Prince Albert of Monaco’s illegitimate son Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste has revealed his plans to move to New York City.
The 20-year-old student at Royal Holloway, University of London, is excluded from the line of succession in Monaco because Albert was not married to his mother, Nicole Coste, a former Air France flight attendant from Togo.
But Ms Coste, 51, who brought Alexandre to live in London 13 years ago, still gets invited to official royal events in Monaco long after her affair with Albert ended.
Albert, who is the son of actress Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco, has two children – eight-year-old twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella – with his wife Princess Charlene.
He also has an older daughter born out of wedlock, Jazmin, from a previous relationship.
The billionaire Prince of the Mediterranean tax haven has ensured that all of his children, including Alexandre, are embraced as part of the family.
Alexandre, who went to an independent school in Britain, told Tatler magazine that he was looking to study business or industrial relations at either New York University or Fordham and was scouting for a home in the SoHO area of the Big Apple from January.
But after that he hopes to help his father represent Monaco.
He told Tatler he wanted to set up a business partnership with Prince Albert “to work in a relationship with my dad and become this – let’s say – global ambassador for Monaco, and to bring business opportunities back to Monaco, which is what I’ve talked about with him”.
Alexandre, who loves watching his late grandmother Grace Kelly’s movies, has also met up with another one of his father’s former girlfriends, supermodel Naomi Campbell, in New York.
He said: “It was great to meet her. She was really open and kind of embraced me as like… a nephew.”
Alexandre now appears to share a close bond with his father.
He added that he is “really close” with the rest of the Monaco royal family despite growing up separately to them.
Jazmin, Prince Albert’s illegitimate daughter, was born in March 1992.
It was publicly confirmed publicly in May 2006 the Prince Albert was her father, but wished to conceal her identity until she was an adult.
Like her half-brother, Jazmin has no claim to the throne.
The pair’s younger half-siblings, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, were born in 2014.
See the full feature in the December issue of Tatler available via digital download and on newsstands from Thursday November 2.
