Pierre Casiraghi: Prince William and Prince Harry also deserve their privacy

OHMYGOSSIP – Pierre Casiraghi* has given an interview to Boat International magazine discussing sailing, but he also found time to share his opinions on Prince William and Prince Harry, and how they deserve their privacy. In the interview, journalist Stewart Campbell notes that Casiraghi is reticent to discuss his royal connections – his mother is Princess Caroline; his uncle Prince Albert II of Monaco; his grandparents Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace (Hollywood actress Grace Kelly).

“When our conversation veers too closely to what it’s like being royal in a principality whose population barely touches 40,000, he withdraws a little, disappearing behind a half smile and narrowed eyes. His answers come slower, after a pause,” Campbell writes.

When the pair discuss sailing, the conversation flows smoother.

Casiraghi talked about the need for privacy, saying that “Everyone deserves their privacy.

“I understand people are curious [about our family], but that’s not privacy. Privacy is something that touches you and your immediate circle. It’s a question of respect.”

With regards to his counterpart in the United Kingdom, Casiraghi says, “Poor William and Harry! I mean, listen, it’s very difficult to compare us. Great Britain is a very big place with a lot of people; we come from a very small place with different traditions. But they also deserve their privacy.”

Casiraghi also spoke about sailing as a release for him, and how it affords him the privacy he craves.

“As a kid, I was always reading books about adventure, about being outside. It was always something I wanted to do, and the first time I went sailing on my own or went out with a friend, it was just freedom. No one could come and tell me, ‘Go there,’ or ‘Do this.’ It felt like a mini adventure just for me.”

Talking about his upbringing with older siblings Andrea and Charlotte, he says that “We were like any other kids. You go to school every morning, come home in the evening, do your homework. We were conscious that our situation wasn’t exactly the same as everyone else’s, but I don’t think it affected us.”

He studied law and economics at university and works with a helicopter firm called Monacair, and the construction company his late father Stefano founded, called Engeco.

Speaking of Prince Albert, he says that his uncle has done a lot to encourage sporting in the principality.

“Prince Albert has definitely set Monaco on a sports path, and I think that’s amazing. So many sportspeople live here, and it’s not just for tax reasons. If you go to the stadium, you have every sport from fencing, swimming, diving, boxing, you name it. All the track and field.”

Casiraghi doesn’t really compete any more, taking a behind the scenes role when it comes to sailing, mainly because of his family with wife, Beatrice Borromeo, which includes sons, Stefano and Francesco.

“I miss some parts of it. I miss some of those feelings when you share an extreme moment…with the team.”

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* Pierre Rainier Stefano Casiraghi (born 5 September 1987) is the younger son and youngest of three children of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and her second husband, Stefano Casiraghi. His maternal grandparents were Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly. Casiraghi is eighth in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, following his twin cousins, his mother, brother Andrea, nephews Alexandre and Maximillian Casiraghi, and his niece India Casiraghi.

Casiraghi was born in 5 September 1987 at Princess Grace Hospital Centre, in La Colle, Monaco. He is named after his maternal great-grandfather, Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois, his maternal grandfather, Prince Rainier III, and his father. His godparents are his uncle, Prince Albert II, and his aunt by marriage Laura Sabatini Casiraghi, the wife of his uncle Daniele. Casiraghi was three years old at the time of his father’s death in a boating accident. He spent his earliest years, after his father’s death, living at his mother’s farmhouse in the quaint town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.

He attended a state school in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. However, after his mother’s remarriage to Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, the family moved to Fontainebleau, to be nearer to Paris and London, the latter being where his new stepbrothers lived with their mother. It is assumed that Casiraghi passed the French Baccalaureate exam in the summer of 2005 since he shortly afterwards began university. One year later, in fact, he moved to Milan to begin a three-year undergraduate course in International Economics and Management at Bocconi University. Besides French, he is fluent in Italian, English, and knows some German. He also plays the saxophone.

It is believed that he uses his economics degree towards learning the business of his father’s companies, which are also managed by his uncle Marco.

Casiraghi was linked to a number of young women during his university years in Milan, where he was photographed out and about with fashion models. Casiraghi has been in a relationship with the journalist Beatrice Borromeo since May 2008. They were married in a civil ceremony on 25 July 2015 in the gardens of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. The religious ceremony took place on Isola Bella on 1 August 2015. Pierre and Beatrice’s first child, Stefano Ercole Carlo, was born on 28 February 2017. Their second child, Francesco Carlo Albert was born on 21 May 2018.

In February 2012, Casiraghi was briefly hospitalized following a physical altercation at a New York nightclub. According to media reports, Casiraghi approached the table of businessman Adam Hock, models Natasha Poly, Anja Rubik and Valentina Zelyaeva, whereby words were exchanged and an altercation ensued. Hock was arrested on four counts of assault, and is alleged to have struck Casiraghi as well as three male friends. Hock, who was charged on eight counts of misdemeanor assault, alleges that Casiraghi was the aggressor and that he assaulted Casiraghi and his companions in self-defence. Casiraghi was treated at New York Presbyterian Hospital for a laceration, bruising, and swelling of his face.

Featured image: Pierre Casiraghi (OHMYGOSSIP)
Source: boatinternational.com (Royal wave: On board with blue-blooded sailor Pierre Casiraghi)

 

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