Prince Albert Of Monaco's Complicated Dating History

It's no secret that Prince Albert of Monaco has gone on his fair share of dates. Over the years, the Monegasque royal went out with so many women that his father, Prince Rainier II, began to worry that he would never settle down. As explained in the biography, "Grace of Monaco: The True Story," by Jeffrey Robinson, Rainier was desperate to see his only son — and the heir to the throne — get married and ensure the continuation of the Grimaldi bloodline. Apparently, the older ruler would frequently say, "I would like him to take things in hand and at the same time to set up a family. This is important."

Nevertheless, for decades, Albert continued to date casually, choosing to bring his lovers not to the palace but to the various apartments — or "love nests," as he reportedly called them — that he kept dotted across Monte Carlo. Because of this, the press started calling him "the playboy prince," poking fun at Albert's womanizing ways. The prince, of course, insisted that he would marry whenever he found "the right person," but by the age of 44, he remained unwed. Distraught, Rainier altered the constitution in 2002 to ensure the line of succession in case his son never made it down the aisle. 

Ultimately, however, Rainier's concerns were for naught, and Albert married Princess Charlene in 2011 — albeit at the age of 53. Before that, however, the prince dated plenty of women from across the globe.

Prince Albert's mother might have been happy to see him quickly move on from older women, like Cathy Lee Crosby and Michele Freeman, but the young playboy hardly stuck to one woman for long. In fact, back in his single days, Albert was known for having a relatively high turnover rate when it came to dating. And, unfortunately, this was said to be a major turn-off for some of his girlfriends.

The French actor, Catherine Alric, was perhaps one of Albert's chief critics. When she dated the prince, she found that he had something of a wandering eye — not exactly the best characteristic for a long-term lover. According to royal expert, Jeffrey Robinson, in his book "Grace of Monaco: The True Story," Catherine would not stand for Albert's infidelity, ending the relationship because of his dalliances. When the prince tried to make amends, Catherine refused. The biographer explained that the actor "allegedly returned [Albert's] apologetic flowers, along with his luggage, with a note which read, 'Love without faithfulness is like a flower without sun.'"

Albert, meanwhile, found that it was almost impossible for him to stop meeting new women. As Robinson explained, the prince was quite unabashed in his approach for dating. According to the biographer, Albert would openly admit: "At discos, or restaurants or at parties or on the beach or even on the street, I say hello to girls. Why not? I like that sort of thing."

Sonja Morgan was not the only woman who Prince Albert taught about royal life. The American Internet safety activist, Donna Rice, was also said to have dated Albert for some time. And, according to some sources, Donna enjoyed the glitz and glam of the upper crust experience. As the Chicago Tribune reported in 1987, Donna was, at the time, a successful model who could often be found mingling with rock stars, athletes, and even the arms dealer, Adnan Khashoggi. Speaking to the outlet, one of her former university classmates hinted that she enjoyed dating high-profile men, "Donna always knew what she was going after. She always knew what she wanted and was going to get it some way."

While this statement might be a little bit exaggerated, it is true that Donna was linked to a number of big name figures — including Albert. That being said, Donna and Albert never got especially serious, as Princess Grace Kelly was believed to be against the match. 

Albert, too, might have had his own reservations, as he was said to be particularly suspicious of women who dated other famous men. In his book, "Grace of Monaco: The True Story," Jeffrey Robinson quoted the prince: "I always have to ask myself [when dating someone new]: Is she with me because of me or because of who I am? When I meet women, it's, okay, she seems nice, but what is she really here for?"

Brooke Shields was not the only model that caught Prince Albert's eye. During the early 1990s, the prince was also linked to the German supermodel, Claudia Schiffer. The two apparently met at the World Music Awards and proceeded to date for about a year. But, while the couple certainly stayed together for longer than Albert and his other paramours, they didn't seem to take their relationship too seriously. 

When rumors of an engagement swirled, Claudia told the world not to get their hopes up. Speaking to Vanity Fair in 1993, the model explained, "I prefer not to talk about [my relationship with Albert]. But one thing I can tell you is that I'm not getting married right now. I'm only 22. I do know Albert very well. I live in Monte Carlo, so it's only normal" (via Daily Mail). The prince later echoed Claudia's more casual approach to their romance, telling the Evening Standard, "I took her out on a couple of dates but that was it" (via Insider).

Unfortunately, though, Albert's blasé approach to the relationship might have only fueled the rumors that he would never settle down. And, this angered much of the public. As the historian, Robert Lacy, put it on ABC's "Good Morning America," the prince had "too many girlfriends, pretty blondes. And I think the people feel the sooner he settles on one of them, the better that will be."

Jazmin Grace Grimaldi was not the only one of Prince Albert's love children. In fact, the "playboy prince" had at least one other baby out of wedlock — a boy named Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste. And unlike Jazmin Grace, who was the result of a short affair, Alexandre was the fruit of a six-year relationship between Albert and the elegant Togo-born Air France flight attendant, Nicole Coste.

It is believed that Nicole and Albert first met on board an Air France flight between Nice and Paris. According to the flight attendant herself, the encounter was absolutely serendipitous. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Nicole remembered, "The strange thing is that I wasn't even supposed to be on [Albert's] flight. I was on standby that day and was filling in for a colleague." In spite of all this, Nicole said that she felt an instant attraction to Albert. She revealed, "I always served in First Class so I was accustomed to dealing with VIPs. When I saw Albert our eyes met and I knew this was different. There was definitely an aura around him and we hit it off immediately."

As time went on, however, Nicole and Albert fell out of love. Thus, when their son, Alexandre, was born in 2003, the prince waited over a year to claim paternity of the child. In the end, though, Nicole told the Daily Mail that Albert and Alexandre got on well, sharing a "natural father/son relationship."

As the years have gone by, fans of the Monegasque royal family have buzzed with rumors that Prince Albert had other, secret love children. Naturally, very few of these allegations have gone very far. As Albert's friend, Stéphane Bern, told Town & Country, "One day Albert told me, 'Oh, if I listened to all the [paternity] claims [that I receive], I would have more children than anybody else in the world."

That being said, some paternity claims have certainly garnered more attention than others. In 2021, The Telegraph reported that a woman by the name of Mariza S went so far as to sue Albert for paternity in the Italian court system. Mariza, who is originally from Brazil, has said that she met Albert in a Rio de Janeiro nightclub in September 2004. From that initial encounter, Albert was said to have swept Mariza off her feet, taking her on a wild jet setting adventure. Court documents claim that Albert took Mariza first to Milan, then to Monte Carlo, and, eventually, to Russia, before sending her back home to Brazil on a KLM flight.

Soon after returning to Rio de Janeiro, though, Mariza discovered she was pregnant. According to her claims, Albert stopped responding to her messages as soon as she told him the news. Nine months later, she gave birth to a daughter, named Celia. Albert firmly denies these claims.