Prince Albert of Monaco said he was furious about the mother of his child. He gave a rare interview to the media about his parenting.
Nicole Coste, 49 years old, was an Air France hostess and fashion designer. She gave birth to Alexandre Grimaldi–Coste in August 2003. This was two years before Albert, then the Monegasque heir, began dating Princess Charlene.
Nicole and Albert had been together for five years. The Togo-born beauty had made public visits with her royal beau, Rainier III, and had met his father.
Alexandre’s existence wasn’t made public until May 2005, when Nicole gave a dramatic tell-all interview to French magazine Paris Match. She claimed her then-two-year-old son Albert was hers.
Albert confirmed that he had fathered Alexandre two months later, just before he was enthroned. The following year he also admitted he had a daughter Jazmin Grimaldi, now 29, born to American Tamara Rotolo in 1992. He has two children legally, twins Jacques (six), and Gabriella (six), with Charlene.
Since 2005, Nicole has raised Alexandre, his older half-brothers, in Geneva, London, and New York. She has chosen to remain largely out of the spotlight.
She is now back in the public eye, however, after Alexandre and she attended Monaco’s glittering Rose Ball with Albert and other members the royal family. It marked Alexandre’s 18th Birthday with a lavish bash hosted by his royal father.
In September, she gave a rare interview where she talked about the royal’s parenting and their involvement in their teenage sons’ lives. She also hinted at tensions with Princess Charlene.
Prince Albert, however, was revealed to be furious by his comments in an interview for Point du Vue. It was inappropriate. I was furious to discover that.
Prince Albert of Monaco has revealed he was ‘furious’ about the mother of his love child Nicole Coste, 49 giving a rare interview to press about his parenting
Speaking Paris Match, Nicole explained Albert has been a constant presence in his son’s life, despite reports to the contrary, and had been involved in everything from his education to his birthday parties.
She said that Albert made a promise from the beginning to be present and to bring his son into his home, translating from French.
“Very quickly, it was my relief when Princess Stephanie became Alexander’s godmother. Albert has kept his promise: Things are building well and running their course. This is what I am thrilled with.
She said, “Contrary to what some may have written, Albert has always assumed the role of father and no financial agreement was ever made between us.” Our trust is the foundation of our relationship.
It is because Princess Charlene, last seen in Monaco in January 2017, remains in South Africa as she recovers from a serious infection in her sinuses. She is currently in hospital following Wednesday’s collapse at home. Albert flew to South Africa last week to see his wife (pictured), marking their first date since June
She added, “Alexandre inherited politeness, great kindness. Albert is also tender, sensitive and warm. Alexandre looks like us a lot. They get along well and are close friends. They enjoy playing sports together, and sometimes they talk about politics.
Alexandre, who was recently signed as a model and will start university in the autumn.
Nicole didn’t rule out the possibility that her son might play a role in the “future Monaco” but said it was up his father to decide.
The mother-of-3 hinted at tension with Charlene, claiming that the royal had made her son unwelcome in the early days of their relationship with Albert.
Alexandre’s existence was revealed to the world by Nicole in a shocking tell-all interview with Paris Match magazine. Nicole claimed that Albert was her two-year-old child. Pictured is Alexandre, 18 years old, with Jazmin Grimaldi (his half-sister who was born 1992).
Prince Albert of Monaco is being questioned about whether his marriage to Princess Charlene is in trouble. He attended a ball with Nicole Coste and their child during their extended stay in South Africa. (pictured, left Prince Albert at Red Cross Ball in July 2021 and right, Nicole Coste at that event).
Online images now show Alexandre, Nicole’s lovechild (right), attending the ball with Prince Albert.
Online photos show Nicole in a purple gown with dangling diamond earrings. Prince Albert, her son, wore a blue suit.
“As Charlene, this subject is one that I cannot ignore because we are often placed in paralel. I don’t like being compared. I never considered myself an enemy. She said, “I am a gentlewoman.”
Given our respective ties to Prince Charles, we should have supported each other cordially. Diplomacy was the only way to win in this situation. However, during the engagement period I witnessed things that both shocked and alerted me.
“She took advantage of his absence to change my son’s room and move him to the employees wing. These actions are beyond what I can describe as a mother.
She insisted that Alexandre is in a good relationship to his younger half-brother Jacques and half-sister Gabriella. He ‘happily play with them when he can’.
Nicole met Albert in the late 1990s, shortly before he first crossed paths with Charlene at the 2000 Mare Nostrum swimming competition in Monte Carlo.
Nicole, whose father is a merchant in Togo West Africa, admitted that she was delighted and humbled by the attention.
Nicole was only 15 years old when she left Africa. Nicole, the fifth of five children, was determined to make a better living for herself. So she traveled to Paris to study.
Their liaison was the most secretive in Monaco society.
Although they both attended red carpet events and mixed with socialites and celebrities, the majority of Albert’s subjects knew nothing of the relationship.
But their initial passion for each other waned, and the relationship ended. However, Nicole discovered that she was pregnant in the last days of their relationship.
Alexandre was born to Nicole in August 2003. Alexandre was officially recognized by Albert in December 2003, Nicole explained to Paris Match.
She kept a low profile for almost two years before going to the press with her story in May 2005, a month after the death of Albert’s father, Rainier III.
Nicole said that she spoke out in September because she had difficulty obtaining documentation to prove Albert had recognized Alexandre as her son. Nicole wanted to rectify this.
He confirmed Alexandre’s identity via his lawyer on the 6th of July 2005, less that a week after he was enthroned on the 12th. He confirmed that he was also the father of Jazmin Grace Grimaldi’s daughter in 2005. She was born out-of-wedlock in 1992.
Albert is currently facing a paternity suit for a third child he allegedly had with Princess Charlene.
The 34-year-old claimant – who cannot be named for legal reasons – says she had a passionate affair with Albert, leading to the birth of their daughter – whose name is also classified – on July 4, 2005.
Albert received a handwritten message from the child, now aged 15, in September last years. It read: ‘I don’t understand why my parents didn’t have a father. Now that I have found you, I don’t want to see you.
Legal papers were also filed, as lawyers for the claimant called on Albert to undergo a DNA test – just as he did before finally being identified as Jazmin and Alexandre’s father.
Nicole dismissed paternity claims and said that Albert only has four children. She also claimed that Nicole is making false arguments to ’cause harm.
Shortly before Princess Charlene left Monaco for South Africa, news broke about the paternity suit.
Prince Albert had earlier in the month stated that his wife (pictured here with their children) would likely return to Monaco by end of the month
The Monégasque prince has claimed former Olympian Charlene will return home ‘very shortly’ and anticipates doctors in South Africa will clear his wife for travel within days.
He told People that current plans involve Charlene returning to the principality within weeks after spending much of this year in her native South Africa following a ‘serious sinus infection’ which made her unable to travel and forced her to miss key events including her 10-year wedding anniversary and her children’s first day of school.
Albert insists that his wife will return home “way before” [Monaco’s National Day]on November 19′, adding “she’s in great form and much more positive spirits”.
He even hopes Charlene, 43, will be able to join him earlier on a planned November 13 visit to Dubai’s World Expo, an international cultural exhibition, but admitted: ‘We’ll make that decision at the last minute.
On October 8, Zimbabwean-born Charlene underwent a final operation to deal with an ear, nose and throat infection she contracted in May – with a palace source telling AFP that the procedure ‘went very well’.
However, the absence of the royal from the principality has sparked rumors about a rift among Charlene and Albert, which the pair have since denied.
Last week Princess Charlene said she ‘can’t wait to get home to her children’ but made no reference to her husband Albert in an interview given in South Africa.
The princess, whose maidenname was Charlene Wittstock was an Olympic swimmer for South Africa. She first met Albert in Monaco at an aquatic competition in 2000.
They began to date soon after that, and Charlene married the House of Grimaldi in July 2011.
Their twins – daughter Gabriella and son Jacques – were born three years later and are seen as the family’s official heirs.
By this time, Charlene had come to terms with Albert’s hard fought legal battles with women who eventually won financial settlements over children they had with Albert – even though he originally denied their claims.
Albert confirmed that he was the biological father to Alexandre in May 2005, just before his enthronement as Prince of Monaco. His mother was Nicole Coste from Togo, who was an Air France flight attendant.
A DNA test in May 2006 confirmed that Albert was the father of Jazmine Grace. This was also due to an affair with Tamara Rotolo (an American estate agent) that he had met while she was on holiday at the South of France.
Alexandre was born in 2003 and Jazmine in 1990. According to the Brazilian woman, she traveled around the globe with the Prince in 2000s.
Grimaldi, the lawyer, stated that he had filed papers detailing his client’s love affair and trips to Brazil, France, and Russia.
According to court papers, the lovers may have even met Russian President Vladimir Putin while they were in Moscow. The Russian president gave the Brazilian a warm hug.
Thierry Lacoste is Albert’s lawyer. He said that the allegations were a hoax and that there are no intimate photos or tangible facts about a possible relationship.
According to negotiated financial agreements, neither Albert’s son, Alexandre Grimaldi Coste, 17 years old, nor his daughter Jazmin Grace Grimaldi are eligible to claim the throne at Monaco.
Instead, the line of succession favors Prince Jacques (six), and Princess Gabriella (six), who often appear in their parents’ social media posts.