Just a few days before the eagerly awaited visit to Spain by Pope Leo XIV, another head of state will arrive in our country. Prince Alberto II of Monaco will travel to Madrid on the upcoming June 1 and 2 to inaugurate an exhibition commemorating the long shared history between the two Mediterranean countries. This has been confirmed by sources from the Embassy of the Principality of Monaco to Europa Press.
Alberto of Monaco’s trip will take place on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Principality’s diplomatic presence on Spanish soil. The head of the Grimaldi family will be responsible for inaugurating the exhibition Monaco and Spain, Five Centuries of Shared History, which will be held at the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid. As has been customary in his recent visits, he will again not be accompanied by his wife, Princess Charlene.
This is confirmed by the magazine Vanitatis, which also leaves open whether during Alberto of Monaco’s stay in Madrid there will be a meeting with King Felipe and Queen Letizia. The cooling of Hispano-Monégasque relations since the Monegasque prince, as a member of the IOC, doubted that Spain’s security was good enough to host the 2012 Olympic Games, has prevented us from seeing Letizia and Charlène together to date.
Now, however, it seems that the good rapport between both royal houses has been reestablished. In fact, it has already been announced that in 2029 Monaco will host King Felipe VI to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the visit that Charles I of Spain made to the principality. This will be the first official visit of the Spanish monarch to Monaco since he ascended the throne.
Alberto’s Visits to Spain Without Charlène
The fascination our country exerts on other royal families such as the Belgian or Dutch does not seem to affect the South African Charlène, who has not accompanied her husband on any of his visits to Spain. Staying in the palace to take care of the twins Jacques and Gabriella is usually her most common excuse. The last visit to date by Alberto of Monaco was last year on the occasion of his presence in the final stage of the Vuelta a España. The protests around the arrival led to the prince of Monaco being evacuated to guarantee his safety.
In 2024, again without the company of Princess Charlene, Alberto II of Monaco traveled to Spain, this time to Cantabria, to visit the Rock Art Center named after his great-great-grandfather. Then he toured the temporary exhibition dedicated to his great-great-grandfather under the title Alberto I, Prince of Prehistory. A trip that occurred two years after Alberto of Monaco visited the Monte Castillo caves, whose excavations were also patronized by his ancestor. Between one trip and another, Alberto of Monaco visited Madrid in 2023 to participate in the Climate Summit.
Alberto de Mónaco, during his visit to King Felipe in 2019.
Two more visits to Madrid, once again solo, served to soften the rift with Felipe VI after the unfortunate remarks that contributed to Madrid missing the Olympic Games. In 2016 he stopped in our country to present the Spanish headquarters of his foundation, an organization that fights for environmental conservation, and he had an audience with the King. And in 2019, the Spanish monarch again welcomed his Monegasque counterpart with a broad smile on the steps of the Zarzuela Palace.
The Grimaldis and Their Most Curious Trips to Spain
While we continue waiting for Charlène to muster the courage to visit us, beyond the frequent travels of Prince Albert, other members of the Grimaldi family have left memorable presences. We have a clear idea of the Monaco royal family’s tourist objectives when they visit Spain: Carolina of Monaco’s children go to Ibiza, while the Princess of Hanover prefers hunting on the Extremaduran estates where high society goes.
Much more original was when Carolina of Monaco appeared in San Sebastián in 2009. There she attended along with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía to the reopening of the Aquarium of the Basque city that her great-great-grandfather, Prince Albert I, had inaugurated in 1928. Memorable was also when her sister Stéphanie performed in 1986 to sing on Pedro Ruiz’s show. As a finale, the host gave her a horse after composing some rhymes in which he paired her with the then Prince of Asturias.
