Royal Central - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
By The Chancellery of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl
Prince Albert travelled to New York City to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Principality of Monaco being officially recognised as a sovereign state by the United Nations.
This was also an occasion to celebrate the legacy of Prince Rainier III, Prince Albert’s father, in what would have been the 100th anniversary of his birth.
On Monday, 19 June, His Serene Highness landed in the Big Apple, where the first order of business was a trip to the UN headquarters for several meetings and celebratory moments.
The Sovereign Prince led a delegation including Monaco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Isabelle Berro-Amedei, and the Ambassador to the United Nations, Isabelle Picco.
They met with the President of the UN’s 77th Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, as well as the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to discuss current challenges like the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine.
Before that, the Prince intervened in the ceremony hosted to mark the signing of the BBNJ Accord (marine Biodiversity of areas Beyond National Jurisdiction), which aims to better protect marine biodiversity areas that don’t fall under any specific nation’s control.
The Prince manifested his approval for this accord, which touches upon a topic he has been passionate about for decades: ocean biodiversity and preservation. In his speech, he also urged prompt action on the basis of this treaty, saying: “The same determination that led to the conclusion of the negotiations must guide us to ensure that this historic agreement is implemented as quickly as possible.”
The Prince, who was accompanied in New York by his sister, Princess Stéphanie, and his niece, Camille Gottlieb, then attended a concert at the UN headquarters offered by the Carabiniers’ band of Monaco.
The following day, the principality’s musicians joined the NYPD Band for a concert in Times Square in the presence of the Sovereign Prince, Princess Stéphanie and Ms Gottlieb. Members of the public enjoyed a vast repertoire of music, which was closed by the notes of “New York, New York.”
Not only was the Carabiniers’ Band created in 1966 under the directive of Prince Rainier III, but Monaco’s recognition by the United Nations was one of the accomplishments of which he was most proud.