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Month: May 2022

Princess Charlene says she is now “calmer” after traumatic year

by: Cassandra Tanti
25/05/2022

Princess Charlene has spoken publicly for the first time since resuming official duties, telling Monaco Matin that she now feels “more calm” although still fragile after a year marked by illness. Appearing at the Monte-Carlo Fashion Awards, the mother of two said that she was “delighted” to be taking Princess Gabriella to her first official mother/daughter event.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday evening, Princess Charlene shared a special photo of Princess Gabriella sitting on her lap, with the caption: “I loved every moment preparing my Princess for her first official event.”

The occasion was the Monte-Carlo Fashion Awards, of which Princess Charlene is patron, and it marked a rare solo outing for the pair. Gabriella’s twin brother, Prince Jacques, is always by her side when they accompany their parents to official events.

And it is clear that the little princess follows in the fashionable footsteps of her mother.

The event was the third official showing by Princess Charlene since she resumed her public activities on 30th April. It was also the first time she has broken her silence on the difficult year that now appears to be behind her.

In an interview with Monaco Matin’s Cedric Verany, the Princess said that her return to Monaco after eight months in South Africa due to complications from a severe ear, throat and nose infection was challenging.

“When I returned to the Principality, I focused all my energy on my children, my husband and my health because they are my priority,” the Princess told Monaco Matin. “My state of health is still fragile and I don’t want to go too fast. The road has been long, difficult and so painful. Today I feel more calm.”

The princess said that she found it “regrettable” that certain media had spread rumours of a divorce with her husband Prince Albert, adding that “Albert was very supportive, we discussed these malicious articles together and he did everything to protect me and our children.”

The Princess revealed that she was thrilled to be attending her first official mother/daughter event at Monte-Carlo Fashion Week, and that the young princess behaves like most little girls when it comes to dress-up.

“Gabriella, like all little girls her age, loves princess dresses, doing her hair and even trying on my lipsticks,” she said. “Gabriella has her own style and I like to encourage that individuality. This mother/daughter fashion outing for the Monte-Carlo Fashion Awards delighted me and we went on stage together for the first time.”

The princess concluded by saying that she was excited to take part in this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, revealing that Prince Jacques will be doing the lap of honour with his father Prince Albert for the first time, and that it will be a “great source of pride” for her and her husband.

 

 

F1 stars warm-up for Monaco Grand Prix in free-scoring charity match

by: Luke Entwistle
25/05/2022

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz lined-up alongside two star-studded teams at the Stade Louis II on Tuesday for the World Stars football match at the Stade Louis II.

Fans streamed in to watch the spectacle, many of whom were clearly here for the Grand Prix weekend and were eager to watch some of the best drivers in the world try their hand at another sport. They were not disappointed, as well as Leclerc and Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Daniil Kvyat, Fernando Alonso and Lucas Di Grassi were all present.

Pre-match, Prince Albert II and Prince Jacques greeted the players of both sides, as well as Francesco Totti, who despite not featuring in the game itself, was nonetheless present to give his support to the teams and to the charitable cause.

It was an entertaining, open game of many opportunities. Gasly, who has the precision to navigate the narrow streets of the Principality, didn’t quite have the magic touch on the football field. Many chances fell his way, but he couldn’t convert, as fine margins were often the difference.

The scoring was opened by an incredible long-range curling free-kick from Vincent Candela, who reacted with the an ambivalent noncholance that insinuated that he, the former World Cup winner, was well used to producing such magical moments on a regular basis.

As a thunderstorm struck the stadium at the beginning of the second-half, it began raining goals on the pitch. The Star Team for the Children doubled the scoring, the All Stars Formula 1 Drivers then grabbed one back, before the former’s two goal advantage was restored.

Although the home crowd were eager to witness a  Leclerc goal, it was his team-mate Sainz that proved to be the gamechanger. Two goals from the Ferrari driver in a matter of seconds wiped away the deficit.

Clearly as at home on a football pitch as he is at the wheel of a single-seater, Sainz dictated play and was the most dangerous player on the pitch, some fingertip saves denying the Spaniard a deserved hat-trick.

But neither side could break the deadlock and 3-3 it remained, both teams happy with their showing and for having raised money for an important cause.

The event raised funds to help children all over the world, the importance of the cause was highlighted by former AS Monaco winger Jerôme Rothen post-match, who said, “It’s essential that children are in good health, and that their health is improved and taken care of in good conditions.”

The event certainly helped towards achieving this goal, whilst entertaining fans in the warm-up to what is the biggest weekend in the Monegasuqe sporting calendar.

 

Photo source: Michael Alesi, Government Communication Department

 

 

 

Karl Lagerfeld estate auctions fetch €22 million total

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/05/2022

The sale of iconic fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld’s estate has made its way from Monaco to Paris and now Germany where auctions pulled in a grand total of €22.5 million for his collections.

Karl Lagerfeld was a legend in the fashion industry, reigning supreme as creative director at Chanel and Fendi as well as at his own namesake fashion house until his death at aged 85 in 2019.

The designer’s estates in Monaco and Paris went under the hammer in December 2021 and brought in a combined total of €18.2 million. This staggering figure was added to by the sales in his native Germany, where a Sotheby’s-run auction fetched €4.2 million, more than seven times the lowball estimate for the lots.

“This third instalment of the Karl Lagerfeld estate, like the first two sessions, has aroused the interest of collectors all over the world, particularly from Germany and the United States,” said Pierre Mothes, Vice-President of Sotheby’s France who had initiated the first of the triad of sales in Monaco. “The choice of Cologne had been decided as early as the launch of the project, as a tribute to the German roots of Karl Lagerfeld. The collection revealed his tastes as a decorator, aesthete and designer who collected in many categories, but also, which is rarer, the man he was.”

Known lovingly as “The Kaiser”, Lagerfeld’s collection included a set of German advertising posters he had gathered over three decades and which were installed in his residence in Louveciennes near Paris that fetched more than €660,000, close to double the high estimate. In Cologne, around 40 designs made by the couturier were snapped up for more than a million euros.

Sotheby’s will auction his graphic works in the summer, and again, it is expected to see record-busting sales.

SEE ALSO:

Video: Karl Lagerfeld estate auction

 

Photo of items at the Monaco auction by Cassandra Tanti, Monaco Life

 

 

 

94% of Alpes-Maritimes on drought alert

by: Stephanie Horsman
25/05/2022

The Alpes-Maritimes is suffering from a drought situation not seen in a decade and, as a result, water restrictions are being applied, including a ban on filling swimming pools.

It has been revealed that 153 out of 163 municipalities in the Alpes-Maritimes are on drought alert. The 10 others who have so far escaped the alert are asked to be vigilant.

“We are in an unprecedented situation since the first Météo-France readings in 1959, it has only happened once,” said Pascal Jobert, Departmental Director of Territories and the Sea (DDTM) of the Alpes-Maritimes region during a press conference on Tuesday, adding that he “does not want to hide anything”, but it is a cause for concern.

The situation was first brought to light back on 9th March and has not improved despite a few days of rain and storms. “We have, on average throughout the department, a rainfall deficit of 50%,” said Jobert. “That is to say that instead of having had 600mm of rain in our reserves, which should have been recharged from 1stSeptember to 24th March, we had 300mm. And in the aquifers, we are at the lowest level ever reached. Usually, we arrive at this stage in the fall, here we are only in May.”

Aquifers are not the only indicators. Streams have also run dry, which shows the severity of the situation, and have pressed the Prefecture to extend the restrictive measures that are already in place in 98 municipalities.

“It therefore leads to a ban on watering between 9am and 7pm, a ban on washing your car outside in water-efficient stations, filling a swimming pool and a 20% reduction in withdrawals or consumption,” said Audrey Massot, Deputy Head of the Water Division of the DDTM.

This includes industrial and commercial usage, as well as farmers who do not use drip systems to water.

“Educational” checks will be started by the DDTM, supported by local police, and those who are not following the rules risk fines of up to €1,500 for first time offenders and €3,000 for repeat offenses.

On a positive note, Director Jobert notes these measures are being put in place as preventive measures. “The situation does not lead us to a lack of water, it leads us to apply restrictions to avoid it.”

The decree is scheduled until 30th June at least, and will be revisited before the summer which promises to be hot, according to the forecasts of Météo-France.

 

Photo by Dim Hou on Unsplash

 

 

 

MonacoTech-backed Yachtneeds gets massive funding boost

by: Stephanie Horsman
24/05/2022

MonacoTech, the Principality’s start-up incubator, has announced that one of the companies they support, Yachtneeds, has just raised funds to the tune of €1.25 million, allowing for a major expansion of the business starting this summer.

Yachtneeds, a marketplace website aimed at the yachting industry and supported by MonacoTech, has just hit the next level. The company, founded by Tony Stout, was designed to help yachting crew, captains and owners find just about anything imaginable in “just a few clicks”.

The idea is that whatever is needed can be ordered from a list of thousands of yachting-specific local and international vendors and delivered directly to the boat in ports around the globe.

The financial windfall came from a private investor, who is a resident of the Principality, as well as the Monegasque Innovation, Impact and Acceleration Fund (F2IAM), supported by the Monegasque Government.

“To have an idea and to have others see and invest in what we are creating is extremely rewarding. This round of investment will have a significant impact on the future of our company to heavily accelerate our growth and facilitate in building a platform that is used by the global yachting community,” said Stout of the company’s new investors.

The company’s plans are to hit one million referenced products on its site, to expand to 15 franchises and be able to cater to clients in 1,100 ports around the globe. They also hope to double the number of employees from the current 10 to 20 in 2023.

The company’s cash injection will allow them to continue their ambitious international expansion, notably to more counties around the Mediterranean this summer, as well as in the United States, with an estimated launch in September of this year.

Labour of love restores Larvotto fountain to former glory

by: Stephanie Horsman
24/05/2022

A sculpture fashioned in a fountain and installed on the Larvotto Promenade in 1970 by artist Guy Lartigue is back in its rightful place after a three-year restoration lovingly undertaken by his son.

Back in 2019, in the midst of the renovation project that was revamping the Larvotto Promenade, an iconic piece of art disappeared. Now, three years later, it has been restored and reinstalled at its original location, at the end of the promenade.

The sculpture, created by artist Guy Lartigue, was commissioned in 1969 by Prince Rainier III as a tribute to Princess Grace. The resulting piece was a beautiful, eye-catching metallic sculpture with a circular basin nine metres in diameter, with columns 12 metres high, including a buffet 17 metres long, 3.5 metres wide and 4 metres from above.

Fast-forward 50 years and the Larvotto beach frontage was up for a facelift. As the project started in earnest, the government contacted Lartigue’s son Brice, who took charge of restoring the piece.

It took two months to dismantle the fountain, with each piece being labelled and numbered in order to store them properly, giving Lartigue a chance to restore smaller pieces individually. He used painstaking care, airbrushing or descaling the pieces in baths with environmentally friendly products, such as alcohol vinegar.

Once the makeover was complete, it was time to put the pieces back together in its rightful place, reattaching it to the pumps that motor the fountain. The sculpture is now almost unrecognisable, with its beautiful aqua hues as opposed to the rusty brown that it had become.

The fountain was officially unveiled on Wednesday 18th May by Prince Albert II, alongside Minister of State Pierre Dartout, National Council President Stéphane Valeri and other officials.

The restoration was funded by L’Anse du Portier and Patrice Pastor.

 

 

Photo by Cassandra Tanti, Monaco Life