A butler approaches a quiet table at the Four Seasons hotel in downtown New York, where a prospective resident of the city is talking about his father. He can tell my tablemate is special – the pristine cream outfit, the beautifully twisted braids, the gentle poise that denotes power – and can’t help but cut in. ‘So are you an actor or a musician or..?’ ‘No, I’m not,’ the young man responds in a voice so soft you have to lean in to hear. ‘Where are you from?’ the butler persists. ‘Monaco,’ replies Alexandre Grimaldi, with graceful finality.
It’s a moment of high comedy. With royal composure and Hollywood looks, Alexandre – Alex, really – is the fresh face of the House of Grimaldi: the son of Prince Albert II of Monaco and his former secret girlfriend, Nicole Coste; grandson of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly. At 20 years old, gently fist-bumping friends in the lobby, he is a very modern Monegasque ambassador. And now, sitting forward in Nike Air Forces and a Y-3 tracksuit for his first solo interview, he’s ready to talk.
Buckle up: we’re on the precipice of the Alexandre Grimaldi era. Alexandre is going public now because his eyes are set on a business partnership with his father. ‘[I aspire to] work in a relationship with my dad and become this – let’s say – global ambassador for Monaco, and to bring business opportunities back to Monaco, which is what I’ve talked about with him.’
Here in Tribeca – the hooting, tooting antithesis of Monte Carlo – Alexandre is living in the Four Seasons while scoping out apartments (he plans to move to New York from London in January) and attending New York Fashion Week: a Chanel party in Williamsburg; a Dior event in Brooklyn; a Tommy Hilfiger brunch in Tribeca; and Naomi Campbell’s Pretty Little Thing show at the Cipriani.
Making friends is in the Grimaldi blood, and Alexandre is capitalising on the doors Prince Albert has opened for him: ‘Everyone’s been very nice to me.’ Take Campbell, who dated Albert in the early 1990s. ‘It was great to meet her. She was really open and kind of embraced me as like… a nephew,’ says Alexandre. ‘She gave me a bit of advice: just to be careful with anyone looking after me, especially since I’m coming out to the public.’ The invitation came through Pretty Little Thing founder Umar Kamani, whom Alexandre met with Albert in July. And Tommy Hilfiger? ‘He’s quite friendly with my dad. They watched the Grand Prix in Monaco together about 20 years ago.’
Dior and Chanel, too, have partnerships with the principality. ‘I relate to elegance,’ says Alexandre in his creamy English accent. ‘I love Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy. The big French houses. There’s a cultural connection which I admire.’ A$AP Rocky and the basketball player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are his style icons, and his most treasured piece of clothing is a pair of Off-White jeans designed by the late Virgil Abloh. ‘They have graphic angels in heaven. I’m a religious man. I like to go to church – I am Catholic – and to have that represented in fashion was quite nice.’ But don’t expect Alexandre to be strutting down the catwalk as a model: he has already turned down agency offers.
You get the distinct impression he’s being road-tested among friends as a public Monegasque figure. It’s an evolution you might hardly believe possible if you’d seen the past two decades of headlines branding him ‘illegitimate’. Alexandre recently responded to the word that has dogged him since before he could read, telling Point de Vue magazine its use is ‘insulting’. He didn’t mince his words: ‘Neither of my parents were married and neither committed adultery … My father claimed me voluntarily when I was a baby, not because a judge or the press forced him to.’
Still, Alexandre entered the world on 24 August 2003 quietly, in Paris. His mother, Togo-born flight attendant Nicole Coste, had met Prince Albert on a flight in 1997 and they’d engaged in a secret five-year relationship. It wasn’t until May 2005, two months after Albert became the monarch of Monaco, that Alexandre’s parentage was made public by Coste in a Paris Match interview. It was a scandal: Albert, already known as the playboy prince, was now certifiably so. Six days before his enthronement in July that year, Albert publicly confirmed that Alexandre was his son, though he would not be heir to the throne as Albert and Nicole had never married.
Then came another revelation in 2006. Albert laid public claim to another secret Grimaldi child: Jazmin, who had been born in Palm Springs in 1992. Albert had met her mother, Tamara Rotolo, on holiday in the Côte d’Azur in 1991.
Nicole and Alexandre got on with their lives, living (together with two sons from her previous relationship) in the prince’s apartment in Paris, with an allowance. When Alexandre was a child, they moved to the South of France, New York and Geneva, and ultimately settled in Knightsbridge 13 years ago.
A lot has been made of Nicole versus Charlene Wittstock, the Olympic swimmer Albert married in 2010. He and Charlene first met in 2000 and they made their public debut as a couple at the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Their twins, Jacques and Gabriella – Alexandre’s half-siblings – were born in 2014, but there has been turbulence. Rumours of an overlap in the relationships; Nicole’s claims that Alexandre was moved to the staff wing of the Palace ahead of the royal wedding; Albert’s ‘furious’ response in Point de Vue. And now, as the mystery surrounding Charlene’s frequent absences from Monaco intensifies, Nicole is stepping into the limelight, attending official events, such as the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s Rewild the Planet gala, glamorous in a fuschia ballgown.
A Daily Mail headline read: ‘Is Prince Albert’s former mistress edging into the gap left by absent Princess Charlene?’ Or is it simply a complicated family just trying to make things work?
Alexandre seems to have escaped without a complex. ‘It was easy because I wasn’t too much in the public eye. It hasn’t affected me that much. Now it’s definitely going to become interesting, being more public and showing my face more, and being tied in with my family.’ Indeed, Alexandre’s blended family has allowed him to be part of two worlds, ‘especially, with my mum being French-African and my dad being Monegasque. I’ve had the pleasure of being brought up in two cultures and having that be part of my identity.’
Growing up without the weight of being heir on his shoulders, under the care of his attentive, God-abiding mother, has given Alexandre a degree of normality. ‘I really liked growing up with my brothers and my mum takes really good care of me. I couldn’t ask for more,’ he says. A close bond with his siblings – Coste’s two elder sons and Jazmin Grimaldi, now an actress in Los Angeles – seems to root him. ‘We are all very close…We actually have a text message group. We’re having arguments about who’s better: Erling Haaland or Mbappé. My sister’s more Team Mbappé, but it’s more Haaland on the boys’ side. I like both.’ And Jacques and Gabriella? ‘The little ones are too young to have a phone, so it’ll take them a few years,’ he laughs.
Over 13 years, Alexandre has become part of the fabric of London, attending a private school (which he won’t name for security reasons), playing sports and taking tea at Harry’s. He loves Nobu on Old Park Lane and Chiltern Firehouse. ‘My drink order is either a Mexican Mule or Moscow Mule. I go quite often with friends on a Thursday or Friday night.’ For dates? ‘Maybe bowling, then a walk to either a very good steak house or Zuma, followed by drinks.’ Rap and R’n’B get him on the dancefloor – his favourite artist is Kendrick Lamar – but for studying (he’s attended Royal Holloway for the past year), classical music helps him focus.
Christmases and New Years have often been spent with his mother’s side of the family at Eden Rock in St Barths. ‘It’s one of my favourite places: I really like the island vibe, I love the sun,’ he says. ‘I went to Togo [recently] to visit my mum’s home country, which is a place that I really enjoy. I’d love to do charity there.’ And summers? They have long been spent in Monaco, dipping into royal life with his dad: playing volleyball and padel, watching movies (Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained is a favourite) and celebrating birthdays. When it comes to sports, naturally, former Winter Olympian Albert is ‘more competitive’, says Alexandre. ‘It starts off as a bit of a laugh, but once the score gets close it turns a lot more serious and less comedy is involved.’ For the record, all seems well behind palace doors. ‘With my dad it’s good, we’re starting to see each other a lot more. During the holiday season, we are spending a lot of time together. It’s a very good relationship.’
In those balmy months, you might find Alexandre at Hôtel de Paris, dining at Le Grill and drinking at the Le Bar Américain. During the Grand Prix, it’s the Tag Heuer boat party, followed by drinks at Sass Cafe and dancing with the glitterati at Jimmy’z. That’s also where Alexandre celebrated his 20th birthday this summer, after a private dinner at Coya: ‘My sister came, my father ][was there and other family members. Jimmy’z is a lot of fun; it feels like home. The way I celebrated was very special for me, having a lot of people that care about me.’ He also makes time to see his godmother (and aunt), the glamorous Princess Stéphanie. ‘She’s a lot of fun: very funny, very down to earth,’ says Alexandre. ‘I am quite close to her. In the past few years, we’ve had dinners and lunches together to celebrate my birthday with my cousins. She’s been there for me as a godmother and an aunt.’
The aura of the grandmother he never met lingers: Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco. ‘I’ve seen a couple of her Hitchcock movies, my favourite being Dial M for Murder. We [Jazmin and I] talk about her a lot, because of the things we’re currently doing – especially Jazmin, as she’s sort of following in our grandmother’s footsteps in Hollywood. We always talk about that and about how she wants to continue her legacy.’
Now, though, he’s sweeping off to either NYU or Fordham to study business or international relations. ‘I feel I’ve outgrown [London]. Coming to New York is better for me to grow as a person, to be independent. This is the first time I’m moving out by myself. My mum understands that it’s necessary. Even though I’m her last child and she has that feeling that the last one’s leaving, she understands that it’s important for me to be independent.’
His apartment search is centred around SoHo, which he loves for its cool shops and restaurants. ‘Even the streets are nice: there is always energy there.’ Come January, you might find him eating at Wolfgang Puck’s Cut inside the Four Seasons, or Cipriani. Downtime will be spent playing sports and at the gym. ‘It’s very important to keep a good rhythm of life and stay healthy. I primarily [like] football and basketball. Tennis as well.’ Expect to see Alexandre in the NBA crowd soon: his team of eight years is the Memphis Grizzlies. And he has plans to venture over the bridge. ‘I would like to start working more on giving back. We’ve been talking to the Boys and Girls Club in Brooklyn about potentially doing charity work with them. I’d love to do that.’
An ambassador, a philanthropist, the son of a prince. Before all the Blair Waldorfs charge Vivier-heel-first for Bleecker Street, there’s one thing they should know about this most eligible bachelor. There’s a girl: ‘It’s going very well. We met in Monaco, I’m moving to New York, she’s already moving to New York.’ Whoever she is, she’s got a catch. Aside from the looks, aside from the royal blood, there is a kindness that emanates from Alexandre. ‘I’m very loyal and outspoken,’ he says. ‘I like to be honest with my friends as much as I can, to be there for them, to tell them the truth. Loyalty is a big thing for me.’ He looks for much the same in a girlfriend: ‘Loyalty and honesty. Caring as well, and understanding.’
Looking forward, his focus seems crystal clear: ‘Finishing my studies, working with charities, trying to make an impact on those less privileged than I am. As well as working in a relationship with Monaco, with my dad. I’ve got a good plan, so I’m really happy about that.’ As for the pressure of having royal blood? ‘Since I’m part of this establishment, there is a natural pressure that comes with it. But any additional pressure? No, not really. I think I just have to do my job and honour my heritage and my family in a respectable way. But I consider myself to be very respectable and very kind, so I think I will do justice to my name.’ With total grace, you can count on it.
This article was first published in the December 2023 issue
