These Royal Twins Live Lavish Lives
Some people feel that they are born to be rich, and others are simply born rich. For Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella of Monaco, the latter is true. Born to parents Prince Albert and Princess Charlene, this pair of royal twins came into the world on December 10, 2014 — and immediately were submerged in a lavish world of luxury. Throughout Charlene's complicated pregnancy, the princess and her two little royals were accompanied by a world-class team of doctors. And when it came time for Jacques and Gabriella to go home with their parents, they headed off to a full-blown palace, complete with maids and private chefs.
Of course, royal life is not all magic and fairy tales. Even before Jacques and Gabriella were born, French tabloids were busy spinning rumors about the questionable status of their parents' marriage. At one point, Le Journal du Dimanche speculated that Charlene tried to run away from Monaco leading up to her wedding with Albert. At another, a historian and royal expert by the name of Philippe Delorme told Madame Figaro that many people assume the couple had an "arranged marriage" (via The Sun).
That being said, Jacques and Gabriella's royal status means that they get to enjoy plenty of perks. Unlike most kids, these twins get to travel the world with their father as he performs his royal duties. From Jacques and Gabriella's incredible education to their unique calling as philanthropists, here is a glimpse into their lavish lives.
Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques live in a gorgeous palace
Every young prince and princess must have their castle, and this is certainly true for Monaco's royal twins, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques. The dynamic duo resides with their father, Prince Albert, at the luxurious Prince's Palace of Monaco. This historic structure can trace its roots back to the 1200s when, according to legend, their ancestor François Grimaldi took over the castle in the name of his Catholic religion. Due to the palace's elaborate architecture and stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea, the Grimaldi family has made it their home for the last eight centuries.
In the years since François Grimaldi first set foot in the palace, the location has grown increasingly chic. Over the decades, various princes and princesses of Monaco have contributed their personal sense of style to the residence, even purchasing valuable and timeless artwork to hang in their abode. Some notable pieces include Jacopo Bassano's painting "The Israelites in the Desert," as well as several frescos by the artist Nicolosio Granello.
Of course, Gabriella and Jacques are still too young to fully appreciate how incredible their home truly is. That being said, the twins have been known to enjoy social events at the palace, including a party or two. People reported that in 2021, the dynamic duo chose to hold their royal birthday festivities in this gorgeous environment. Lavish setting aside, this event featured simple elements, like balloons and cake.
The prince and princess live part-time in a second mansion
While the Prince's Palace of Monaco is a spectacular space, it is hardly the only residence that Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella have been known to enjoy. The royal twins are also believed to frequent Roc Agel, a country estate that belongs to Monaco's most prestigious family. Purchased in 1957 by Prince Albert's parents, Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, this property is said to offer sweeping views of the principality. Its tranquil environment also is believed to provide Monegasque royals with an escape from city life.
Speaking to People, Albert explained how this property offers his family a taste of country living: "My father started it, really. He wanted Roc Agel to be a working farm since the '60s ... It was his notion. The vegetable garden was already in progress and my mother was very much into that. She brought the corn into the mix that we have there now, and that we really enjoy. And we've tomatoes and zucchini ..."
The best part is that the Roc Agel property is able to provide the palace with high-quality farm fresh food. According to Albert, in the past, this has included fruits, vegetables, eggs, and even homemade cheese. The prince explained, "We have a sufficient amount of milk for the family and there's some for the palace staff ... We've enough to make some cheese, as well." That being said, Gabriella and Jacques prefer something sweeter: homemade chocolate milk.
Special accommodations were made for their pandemic homeschooling
Birthday parties are not the only type of special event that Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella have enjoyed at the Prince's Palace of Monaco. In fact, the royal twins enjoyed a special homeschooling experience within the castle's historic walls. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many average children from around the world were forced to engage in online learning, Jacques and Gabriella were allowed to invite some of their best friends to the palace for a unique type of schooling.
Indeed, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene had the palace's infamous Great Hall cleared for the purpose of the kids' studies. Taught by private tutors and accompanied by four of their favorite classmates, Jacques and Gabriella enjoyed a semi-normal school situation — a true luxury during the tense days of the pandemic.
Speaking with People, Albert explained that the homeschooling experiment went quite well. Overall, it seemed that his twins did a good job keeping up with their studies. As the papa bear told the outlet, Jacques and Gabriella even developed an interest in the sciences. Albert shared, "We went through a whole phase of them wanting to know all about the oceans and planets and everything about the solar system." Of course, the prince admitted that the kids' coursework was not particularly challenging, stating, "They're not doing calculus or anything like that yet, which is what I'll have a little problem with!" Even so, he seemed proud of their progress.
The twins have access to a world-class foreign language education
As key members of a European royal family, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques can expect a future filled with royal duties. Because the twins will be expected to interact with people of many different linguistic backgrounds, it is expected that they learn multiple languages. For Gabriella and Jacques, this means that they primarily focus on English and French. After all, English is the native tongue of their mother, Princess Charlene, while French is the national language of Monaco.
Of course, due to their position as young royals, Gabriella and Jacques were able to learn these languages from an early age — and also with a whole lot of help. In a 2016 chat with People, the twin's father, Prince Albert, revealed that they were starting their education early. According to the proud papa, both Gabriella and Jacques were already stumbling their way through the alphabet at the tender age of just 18 months. The prince revealed that the twins could make it through most of the letters, although he conceded that, "There's a little hesitation before XYZ." That being said, Gabriella and Jacques were studying their ABCs in both English and French.
The twins are believed to speak English at home with their parents since Charlene was born in Zimbabwe, and Albert was raised by his own mother, American actress Grace Kelly. However, at the twins' elite private school Institution François d'Assis, they speak French.
Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella learned to downhill ski
It's no secret that Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella come from an athletic family. The twins' parents Princess Charlene and Prince Albert were both Olympic athletes. In 2000, Princess Charlene represented South Africa in two swimming events, even earning an impressive fifth place in the 4x100 medley. Meanwhile, Prince Albert participated in five Olympic games from 1988 to 2002, during which he entered the bobsled competition as a representative of his native Monaco. Because of this impressive family history, perhaps it is no surprise that Jacques and Gabriella also like sports. Although, as royals, they do seem to like some of the more expensive ones.
Over the years, the royal twins have gone skiing on more than one occasion. During the winter of 2022, Jacques and Gabriella were spotted on the slopes of Méribel, a resort nestled in the French Alps. At this luxurious location, the Grimaldi children joined other royals and celebrities to enjoy an exclusive downhill sporting experience. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium are believed to enjoy this spot, which offers spas, dog sledding, and 600 km of ski terrain.
Interestingly, skiing is a passion that Jacques and Gabriella seem to have discovered through their father: Prince Albert famously grew up vacationing in the Swiss Alps. There, the prince was known to ski with his own parents, Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly. In that sense, the royal twins are carrying on a lavish family holiday tradition.
They enjoy sailing on the Mediterranean
Downhill skiing is not the only elite sport that Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques enjoy. The royal twins have also been known to participate in lavish summertime activities, such as sailing on the Mediterranean. During the summer of 2022, the dynamic duo participated in the Seadventures Summer Camp, where they learned to appreciate the sailing basics. And, while this course hardly provided either one of the twins with the full knowledge of an Olympic skipper, it would have given them a taste of what it is like to sail on your own. This program, which was organized by the Yacht Club of Monaco, allows children as young as 6 to develop their interest in navigating through the local bay.
It is worth noting, however, that Gabriella and Jacques did not get to participate in this program until after they learned a thing or two about water safety. Leading up to their sailing camp, the twins enrolled in a separate program at The Blue School, Monaco's Academy of the Sea. There, they completed a course that taught them about diving and search and rescue.
This was likely an important factor for Gabriella and Jacques' mother, Princess Charlene, who has been known to champion similar safety programs. As Charlene once shared in a chat with "Eyewitness News," "The first thing that I wanted to do when I had my children, Jacques and Gabriella, was that I wanted to teach them water safety."
The twins have traveled on a superyacht
If Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella enjoyed their time on small boats, it is not because of a lack of experience on bigger ones. The royal twins have been known to travel with their parents on a superyacht — or an especially luxurious state-of-the-art sea vessel. Jacques and Gabriella's lavish yachting adventures garnered public attention in 2019 when they accompanied Prince Albert and Princess Charlene on a trip along the Dalmatian Coast. During this holiday, the children were spotted with their father wandering the docks in Croatia.
As exciting as it must have been for Jacques and Gabriella to explore a different country, the twins got to experience way more than even that. On this particular voyage, the young princes traveled up and down the coast, enjoying the views from the opulence of their family's yacht. Interestingly, it is said that the Monegasque royal family's vessel of choice is the Arience — a royal yacht that is large enough to comfortably host 12 guests, in addition to a captain and 16 crew members. At an impressive 61 meters in length, the boat is said to include all sorts of kid-friendly activities, including a home movie theater and two jacuzzis.
Ultimately, though, it is not cheap to travel in style. New My Royals estimates that the Arience is worth approximately $80 million, and according to Yacht Charter Fleet, renting the vessel can cost up to $650,000 per week.
Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella got to attend the Grand Prix
Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques may participate in several different activities, but that does not stop them from enjoying sports from the sidelines, as well. This was most evident in 2023 when the royal twins joined their parents to watch the Monaco Grand Prix — in true royal fashion. This iconic Formula 1 race is probably one of the most important ones in auto racing culture, featuring tight roads and panoramic views of the Mediterranean. Attracting celebrities and billionaires from around the world, the Monaco Grand Prix is not just an adrenaline-filled spectacle; it is also a chic social event. And amid all this, Gabriella and Jacques seemed to be having a spectacular time.
As they soaked up all the fun, the royal twins were dressed to the nines, blending in perfectly with the elegance all around them. Jacques wore a full suit and a pair of shades while Gabriella stunned in a pink dress by Monnalisa, an exclusive brand of children's designer clothes.
Because of their royal roles, this was not the first time that Gabriella and Jacques attended the Grand Prix. In 2022, Jacques even got to participate in the famous event. People reported Princess Charlene remarking, "And this year, Jacques will be doing the lap of honor with his dad for the first time. That will be a source of great pride for us."
Princess Gabriella has started to dip her toes into the fashion world
When Princess Charlene first joined the Monegasque royal family, her transformation from an Olympian to a princess was not easy. During the earlier days of her courtship with Prince Albert, the competitive swimmer found that learning about the fashion world was way more difficult than she could have imagined. As she told Vogue in a rare interview, "Finding my fashion feet has certainly been the biggest challenge." On one occasion, Charlene even admitted that, prior to developing her own style, "I was literally a fish out of water. I thought it was all fun, fun, fun, and didn't give my outfit any thought."
These days, though, Charlene has become a fashionista — and it seems that she is determined to give Princess Gabriella the stylistic education that she once lacked. In 2022, the mother on the mission took her adorable daughter to the Monte-Carlo Fashion Awards, where she could learn a thing or two about how some of Europe's most elite women dress. Ultimately, it is believed that this extravagant type of outing could help prepare Gabriella for dressing like a royal.
So far, the young princess has seemed to enjoy the fashion world. In an interview with Monaco Matin, Charlene shared that Gabriella, "Like all little girls her age, loves princess dresses, doing her hair, and even trying on my lipsticks. Gabriella has her own style, and I like to encourage that individuality."
Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques have begun to join their father on his royal duties
Of course, royal life is not all fun and games. According to People, Princess Charlene opened up by saying, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques were "born with responsibilities and duties. This means that the twins will have to slowly get used to the idea of serving their people by opening foundations and meeting with world leaders.
That being said, understanding the concept of duty is not a process that happens overnight. As Charlene continued in the same interview, "With my husband, when we have to go to an event, we explain to them what the nature of this event, this ceremony is ... They like accompanying us ... But, as I said, they are still young, they continue to observe, to learn, before it will become natural for them."
Luckily for Gabriella and Jacques, learning about royal duties can also mean traveling the world. This was especially evident in 2022 when the royal twins joined Prince Albert and Charlene on a trip to Norway. There, the twins attend the inauguration of a Fram Museum exhibit titled, "Sailing the Sea of Science." Given Gabriella and Jacques' interest in oceanic studies and navigation, this event was the perfect way for them to promote something they care about. The exhibit also had a personal twist, featuring the story of their great-great-great grandfather, Prince Albert I, who helped explore the Norwegian seas.
Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques are becoming philanthropists
Just like many children of well-to-do families, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella are expected to develop philanthropic interests as they get older. Interestingly, though, the royal twins already seem ready to express their excitement for at least one cause — oceanic preservation. Perhaps due to their history of boating and swimming, Jacques and Gabriella chose to spend their eighth birthday drawing attention to the issues of preserving sea life and saving the oceans from pollution.
Indeed, the royal twins spent most of their special day at Monaco's Oceanographic Institute, where they helped conservationists ship 46 turtles to Senegal's Turtle Village. The Turtle Village is a project that seeks to grow dwindling and endangered turtle species by breeding these populations and returning them to the wild. By dedicating their birthday to this important cause, Jacques and Gabriella helped draw attention to the issue. They also helped promote conservationist projects that seek to rectify the crisis.
That being said, however, the twins did not forgo any sort of fun or games on the anniversary of their birth. Following hours of hard work at the Oceanographic Institute, the dynamic duo headed home, where they threw a video game-themed costume party. For the special occasion, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene organized some of the twins' favorite characters to make an appearance, including Mario and Kung Fu Panda.