Royalty Prince
While much of the world faces up to a year of government cutbacks and uncertainty in the public sector, a fairy tale royal wedding will lift the spirits for many, and Monaco is set to host the wedding of the year in July.
The happy royal couple, Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock, are booked to marry on Friday July 2 2011, starting with a civil ceremony in the Palace, a two minute walk away from the cathedral where Prince Albert's mother - Hollywood film legend Grace Kelly - married his father Prince Rainier in 1956, ensuring Monacos image of glamour.
The wedding will be a bonanza for the world's media, with a mix of A-list celebrities, sports stars, pop stars plus members of other European royal families in attendance. Almost a thousand guests will be at an open air ceremony on the Saturday afternoon.
It will be a good time too for the businesses in the area, much needed in today's economy, the hotels will be full and nearly all are already at full capacity for the weekend, charging full rate. Happily for the celebrities both the Hotel de Paris and Metropole are five star and there should be no shortage of first class rooms available for the wedding guests!
Even without a royal marriage the Principaility is full of glamour. Tourists can enjoy the famous Monte Carlo Casino year round, in April there is the masters tennis tournament and a month later there is the Monaco Grand Prix, plus every September the Yacht Show - all world class events that draw people in from around the U.S. and Europe with the Grand Prix televised live to most countries.
The bride to be Charlene Wittstock is South African, although born in Zimbabwe, in January 1978. Charlene was a member of her country's swimming team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, which took place in Sydney Australia. She holds several South African swimming records, and after the wedding her first official trip as Princess with Prince Albert will be to her homeland, for an Olympic meeting.
Although he is twenty years her senior, Prince Albert has the natural aura of Hollywood glamour through his mother and European royalty through his father, and became Monaco's ruler following the death of his father Prince Rainier, who took the small country from a sleepy European enclave to worldwide attention and financial tax haven during his time.
In the last fifty years Monaco became known as the residency of million and billionaires, and is today an important money centre with the Monaco banks playing an important part in the economy.
In addition, Prince Albert is increasingly known for his influence on environmental issues at the top levels of government, bringing up issues and pushing them higher on the agenda of importance. Some might link his Principality foremost with glamour and the Monaco banks, but it is also leading the campaigning to ban the fishing of endangered bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean for example.
It surprises some people at just how much Prince Albert cares about environmental issues, but for anyone who knows about the world economy it will be less of a surprise to learn that Monaco property is the most expensive in the world - hitting the property pages headlines again for example when the Candy Brothers sold their apartment for over 200 million Euros - nearly 300 million U.S. dollars.
Given that Grand Prix cars race around its streets every last weekend in May, it might seem a strange mix, but that's the joy of Monaco - a leader in environmental issues but still able to have the glamour of some of the world's best hotels, casino, a luxury yacht show and the Monaco Grand Prix which is the highlight of the sixteen races comprising the F1 season.
It's going to be a fairy tale wedding, but if you're considering visiting it's a bit like that year round!
Tickets for the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix are available with monacoproperty.net along with hotel reviews and information about the banks.
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