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Happy birthday, Charlotte Casiraghi ! The daughter of Princess Caroline and the late Stefano Casiraghi turned 34 on Monday, Aug. 3. In honor of Charlotte’s special day, HOLA! USA has rounded up ten fun facts to celebrate the Monegasque royal family member.
© Getty Images1. She is not a Princess.
Charlotte previously declared to French Vogue (via The New York Times), “I’m not a princess.” She added, “My mother is, not I. I am the niece of a head of state. And with this status, I have some representational duties, nothing very constraining or very exceptional.”
2. She is Grace Kelly’s oldest granddaughter.
At 34 years old, Charlotte is the oldest of Princess Grace ’s granddaughters, who include Princess Gabriella , five, Princess Alexandra of Hanover, 21, Camille Gottlieb, 22, Pauline Ducruet, 26, and Jazmin Grace Grimaldi , 28.
© Getty Images3. She is a mother of two boys.
Charlotte became a mother in 2013 with the arrival of her son Raphaël Elmaleh, whom she shares with her former partner, comedian Gad Elmaleh. Prince Albert ’s niece welcomed her son child, Balthazar Rassam, in 2018 with her now-husband Dimitri Rassam.
4. She is a talented equestrian.
Pierre and Andrea Casiraghi’s sister has been riding horses since she was young. “They’ve had an important role in my life since childhood,” she told Harper’s Bazaar of horses in 2013. “They gave me the energy to move forward, the ability to fight, giving me a rare confidence and invaluable strength. They taught me great humility too.” Charlotte has competed in a number of riding events over the years. “Competing in show jumping is a school of life,” she said. “And it’s one of the few Olympic sports where men and women are equal. Being a great horseman does not rely on physical strength but more on the mind and sensibility.”
© Getty Images5. She loves philosophy.
The royal family member is president and founder of Les Rencontres Philosophiques de Monaco. In 2017, Charlotte spoke to L’Observateur de Monaco about her love for philosophy. She shared, “Philosophy animates me and inhabits me and when one is upset by a text or a thought, one cannot compartmentalize. I live with the desire to understand. It is part of the being that I am.” Charlotte studied philosophy at Sciences Po Doctoral School. “As time went on it played an even bigger, brighter, role in my life,” she confessed to Billionaire in 2018.
6. She is the daughter-in-law of a famous French actress.
Charlotte married film producer Dimitri Rassam, who is the son of French actress Carole Bouquet, in 2019. The couple’s royal wedding was a lavish affair. The bride stunned at her reception held at the luxurious Hotel Villa la Vigie wearing a strapless Chanel design, which she accessorized with her late maternal grandmother’s Cartier diamond necklace.
© Félix Dol-Maillot7. She still wears a piece of jewelry from her childhood.
The Monegasque royal recalled the first piece of jewelry she ever wore in a 2019 interview with Vogue Mexico. “The first piece of jewelry I wore was a beautiful medal with the Virgin Mary made of mother of pearl that was given to me at my christening, I still have it and wear it,” Charlotte shared. The mom of two revealed that she has started collecting vintage pieces. “I really have a passion for jewelry and especially because it is often symbolic and passed down from one generation to the next,” she said. “A jewel is something intimate, that tells a story that you carry in your memory.”
8. Reading and writing have played an important part in her life.
According to Charlotte, reading and writing have helped her “a lot in life.” She told Vogue Mexico, “When I was very young, I remember being very angry about someone who hurt me, and I told myself that even if I was in prison or alone, as long as I had a pen and a paper, and I could express myself, I could free myself.”
© Getty Images9. She can speak multiple languages.
Per Vogue, the stylish royal is bilingual in French and English. Charlotte, whose late father was born in Italy, is also fluent in Italian, though she said she is “shy in Italian.”
10. She is a godmother to her younger sister.
Charlotte is one of her half-sister Princess Alexandra’s godparents.
