n 1956, America discovered Monaco when the fairytale wedding of His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III of Monaco and Miss Grace Kelly of Philadelphia formed a union that would forever bond our two countries together in friendship.
Few know, however, that as early as 1868, a 19 year-old crown prince of Monaco discovered America as he toured from New York to the Midwest, and even sailed the full length of four of the five Great Lakes. In 1913, this prince returned as Albert I and was the first European head of state to visit the United States of America. Enamored by the wide open spaces, this trip took Prince Albert I as far west as Wyoming, where he hunted bear and elk with Buffalo Bill Cody and established “Camp Monaco,” which still exists today, deep in the wilderness near Yellowstone Park. In 1921, this adventurous prince, one of the founding fathers of oceanography, made yet a third trip to America when he addressed the National Academy of Sciences here in Washington.
Today, Prince Albert II carries forth not only the name of his great-great grandfather but also the same keen passion for exploration, accomplishment and concern for the environment. In April of 2006, on the 100th anniversary of the Arctic expeditions of Prince Albert I, Albert II became the first Head of State to reach the North Pole. This formidable exploit was not undertaken as just another personal achievement for this five-time Olympian. With his ancestor’s detailed research and records in hand, he was able to make comparisons and precise determinations on the damaging effects of global warming and bring greater awareness to the perils it represents to the Poles and the planet.To this effect, in 2006, as part of his personal commitment to the protection of the environment and to sustainable evelopment, Prince Albert II created his own foundation dedicated to three main areas of concern: climate change, the protection of biodiversity, and access to drinking water. The American arm of the Prince Albert II Foundation is in the process of creation, and we look forward to forming meaningful partnerships on this side of the Atlantic that will be able to reach out and embrace these issues in new and effective ways.
In September, Prince Albert II came to Washington to celebrate another priority, the formalization of full diplomatic relations between our two countries, and to inaugurate this new, much less rustic, “Camp Monaco.”