ja:デイモン・ヒル no:Damon Hill nn:Damon Hill pl:Damon Hill pt:Damon Hill ro:Damon Hill ru:Хилл, Деймон simple:Damon Hill sk:Damon Hill sl:Damon Hill sr:Дејмон Хил fi:Damon Hill sv:Damon Hill tr:Damon Hill uk:Деймон Гілл vls:Damon Hill zh:戴蒙·希爾

{| style="float:right;" |

Name	Albert II
Succession	Prince of Monaco
Predecessor	Rainier III
Suc-type
Successor	Caroline
Reg-type	Ministers of State
Regent
Reign1	31 March 2005 – 6 April 2005
Reign-type1	Regency
Reign	6 April 2005 – present
Spouse	Charlene Wittstock
Issue-link	#Children born out of wedlock
Issue	Jazmin Grace Grimaldi (Illegitimate)Alexandre Coste (Illegitimate)
House	House of Grimaldi
Father	Rainier III
Mother	Princess Grace
Birth date	March 14, 1958
Birth place	Prince's Palace, Monaco
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature	Signature of Albert II, Prince of Monaco.png

|- | |- |

royal name	Albert II, Prince of Monaco
dipstyle	His Serene Highness
offstyle	Your Serene Highness
altstyle	Sir}}

|}

Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958), is the head of the House of Grimaldi and the ruler of the Principality of Monaco. He is the son of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly. His sisters are Hereditary Princess Caroline and Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

In July 2011, Prince Albert married Charlene Lynette Wittstock, now Princess Charlene.

Prince Albert is one of the wealthiest Royals in the World, valued at more than $1 billion. This includes vast amounts of land both in Monaco and France, and which does not include the Prince's Palace but does include Société des bains de mer de Monaco. His wealth does not include that of other members of the House of Grimaldi, which are valued altogether at over $2.5 billion (as of 2010).

Early life

Born in the Prince's Palace of Monaco, Monaco, Albert's godmother was Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. Albert attended the Albert I High School, graduating with distinction in 1976. He was a camper and later a counselor for six summers at Camp Tecumseh on Lake Winnipesaukee, Moultonborough, New Hampshire in the 1970s. He spent a year training in various princely duties, and enrolled at Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1977 as Albert Grimaldi, studying political science, economics, music, and English literature, and also joined Chi Psi fraternity. He speaks French, English, German and Italian.

He spent the summer of 1979 touring Europe and the Middle East with the Amherst Glee Club and graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. Albert also undertook an exchange program with the University of Bristol, at the Alfred Marshall School of Economics and Management in 1979. Albert was an enthusiastic sportsman, participating in cross country, javelin throwing, handball, judo, swimming, tennis, rowing, sailing, skiing, squash and fencing. He is a patron of Monaco's football teams. He competed in the bobsled at every Winter Olympics from Calgary to Salt Lake City. He has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1985. (His maternal grandfather John B. Kelly, Sr., and maternal uncle John B. Kelly, Jr., were both Olympic medal winners in rowing and were actively involved in the Olympic movement.) The press reported the prince refused any special treatment during his Olympic stints, and lived in the same bare-bones quarters as all the other athletes.

On 25 October 2002, Albert visited Miami, Florida for a World Olympians Association fund-raiser at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. The group's mission was to have the 100,000 Olympians get involved with their communities and talk to young athletes about dedication and training.

Regency

On 7 March 2005, Albert's father Rainier III, Prince of Monaco was admitted to a hospital in the principality; he was later moved to an intensive care ward. The Prince was being treated for breathing, kidney, and heart trouble. On 31 March 2005, the Palace of Monaco announced that Hereditary Prince Albert would take over the duties of his father as Regent since Rainier was no longer able to exercise his sovereign functions. This decision was reached by the Crown Council of Monaco, a body made up of notable local figures with residual powers to make judgments about certain constitutional matters. The 47-year-old prince spent his first day as regent of Monaco caring for his critically ill 81-year-old father, who was Europe’s longest-serving monarch and the world's third longest-serving monarch.

Accession

On 6 April 2005, Prince Rainier III died and Hereditary Prince Albert became Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

The first part of Prince Albert II's enthronement as ruler of the Principality was on 12 July 2005, after the end of the three-month mourning period for his father. A morning Mass at Saint Nicholas Cathedral presided over by the Archbishop of Monaco, the Most Reverend Bernard Barsi, formally marked the beginning of his reign. Afterward Albert II returned to the princely palace to host a garden party for 7,000 Monégasques born in the principality. In the courtyard, the Prince was presented with two keys of the city as a symbol of his investiture. The evening ended with a spectacular fireworks display on the waterfront.

The second part of his investiture was on 19 November 2005. Albert was enthroned at Saint Nicholas Cathedral. His family was there in attendance, including his elder sister (and now his heir presumptive) Princess Caroline with her husband Ernst, Prince of Hanover and three of her four children, Andrea, Pierre and Charlotte; as well as his younger sister Princess Stéphanie, his paternal aunt Princess Antoinette, Baroness of Massy, his godson, Jean-Léonard Taubert-Natta de Massy, and his cousin Elisabeth-Anne de Massy. Royalty from 16 delegations were present for the festivities throughout the country. The evening ended with an opera performance in Monte Carlo.

Albert's reign

border|thumb|280px|[[Flag of Monaco#Princely standard|Princely standard of Albert II]]Albert continues the policy, initiated by previous rulers of the statelet, of using his position to draw the world's attention to the need to protect the (marine) environment. Just like his great-great-grandfather Albert I he traveled to Spitsbergen in July 2005. During this trip, he visited the glaciers "Lillihöök" and "Monaco". Prince Albert II also engaged in a Russian Arctic expedition, reaching the North Pole on Easter, 16 April 2006. As a result, he is the first incumbent head of state to have reached the North Pole.

Prince Albert is the Vice-Chairman of the American charity founded in 1982, after his mother's death, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, which supports, as Princess Grace did in her lifetime, emerging artists in theater, dance and film.

In 2006, Prince Albert created the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation which continues the Principality of Monaco's commitment by supporting sustainable and ethical projects around the world which focus on three main challenges: climate change and developing renewable energies; combating the loss of biodiversity; and water management (improving universal access to clean water) and fighting desertification.

Prince Albert is also a Global Advisor to Orphans International.

Economic activities

Prince Albert is one of the owners of Yoctocosmos and member of the World Economic Forum.

Personal life and relationships

Over the years, there was much discussion of the prince's continual bachelor status. Although he had received much press attention for dating well-known fashion models and actresses, his apparent disinclination to marry gave rise to rumors that he is homosexual. Prince Albert has consistently denied this suggestion, most notably in a 1994 interview published in the French magazine ''Madame Figaro''. "At first it was amusing", he said, "but it becomes very irritating in the long term to hear people say that I am homosexual". He has since confirmed that he is the father of two children, and in July 2011, Prince Albert married Charlene Lynette Wittstock, now Princess Charlene.

In October 2005, the German magazine ''Bunte'' reported that Prince Albert was dating Telma Ortiz Rocasolano, a sister-in-law of the Prince of Asturias. However, in November 2005, the Prince instructed his lawyer, Thierry Lacoste, to commence legal proceedings against the French newspaper ''France Dimanche'' for violation of privacy and false information regarding the story.

Children born out of wedlock

Jazmin Grace Grimaldi

In 1992, a California woman, Tamara Rotolo, filed a paternity suit against the prince, claiming that he was the father of her daughter, whom she named Jazmin Grace Grimaldi. Prince Albert was also listed as the father on the child's Riverside County, California, birth certificate, and the child was legally surnamed Grimaldi. However, the case, which went to trial in 1993, eventually was dismissed by Superior Court Judge Graham Anderson Cribbs, who claimed that there was "insufficient contact between Albert and the state of California to justify hearing a suit there" agreeing with an assertion by the prince's lawyer, Stanley Arkin, that the California court had no jurisdiction.

In court documents and legal depositions, Case#IND78459 in Riverside County Superior Court Family Law Division under Superior Court Judge Graham Anderson Cribbs, Prince Albert admitted that he had been with Tamara Rotolo, who was traveling with a friend, Barbara Welker (per her deposition filed with the court), in Monaco on "a couple of occasions" in July 1991. (The child had been born approximately nine months later, on 4 March 1992.) As reported by a local newspaper covering the case, "Arkin asserted that the Riverside County court had no jurisdiction in the case since the romantic encounter supposedly occurred in Monaco and Albert has had no contacts with California that relate to the issues in the suit."

On 31 May 2006, after DNA test results confirmed the child's parentage, Prince Albert admitted, in a statement from his lawyer, that he is Jazmin's father. He also extended an invitation for the girl to study and live in Monaco.

Alexandre Coste

In May 2005, Nicole Coste, a former Air France flight attendant from Togo, claimed that her youngest son, whom she calls Alexandre Coste, is Prince Albert's son, proven by DNA tests conducted by Swiss technicians working on orders from the Monegasque government. She further claimed the prince had signed a notarized certificate confirming paternity but that she had not received a copy of it. The French weekly ''Paris Match'' published a ten-page interview with Coste and included photographs of the prince holding and feeding the child. Coste also told ''Paris Match'' that she was living in the prince's Paris apartment and receiving an allowance from him while pretending to be the girlfriend of one of his friends in order to maintain privacy. She also said that the prince had last seen the boy in February 2005. A spokesman for Prince Albert had no comment, though upon news of Coste's claims, the prince's lawyer, Thierry Lacoste, announced that "A judicial strategy will be determined within the next few days."

In mid-May 2005, Lacoste announced that as a result of the international publicity over the revelations of the prince's son, Prince Albert is suing the ''Daily Mail'', ''Bunte'', and ''Paris Match'' for delving too deeply into his private life.

On 6 July 2005, a few days before he was enthroned on 12 July, Albert II officially confirmed via his lawyer Thierry Lacoste that the 22-month-old is his biological son.

Additional paternity suit

An earlier paternity suit, brought by Bea Fiedler, a German topless model whom the ''Daily Telegraph'' described as a "sex-film star", reportedly was dismissed. A blood test, which was refused by the judge, did not prove that the prince was the father of Fiedler's son, Daniel.

Marriage

Prince Albert married former South African swimmer Charlene Wittstock on 1 July 2011. They announced their engagement on 23 June 2010. They had been seen together since 10 February 2006, at the opening ceremony of the Torino Olympics when Prince Albert was accompanied by Wittstock. They were seen again together at the Monaco Grand Prix. The Prince and Wittstock attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the "Bal de la Rose" and the Princess Grace Awards Gala in 2009. They also attended the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics. As a couple, they also attended the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling in Stockholm four days before their own engagement was announced and the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011. The wedding took place over two days: the civil marriage ceremony took place on 1 July 2011, followed by the religious ceremony on 2 July 2011.

Succession issues

As Rainier III's health declined, his son's lack of legitimate children became a matter of public and political concern due to the legal and international consequences if Albert were to die without lawful heirs. Prior to 2002, Monaco's constitution specified that only the ''last'' reigning prince's "direct and legitimate" descendants could inherit the crown.

On 2 April 2002 Monaco promulgated Princely Law 1.249 which provides that if a reigning prince dies without surviving legitimate issue, the throne passes to his siblings and their descendants of both sexes, according to the principle of male-preference primogeniture. In October 2005 (after Albert's accession to the throne), this law took full effect when ratified by France, pursuant to the 2002 Franco-Monégasque Treaty regulating relations between the Sovereign Principality and its more powerful neighbour. His sisters and their legitimate children thereby acquired the right to succeed to the throne.

Under the current constitution, neither Jazmin nor Alexandre has a claim to the throne of Monaco because they are not legitimate. Monegasque law stipulates that any non-adulterine child is legitimatized by the eventual marriage of his/her parents, thereupon obtaining the rights to which that child would have been entitled if born in lawful marriage. Thus Alexandre would become Monaco's heir apparent under current law if Albert were to ever marry his son's mother. But in a 2005 exchange with US interviewer Larry King, Albert stated that this will not happen. In 2011 he married Charlene Wittstock.

Albert specified that neither of these children is eligible for the throne in statements confirming his paternity. His older sister, Princess Caroline, remains first in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne. Though she is only the heiress presumptive and not heiress apparent, Caroline is the Hereditary Princess of Monaco, according to the Grimaldi house law.

Until Albert II has legitimate descendants born of a dynastic marriage, Caroline is first, and her son Andrea Casiraghi is second in succession to the throne.

Environmental issues

Year of the Dolphin

The year 2007 was declared as (International) Year of the Dolphin by the United Nations and United Nations Environment Programme. Prince Albert served as the International Patron of the 'Year of the Dolphin', saying "The Year of the Dolphin gives me the opportunity to renew my firm commitment towards protecting marine biodiversity. With this strong initiative we can make a difference to save these fascinating marine mammals from the brink of extinction."

Jardin Animalier

Monaco's Jardin Animalier, or zoo, was founded by Prince Rainier. Prince Albert has begun to return the animals to the wild and intends to convert the Jardin to a zoo for children. This project, undertaken in conjunction with the Born Free Foundation, started after the Prince met the Foundation's founder Virginia McKenna for lunch.

Expedition to Antarctica

In January 2009, Prince Albert left for a month-long expedition to Antarctica, where he visited 26 scientific outposts and met with climate-change experts in an attempt to learn more about the impact of global warming on the continent.

CITES and bluefin tuna

In June 2009, Prince Albert co-authored an open letter to the ''Wall Street Journal'' with Charles Clover, the author of ''The End of the Line'', a book about overfishing and ocean conservation issues that had recently been made into a documentary by Rupert Murray. In the letter, Prince Albert acknowledges that bluefin tuna has been severely overfished in the Mediterranean, and decries the common European Union practice of awarding inflated quotas to bluefin fleets. He announced that Monaco would seek to award endangered species status to the Mediterranean bluefin ''Thunnus thynnus'', (also called the Northern bluefin) under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). If upheld by the voting CITES delegates, this proposal would effectively ban the international trade in Mediterranean bluefin. This was the first time a nation had called for the inclusion of Mediterranean bluefin under CITES since Sweden at the 1992 CITES Conference, which was vehemently opposed by Japan who eventually threatened retaliation through trade barriers. Sweden withdrew its proposal.

On 16 July 2009, France declared that it too would seek to have Mediterranean bluefin listed as an endangered species. Only hours later, the United Kingdom followed suit.

Roger Revelle Prize

On 23 October 2009, Prince Albert was awarded the Roger Revelle Prize for his efforts to protect the environment and to promote scientific research. This award was given to Prince Albert by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. Prince Albert is the second recipient of this prize.

Awards

In 1996 Prince Albert received the Eagle Award from the United States Sports Academy. The Eagle Award is the Academy's highest international honor and was awarded to Prince Albert for his significant contributions in promoting international harmony, peace and goodwill through the effective use of sport.

In popular culture

In the film ''The Social Network'', Albert II is played by actor James Shanklin.

Other roles

President, Monaco's delegation to the United Nations

President, Monaco Red Cross

President, Monaco's Olympic Committee

Honorary President, Association Mondiale des Amis de l'Enfance

Honorary President, The Automobile Club de Monaco

Honorary President, Jumping International de Monte Carlo

Patron, Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

Patron, Peace and Sport Organization

Titles, styles, and honours

Titles and styles

Albert has held two positions:

''His Serene Highness'' The Hereditary Prince of Monaco, Marquis of Baux (1958–2005)

''His Serene Highness'' The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Marquis of Baux (2005–present) As the prince, his official shortened title is His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco; this does not include the many other styles claimed by the Grimaldi family (see Sovereign Prince of Monaco for a complete list of titles).

Honours

Monegasque orders

Grand Master and Grand Cross of the Order of Grimaldi (Grand Cross, 18 April 1958; Grand Master since 6 April 2005)

Grand Master and Grand Cross of the Order of St. Charles (Grand Cross, 13 March 1979; Grand Master since 6 April 2005)

Grand Master of the Order of the Crown (since 6 April 2005)

Grand Master of the Order of Cultural Merit (since 6 April 2005)

Military appointments

Monaco: Colonel of the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince (11 November 1986 — present) France: Lieutenant Colonel of the French Navy (2 April 1982 — present)

Foreign orders

: Grand Cross of the National Order of Juan Mora Fernández (2003) : Knight Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Tomislav (7 April 2009) : Grand Collar of the Order of the Liberator of the Slaves José Simeón Cañas (2002) : Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (2006) : Grand Cross of the Ordre National du Mérite (25 July 1997) : Commander of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques (2009) : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (27 January 1983) : Knight Grand Cross with Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (12 December 2005) : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I : Grand Cross of the Order of the Niger (March 1998) : Grand Cross of the Order of Vasco Núñez de Balboa (2002) : Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun (2003) : Sash (Collar) of the Order of the Star of Romania (2009) - 50px (Recipients table) : Grand Officier of the Order of the Lion (May 1977) : Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (31 July 2011) : Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (15 October 1997) : Collar of the Order pro merito Melitensi (15 October 2009)

Other awards

: Grand Prix Humanitaire de France (6 March 2007) FIODS: Medal of the International Merit of Blood (12 March 1994) : Rise in the College of Darjah Kerabat Diraja Pahang (7 November 1997)

Ancestry

{{ahnentafel-compact5 |style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; |border=1 |boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. Albert II, Prince of Monaco |2= 2. Rainier III, Prince of Monaco |3= 3. Grace Kelly |4= 4. Count Pierre de Polignac |5= 5. Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois |6= 6. John B. Kelly, Sr. |7= 7. Margaret Katherine Majer |8= 8. Count Maxence de Polignac |9= 9. Susana Mariana de la Torre y Mier |10= 10. Louis II, Prince of Monaco |11= 11. Marie Juliette Louvet |12= 12. John Henry Kelly |13= 13. Mary Anne Costello |14= 14. Carl Majer |15= 15. Margaretha Berg |16= 16. Count Charles de Polignac |17= 17. Caroline Joséphine Le Normand de Morando |18= 18. Isidoro Fernando de la Torre y Gil |19= 19. Luisa de Mier y Celis |20= 20. Albert I, Prince of Monaco |21= 21. Lady Mary Hamilton |22= 22. Jacques Henri Louvet |23= 23. Joséphine Elmire Piedefer |24= 24. Brian Kelly |25= 25. Honora Margaret McLaughlin |26= 26. Walter Costello |27= 27. Anne Burke |28= 28. Johann Karl Majer |29= 29. Luise Wilhelmine Adam |30= 30. Georg Berg |31= 31. Elisabetha Röhrig }}

Patrilineal descent

Although Albert II inherited the throne of Monaco as heir to a sovereign branch of the Genoese House of Grimaldi, patrilineally he belongs to the noble French family of Chalençon, which adopted the name of Polignac following marriage to an heiress of that family in the 14th century..

Albert's patriline is his line of descent through males, i.e., from father to son, as shown below.

#Bertrand de Chalençon, mentioned 1179 #Guillaume de Chalençon, died 1229 #Bertrand de Chalençon, died 1272 #Bertrand de Chalençon, 1240–1295 #Guy de Chalençon, 1279–1324 #Guiot de Chalençon #Guillaume III, Baron de Chalençon, died 1411 #Pierre Armand, Baron de Chalençon, died 1447 #Louis-Armand, Vicomte de Polignac #Guillaume-Armand, Vicomte de Polignac, died 1473 #Guillaume de Polignac #Francois-Armand de Polignac, 1514–1582 #Louis-Armand of Polignac, 1556–1584 #Gaspard Francois de Polignac, 1579–1659 #Louis-Armand de Polignac, 1608–1692 #Scipion Sidoine de Polignac, 1660–1739 #Louis, Marquis de Polignac, 1716–1792 #Jules, Duc de Polignac, 1745–1817 #Camille Henri, Count de Polignac, 1781–1855 #Count Charles de Polignac, 1824–1881 #Count Maxence de Polignac, 1857–1936 #Count Pierre de Polignac, 1895–1964 #Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, 1923–2005 #Albert II, Prince of Monaco, 1958 –

Albert II was born in the Palais Princier in Monaco-Ville, making him a native Monégasque.

See also

As Monaco's head of state, Prince Albert is depicted on coins, including collectors' coins, with very rare exceptions. One of the most recent examples is the €5 silver Prince Albert II commemorative coin, the first commemorative coin with his effigy on it, minted in 2008. On the obverse, the prince is depicted in profile with his name on the top of the coin. On the reverse, the Grimaldi coat of arms appears; around it, the words "Principauté de Monaco" (Principality of Monaco) also appear along with the nominal monetary value of the coin.

References

External links

Princely House of Monaco

''Albert II of Monaco, the unknown prince'', documentary with intimate prince Albert (2005), 52-minute documentary produced and directed by Thibaut Faucon.

Photo of Prince Albert inspecting Guard outside Palace on day of Accession

Princess Grace Foundation-USA website

– traditional New Year's Day speech, 1 January 2007 – interview at the Monaco Media Forum, 11 July 2007, in which Prince Albert speaks with a perfect American accent to a group of bloggers

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