Archive
Thank you for rating this article
"I name this yacht..."
2011-06-21 14:54
An unusual and delightful tradition has grown up among the members of Monaco’s royal family: to call their boats after their children.
The first family yacht of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace – not counting the
Deo Juvante II, the wedding gift of Aristotle Onassis - was the
Albercaro. Its birth, in Amsterdam, was dramatic, to say the least: to the horror of its designer, the newly-built boat's engine burst into flames when it was only ten miles out to sea. Princess Grace, along with children Albert and Caroline, after whom the boat was named, had to wait another two months for its arrival in Monaco - and their long-awaited holiday!
1965 saw the arrival of Princess Stephanie, and a new motor yacht, the
Carostefal. A bit of a mouthful, perhaps, and certainly not as elegant as the 81' blue-and-white schooner which replaced it, the
Stalca, whose name was an equally elegant solution - the first two letters of each child’s name in ascending order of age.
This charming policy has been continued by the next generation. The name of Princess Caroline’s current yacht, for example, comprises the initials of her three children:
Pacha, for Pierre, Andrea and Charlotte, again in ascending order of age. And Princess Stephanie at one time owned a vessel named after
Louine after her two children Louis and Pauline.
Apart from imbuing the royal yachts with a certain personality, this tradition has greater significance: it cements the important link between successive generations of the Grimaldi family and the sea; it reminds us in a playful way of the importance of the relationship of parents and their children – whether born to royalty or not; and of course, it provides a useful
aide-memoir for royalty-watchers everywhere...
And what of the yachts now? The
Carostefal, under its new name the
Merceditas, is available for charter in Stockholm, the
Stalca is currently moored in Majorca waiting for a buyer ... and the
Albercaro? In 1964 Prince Rainier sold the almost new vessel to Sheik Shackbut of Abu Dhabi for over $1m - the first used yacht in the world ever to fetch such a sum. Thinking back to its maiden voyage, perhaps the Prince got a good deal.
The Carostefal - on which HSH Prince Albert had his first sailing lessons