Prince Albert II of Monaco inaugurated Top Marques 2017
The 14th edition of Top Marques, Monaco’s live supercar show opened last week to a record number of guests and press, and a visit from H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco. Flying cars might seem like the stuff of science fiction, but two prototypes were launched Thursday on the French Riviera, at an event showcasing “supercars” in Monaco.
Dutch and Slovak companies unveiled their designs as world premieres in the tiny well-heeled Principality, where luxury automakers have gathered until Sunday for the Top Marques showcase event.
Bratislava-based Aeromobil, whose first prototype presented two years ago suffered an accident, is back with a “new generation” of flying vehicle named after the firm which makes it.
Prince Albert II of Monaco and Juraj Vaculik, CEO and co-founder of AeroMobil, unveiled the latest prototype of a flying car.
“We are taking reservations from today for deliveries expected in 2020, after the process of (regulatory) approvals is completed,” the Slovak firm’s spokesman Stefan Vadocz told AFP.
The AeroMobil vehicle, six metres long and with a fully-deployed span of nine metres, is a normal four-wheeled car which can unfold its wings to transform itself into a plane able to fly two passengers at a cruising speed of 260 km/h for up to 750 kilometres.
The price? Between 1.2 and 1.5 million euros, depending on options chosen.
Prince Albert II commemorates the centenary of the Battle of the Chemin des Dames in Aisne and Marne, while thinking about his great-grandfather, the Prince-Soldier
On 16 April 1917, General Nivelle launched a massive offensive strike on the plains of Aisne, near Craonne. The battle of the Chemin des Dames was absolute carnage. One of the deadliest episodes in the First World War: 187,000 from the French side killed, including many Senegalese riflemen, 163,000 from the German side. Last week French President François Hollande visited the area; Prince Albert II made a trip to the corner of France forever marked by the Great War. The sovereign spent the day in Aisne and Marne, commemorating the bloody episode of the First World War in his own way. Walking again in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, Prince Louis II.
An exhibition on Louis II and the Great War
In 2015, Albert II visited the museum of the Great War, in Meaux. The following year, he visited the main fighting sites in Verdun and Meuse. This year, in the early morning, the descendant of Prince Louis II visited the chapel-memorial of Cerny-en-Laonnois, in Aisne. He had helped finance its new stained-glass windows. He then inaugurated an exhibition on the participation of Prince Louis of Monaco in the First World War. An exhibition installed in the municipal library of Jonchery sur-Vesle, in Marne, prepared by the Archives of the Princely Palace.
“There are a lot of photos,” said Thomas Blanchy, administrator for the Archives and Library of the Prince’s Palace. “Photographs of Prince Louis II and his comrades, but also of the trenches, planes, tanks, some of which were taken by Louis II. There are also letters from Prince Louis II, his camera case and his many decorations.”
Finally, in the afternoon, Prince Albert II attended a firing of arms at the National Monument of the tanks of Berry-au-Bac, in Aisne, where the battle took place, a hundred years ago. The first armoured offensive battle in French military history.
A day in Champagne-Ardenne to remember that on these different battlefields, captain and commander Louis Grimaldi risked his life between 1914 and 1918, transmitting orders and news between staff from the 5th Army and soldiers at the front.
“My Family History leads me to you”
“Very moved to find myself in this chapel, a true memorial to those terrible hours, which centennial we are commemorating today. I am extremely grateful to you for wishing to pay tribute to my great-grandfather, Prince Louis, by the plaque on the wall beside the stained-glass window which I was able to offer you with emotion.” At the end of his visit to the chapel-memorial of Cerny-en Laonnois, Prince Albert signed these words in the guestbook.
He then headed for Jonchery-sur-Vesle, near Reims. “My great-grandfather, Prince Albert I, a convinced pacifist, had not succeeded in his efforts to avoid this conflagration. His son, the hereditary prince Louis, has decided to serve to defend France. My family history leads me to you,” explained the Prince in his speech.
He wished to pay tribute to his great-grandfather, but also to the eight carabinieri who died during the Great War, one of whom had participated in the Battle of the Chemin des Dames. The sovereign had one last thought for “another child of Monaco, the poet Guillaume Apollinaire. He was seriously wounded at the Bois des Buttes, at the foot of the Chemin des Dames, on 18 March 1916. Evacuated to Jonchery the next day, he never really recovered, he died of the Spanish flu two days before the armistice, 9 November 1918. The writer had been educated at the Saint-Charles College in Monaco from 1888 to 1895.”
The Prince-Soldier
He is nicknamed the “prince-soldier.” While his father devoted himself to science and exploration, Louis de Monaco decided to embark on a military career. He entered the Saint-Cyr school in 1891. The second lieutenant then spent a few years in North Africa, particularly with the 2nd Regiment of hunters, before returning to Monaco. “In 1914, Louis II decided to re-engage because France was his second homeland,” said Thomas Blanchy, administrator for the Archives of the Prince’s Palace.
“The captain joins the staff of the 5th Army under the orders of General Franchet d’Espèrey, based at Jonchery-sur-Vesle, near Reims, and acts as liaison officer.” His role? “He brought orders from the General Staff to the front lines, even in the trenches, secured the link and brought news from the front. He observed war everywhere in the 5th Army sector.” (Reims, Berry-au-Bac, Soisson). The Chemin des Dames was in his sector, and the commander Louis Grimaldi directly assisted. He was born in Baden-Baden in 1870 and was German-speaking. “He was also responsible for interviewing German soldiers,” said Thomas Blanchy, “Louis II took a lot of photographs on the battlefields of the first battle of tanks.” After the war, Prince Louis became lieutenant Colonel in 1919 and entered the military intelligence service in Metz. In 1920, he was entrusted with several missions in central Europe. During a reception at the Prefecture of the Alpes Maritimes on 5 April, the President of the Republic Paul Deschanel raised him to the dignity of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. He then became a member of the Inter-Allied Commission in Upper Silesia. Promoted to colonel on 3 December 1921, he left the army on 27 June 1922, to take the succession of his father; Prince Albert I. Prince Louis II then reigned until 1949.
Monaco vs. Dortmund: the euphoria of Prince Albert
The Princely family and the Monegasque public were jubilant at Louis II for a historical moment.
Eight days after anguish and fear, the magic of sport offered an exceptional evening on Wednesday at the Louis-II stadium, where AS Monaco became the first French club since 2010 to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League. In the stands, Prince Albert II of Monaco was even more euphoric than in the previous round.
Victorious (3-2) last week in a very sensitive context following the bombing of their opponents, the players of the Rock again took dominance against Borussia Dortmund (3-1). During a rematch they dominated in an impressive manner. The 17,135 spectators, a small turn-out compared to other major European clubs, but exceptional for Monaco, did not have to wait long to get into the mood of a qualifier for the last round since Kylian Mbappé. They scored their first goal in the third minute, opportunistically taking a ball which rebounded off goalkeeper Borussia, Bürki, and becoming the youngest player at 18 years and 4 months to accumulate five goals in C1. The Colombian international Radamel Falcao, who has definitely returned to his best level, increased the lead 15 minutes later with a header from Lemar, who made another decisive pass. At the end of the game, a third goal was scored by Valère Germain.
At the final whistle, Prince Albert II of Monaco fell into the arms of Dmitri Rybolovlev, president of the ASM, while his nephew Louis Ducruet, son of Princess Stephanie, celebrated the historical qualification with a passionate kiss with his companion Marie, who attends every match by his side.
With a right wrist injury sustained during the attack eight days earlier, Spanish defender Marc Bartra was moving the Germans into Monegasque soil and even entered the field with his teammates before witnessing their defeat.
While awaiting the next football match, Prince Albert went on to watch tennis at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
4th edition of the Metha Europe competition
Hybrid motorcycle, paper shredder, asbestos detector… For the fourth consecutive year, the Metha Europe competition awarded start-ups and innovative projects on the theme “the sustainable city”. The nine finalists presented their projects to a jury of technical and financial experts.
“The rules are: it has to be a sustainable development project, a project from a society which hasn’t existed for too long. It’s a competition at the national level which honours innovative projects in sustainable development and selects the finalists before and after the creation of their projects,” said Patrick Tiberghien, Incubator Manager at Mines Telecom Douai Institution.
Reintegrating nature at the heart of buildings to better the environment is the objective launched by Sylvaine Willems, Landscape architect, who won the prize in the creation category.
“A natural filter, which presents itself as an aesthetic plant wall, which is installed in the interior of a building and which purifies the interior air continuously, thanks to the plants. It gives me pleasure because this project was in development for four years already. It needed numerous developments in research, so, (this award) makes me very happy,” said Sylvaine Willems, from Walyzeo.
Cobratex is an enterprise which produces and commercialises reinforcements based on bamboo, for composite materials. They received the prize for the material category.
“We developed a technology which allows for the extraction of bamboo fibres and fuses them into a material as reinforcement for composite materials. It is three times as light and has properties competitive with fibre glass. Notably, in this event, which showcases electric vehicles, we could use our material in these vehicles to help lighten their weight and autonomy. There is a lot of emotion, we are a very new firm, and this event permits us to communicate through this platform, I hope it will help us raise funds,” said Edouard Sherwood, from Cobratex.
The category ‘Urban Project’ was won by Uneol, specializing in windmills which can adapt to urbanization and the characteristics of the wind they encounter.
“The principle of our urban windmill is a connected and eco-conscious windmill. A windmill which is made to recuperate the winds in our cities and a connected windmill, because we can communicate with it. I’ve participated in this competition three times, I’ve crossed paths with the Prince twice, and finally I’ve gotten the chance to talk to him. I won the prize and I’m totally over-joyed,” said Quentin Dubrulle, from Uneole.
The three laureates will be accompanied in their development by teams from the Means Telecom institution, which will offer them consultation benefits and more.
Perpignan: Albert of Monaco at the Palace of Kings in Majorca
The palace of kings in Majorca has found their Prince. Last Friday morning, Prince Albert II of Monaco settled in the kingdom of Jaume II to take part in the conference from district 1 700 of the Rotary club.
The Prince of Monaco came to discuss his trip to Antarctica, a “spectacular memory, marked by fabulous landscapes and especially by meetings with the scientific community whose work is important for the continent and for the rest of the planet.” His narrative was punctuated by videos retracing the course of the Sovereign and unpublished images which captivated the 350 people present.
Princess Charlene of Monaco visits South Africa
Her Serene Highness (HSH) Princess Charlene of Monaco paid a visit to Gugulesizwe Primary School, on Friday, April 21, in Daveyton, as her first official royal duty during her five day visit to the country.
She was joined by Ekurhuleni acting mayor Clr Lesiba Mpya and Sinazo Masina, wife of Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina.
The school is situated about 20 km outside of Benoni and five years ago the Princess launched The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa at the faculty.
With the support of the Benoni Red Cross, Princess Charlene gave first aid lessons and CPR demonstrations to the teachers as well as learners from child-headed families.
A year ago, Princess Charlene was elected as a patron of the Red Cross South Africa at an auspicious and glittering event at the pink palace for her charity and philanthropic work.
On her first day of arrival in the country on Thursday, April 20, the Princess took a nostalgic mini trip around Ekurhuleni which included swimming at the Virgin Active pool in Boksburg, enjoying a local popular potjie dish at Turn n’ Tender, and finally doing some retail therapy at East Rand Mall.
“I have taken a personal interest in the school and I will support and do my best to make sure that the learners at the school are exposed to great sports, health and safety, so that they can build a great community around them,” she said.
On April 4, Princess Charlene donated her childhood swimming medals to Gugulesizwe Primary School to inspire young learners who have an interest in pursuing a swimming career.
The medals, together with a portrait painting of the Princess, were hand-delivered by her father, Mike Wittstock.
After her visit to Gugulesizwe Primary School, the Princess went to visit her parents in Benoni, at the house where she grew up.
Princess Charlene Ladies Race Day in Turffontein
Princess Charlene and her father were also working on a new charity horse race with Peermont called The Princess Charlene Empress Club Stake. The race was scheduled to take place on April 22 at the Turffontein Race Course. The Red Cross, Highveld Horse Care Unit and Gugulesizwe Primary School were all to benefit from the event.
“To have the horse-racing community rally behind this will be amazing, and being able to take part in restoring some of the glamour back into the sport is also special.”
Princess Charlene was a special guest at the same venue back in 2012 where she showed her support for the Charity Mile event.
On April 22, she arrived at the Turrfontein as guest of honour at the Ladies Race Day. Princess Charlene Ladies Race Day that held at the Turffontein Racecourse in Johannesburg. The event started at 11 am and run until 7 pm. Horse called Nother Russia emulated her dam in winning the R1-million Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes on Saturday.
Sources: www.newmyroyals.com & www.hindustantimes.com & benonicitytimes.co.za
