Our Campus Celeb this week, Prince Albert II of Monaco, was in my mother’s class at Amherst, the class of ‘81. My question is, why am I not a princess? Although the guy isn’t much of a looker, so I guess you can’t blame her. Prince Albert II is the son of Rainier III and the beautiful Grace Kelly. He was born in the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. He worked for six summers as a counselor at a camp in New Hampshire. Can you imagine having a prince tell you when to turn out your flashlights?
At Amherst, the prince took Poli Sci, English, Music, and Econ classes. He majored in Poli Sci. Like Dan Brown, the prince was a member of Chi Psi, and sang in the Amherst glee club. He toured Europe and the Middle East with the glee club in the summer of 1979. He also did a semester abroad at the University of Bristol in the UK in 1979.
Prince Albert is a big sportsman. He is a patron of the Monaco football team, and he competed in the bobsled at every Winter Olympics from Calgary to Salt Lake City. He has been on the International Olympic Committee since 1985. Apparently he insisted on not receiving any special treatment at the Olympics, and stayed in the same quarters as all the other athletes.
On April 6, 2005, upon the death of his father, Albert was crowned Sovereign Prince of Monaco. The Prince’s long-term bachelor status gave rise to rumors that he was gay, which he denied. In July 2011, he married the South African Olympic swimmer,Charlene Lynette Wittstock.
As a leader, Prince Albert uses his position to draw the world’s attention to the need to protect of the marine environment. He created the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which is committed to the climate and developing renewable energies. Another cool thing about Prince Albert: he went on a Russian Artic Expedition to the North Pole, making him the first acting head of state to reach the North Pole. All in all, sounds like a pretty sweet life.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Amherst chapter.