Is a long-time bachelor taking a traditional route to the alter with a fairy-tale royal wedding in the works? Well, not quite. Prince Albert II of Monaco is the only son of the late Prince Rainier III and Hollywood icon Grace Kelly, but he’s just like the rest of us who are finding our way in the “No Rules Relationship Revolution.”
As the aging playboy (52) announced his engagement to a willowy blonde from South Africa, Olympic swimmer, Charlene Wittstock (32) there are at least two other women rolling their eyes. They are the mothers of his two children, one in California and one in France. Both women had to fight a court battle armed with DNA results to get Al to pony up as a legal father. Those children are now 18 and 5.
For thirty years, Albert has been a playboy dating celebrities, including Angie Everhart, Brooke Shields, and supermodel Claudia Schiffer, and even some reported strippers. So why would he suddenly step up to alter? True love? A need for companionship with a soul-mate? No, he’s marrying for the historic reasons that marriage was invented, economics and politics. There’s a 2.4 billion dollar fortune at stake and a small country to be a ceremonial head of.
The real reason Prince Albert is marrying now is because the Monoco constitution says a royal heir must come out of wedlock. Prince Albert II of Monaco has fathered two children but neither of them can become an heir. And, Prince Albert II of Monaco’s longtime hesitation to tie a marriage knot has forced the Monaco’s constitution change and under these changes the 700 year old dynasty would continue through female line if he leaves the world without producing an heir for the Monacans. Yes, he’s marrying to keep the throne away from his sisters.
How romantic. I stand by my many earlier blogs. We would do well in America if we looked at marriage through a lens of cultural trappings rather than placing so much emphasis on romantic love. There’s practical business to the institution of marriage. Ask Prince Playboy.
Tags: Charlene Wittstock, Grace Kelly, Monoco, Prince Albert