Prince Albert II of Monaco is a confirmed bachelor. His skirt-chasing street cred rivals Warren Beatty’s. That is until Annette Benning domesticated a 55-year-old Beatty. And he was still virile. Because, instead of skirts, he’s chasing kids – four of them.
Monaco’s first Black Prince
Unlike Beatty, however, Albert has been carefree about planting his seed in whomever he laid. And his taste suggests he finds the darker the juice, the sweeter the cherry. That’s because jungle fever has repeatedly driven him to seek sexual healing in the ample bosom of Black women.
And so a Black child was the inevitable consummation of his carelessness and taste. He sired a son. Alas, the kid is illegitimate in more ways than one: Born out of wedlock and Black!
Prince Albert’s Black baby mama
Nicole Coste is the proud Mummy. She’s a former flight attendant from Togo, Africa. And she insists, with righteous indignation, that she’s no fly-by-night tryster who caught an unsuspecting Prince in a baby trap.
No doubt she’s proud that, after just a few assignations in 1997, Albert offered her a more suitable job as his mistress. Of course, commensurate accouterments included an elegant Parisian pied-à-terre – befitting her new station in life.
More to the point, Coste serviced Albert for six years before (lo and behold) God blessed them with a child. And it could not have happened to a more deserving damsel in distress and her promiscuous Prince.
Like any mistress, Coste longs for acknowledgment and legitimacy. Her son, Alexandre, represents that legitimacy—a living testament to their bond. Except that, it’s been two years since his birth. Yet Albert persists in treating their son (his presumed heir ) like a dark (and shameful) secret.
Europe’s first Black Prince?
Of course, Coste had no reason to expect Albert ever make her an honorable woman. But no one can blame her for demanding he honors their son’s birthright.
Unfortunately, Albert seems determined to treat his only son as just another financial obligation. And how he reacted to last week’s revelation that he has a son is telling. Because he promptly anointed Prince Andrea, his sister Caroline’s oldest son, as his rightful heir. That erased all doubts about the line of succession in his Principality.
Prince Albert enjoys sovereign immunity. So Coste has no legal recourse. Therefore, she has to settle for the generous child support he reportedly provides.
A White prince
Still, this unpardonable slight of his son will haunt Albert. And it raises all kinds of too foreseeable questions, including:
What kind of relationship does Albert intend to have with his son? Mere financial support does not a father make. And he will regret treating his own son as nothing more than a financial obligation.
What will he say when Alexandre confronts him with the inevitable and indispensable question of race: Daddy, would you have banished and disinherited me if I were white? Of course, the presumptive answer is Albert would not have disinherited him if he were White.
How will this impact Albert’s carefully cultivated image as the patron of the Princess Grace Humanitarian Award and the Monaco World Music Awards? Black superstars like Seal, Whitney Houston, and Ziggy Marley may question his sincerity in promoting unity and humanity.
Will Albert grant Alexandre the title of “Prince” of Monaco? Denying him the throne is one thing, but withholding a title based on race would reek of racism.
Should he ever follow Beatty’s lead by marrying and having more children in his later years, will he disinherit Prince Andrea and make one of his own legitimate (and presumably white) children his heir apparent? I suspect he will, which will only reinforce the racism inherent in Albert disinheriting Alexandre.
Proud Papa? Not! The real revelation in this story is that Prince Albert is the Prince of Darkness – in more ways than one!
Anonymous says
It always amazing to me that people who claim to know so much about royalty don’t know squat. Alexandre would not be Europe’s first black prince. That would be a Medici. Currently tho, Liechtenstein has a black prince. Prince Maximilian is married to an American black woman, Princess Angela. They have one son, Prince Alfphonse.
Anonymous says
In fairness to the author, the title is framed as a question. Indeed, as a fellow European, even I cannot keep up with the marriages (interracial or not) of all our royal family members.
Surely it cannot be denied that Albert’s son is unique in that he would be the heir to the throne and I rather suspect that’s why this black prince is so controversial.
Marisol Cusatti says
HSH Princess Angela of Liechtenstein was born in Bocas del Toro, Republic of Panama.
Ann says
Prince Albert had an illigetimate daughter long before he had Alexandre. She cannot inherit the throne either. Albert’s father, the the late Prince Ranier, changed the rules to the line of succession to include only those born of legitimate marriages. He knew nothing of little Alexandre. But in his last days, Ranier was resigned to the fact that Albert may never settle down, get married, and have kids. If Ranier had not gotten the rules changed, then France would have been given dominion over Monaco. So in order to prevent that the rules were changed. This certainly had nothing to do with Alexandre.
So before you cry racism why not learn the facts-and accept them? Or I guess you’re happy, like so many others, to play the victim.
Ann says
Oh. And it’s not Monegasque Royal Family it’s Monegasque Princely family as Monaco is a Principality not a Kingdom.
Anthony L. Hall says
That is a silly mistake. Thanks for the correction Ann.
Torre says
Well…, if Prince Ranier changed the rules whilst he was in power, why then can’t Prince Albert change them back! Or make up new rules for succession?
Just wondering.
Getright says
He needs to man up and give his first born son his due! He knows better and if he doesn’t, he’s not a very good leader, either.
Why says
How about this: Don’t have sex with women of African descent!
Children can easily happen when a man and woman have sex.
If being Black or of African descent is so bad, why have sex with someone so unacceptable?