Back in September, Nicole Coste gave a fascinating interview to Paris Match. Coste is the ex-lover/ex-girlfriend of Prince Albert of Monaco, and Coste is mother to their son Alexandre. Alexandre turned 18 years old this year, and he has a room in the Prince’s Palace in Monte Carlo, although I believe he splits his time between his parents. Coste was very nice about Albert in the interview, praising him for accepting Alexandre (two years after he was born, but whatever). She praised Albert for trying to be a hands-on father, and even noted that the extended Grimaldi clan has also warmly embraced Alexandre as well.
Coste saved her ire for Princess Charlene, saying in part: “As for Charlene… during the engagement period, I experienced things that alerted and shocked me. For example, she changed my son’s room, taking advantage of his father’s absence to move him to the employee wing. As a mother, I cannot find words to describe these actions.” Charlene moved Alexandre to the servants’ quarters while Albert was out of town. It was an interesting thing to include in an interview, and now Albert wants us to know that he’s completely furious about… Coste saying that to Paris Match.
Prince Albert of Monaco has revealed he was ‘furious’ about the mother of his love child giving a rare interview to press about his parenting. Nicole Coste, 49, an Air France air hostess turned fashion designer, gave birth to Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste in August 2003, two years before Albert, then heir to the Monegasque throne, started dating Princess Charlene.
Nicole has raised Alexandre and his older half-brothers in Geneva, London and New York, and chosen to stay largely out of the spotlight. However she is now firmly back in the public eye after she and Alexandre attended Monaco’s glittering Rose Ball alongside Albert and other members of the royal family, and marked the teenager’s 18th birthday with a lavish bash thrown by his royal father. She gave a rare interview in September in which she spoke about the royal’s parenting and involvement in their teenage son’s life, before hinting at tension with Princess Charlene.
However Prince Albert has been revealed how enraged he was by the comments in an interview with Point du Vue, saying: ‘She had just informed me that she was going to release something, I thought it would be just a birthday photo. It was inappropriate, I was furious to find that out.’
I mean… I assumed Albert would be furious behind-the-scenes, but I didn’t expect him to admit that in print months after the interview. I kind of buy that Coste did it behind his back too, that her interview wasn’t part of some larger palace-driven narrative to make Charlene look like an a–hole. This was Nicole Coste going off on her own to make Charlene look like an a–hole. Which is pretty easy to do, as it turns out! Imagine moving your fiance’s mixed race love child in the servants’ quarters when your fiance is out of town. I hope he was also “furious” that Charlene did that in the first place.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, cover courtesy of Paris Match.
Eh someone does that to my child and there will be hell to pay at that moment. That was an asshole move and pretty racist
100
@Cg2495 and @Nlopez yes and yes. When it’s years over, well at the start too, put the children first.
A racist South African??
lol! cue white south africans clutching their pearls in the comments about how unfair and rude a generalization that is… etc etc
The thing is… she is in the generational window where most white South Africans her age are at least very aware of how not to appear to be racist? Like, in that age group, she should at the very least be very aware of what will come across as racist and how to avoid that. So maybe she is not very smart?
Also: judging someone based on their race is the very definition of racism, so assuming that a white person is a racist based on their skin color alone is a choice
I don’t understand people who are doing well financially feeling the need to chase fame. Fot all we know Albert is taking care of them both so her doing this interview after years of saying nothing while Charlene was having health issues, was just tacky.
Why is it tacky? The boy is finally 18. As a Black women, she likely was entirely offended for herself and her child at the racism and what it means to put a Black child in the servants quarters. She’s probably been waiting to tell this story for years and now she can. Why should she stay quiet. That’s how white supremacy works….it thrives in silence.
I would totally agree if it wasn’t for the fact that this is an old, old story. She told it first years ago when she moved to London and was trying to make it as a Fashion Designer around the time of Prince Albert’s wedding to Charlene. Every few years Nicole gives a splashy new interview and her relationship with Prince Albert is described in the rosiest of terms while Charlene is portrayed as the Wicked Stepmother.
Albert and Charlene’s marriage has always seemed like a nightmare. She does love children though and only appears to be truly happy when in their presence. It’s been years since I first heard this story. I wish I could remember all the details.
Is it untrue?
Because it seems that Charlene did this and yes, taking her unhappiness out on an innocent child is Evil Stepmother behavior. Let Charlene wear this title she has earned.
This is such a bad take. Someone is policing whether it’s tasteful to call out someone for being disrespectful to my child? You think Nicole cares whether you think it’s tacky to let the world now Charlene mistreated a child?
And is it untrue that Charlene took her frustration out on the kid, not caring how it affected him? Tacky seems to be the excuse to ignore that this story is clearly true.
Trying to trace down a 10 year old article is proving challenging and I don’t want to slander anyone but my memory seems to recall there was more to the story. Charlene wasn’t living in the palace yet, Albert was away and Nicole was spending a lot of time in London trying to launch a fashion designer career. One thing I am sure of is that the palace in Monaco is small and the living quarters aren’t spacious. It was suggested that he was giving a suite with his nanny that Nicole didn’t feel was of sufficient status. At that point Nicole was lobbying for Alexandre to be giving legitimate status. She wanted him to inherit and said so boldly. Sadly I don’t think his father’s family ever gave that idea serious consideration. Like all things Grimaldi there are a lot of powerful undercurrents.
Nicole said servant’s quarters and it hasn’t been refuted. If the child wasn’t moved to the servant’s quarters, it would be very easy to say that.
Monaco is a small — tiny — country, but is the palace really that small? It looks pretty big and grand in pictures.
This is not Nicole’s first trip to the tabloids to blast Charlene. A few years back (I think after the twins were born) she went to the French tabloids and accused Charlene of breaking up her happy and very cozy relationship with Albert and getting in the way of his relationship with Alexandre. She also said that Alexandre should be the heir and intimated that if not for her race and that home wrecking interloper Charlene she would have been the legal spouse. She has my sympathy on all points and she could be right about the racist aspect but only if Albert was the marrying kind. I don’t think he is the marrying kind and only married Charlene because? Also, his oldest child is a daughter so Nicole wanted to skip over her because she is female.
So… he knows the behavior was despicable and is embarrassed by it… but he is more upset that people know about it and not the behavior itself. Got it.
I mentioned this in the other Charlene post. Tinfoil Tiara theory incoming. I wonder if she was pissed about the comments and told Albert “Well I’m not coming back/negotiating a thing until Nicole retracts those comments and apologises”. And maybe Albert tried but Nicole wouldn’t budge so he went to Charlene “Well she won’t say anything but what if I say that I’m not happy with it” and Charlene agreed.
It’s a bit out there hence why I said tinfoil tiara theory.
Edit: I am not saying she wasn’t sick. I 100% believe she was. But what I’m saying is that I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t want to go back to Monaco and Albert for obvious reasons and used it to negotiate herself some things.
have you seen the photos of Charlene? she is clearly seriously ill, whatever is going on. love a good tinfoil tiara theory but I don’t think this one makes much sense.
I didn’t say she isn’t ill. In the past, I’ve commented that she definitely is ill and couldn’t travel. But that doesn’t mean she wanted to do everything she could to go back to Monaco.
I mean, maybe she did and I’m just a cold, heartless b***h trying to turn a medical issue into a gossip one.
Alexandre is a handsome young man, that’s all I have to say really. I wish we could hear more of his side of the story as he is no longer a minor. But I’m guessing his mom willingly took the hit from Albert’s ire to go on record about Charlene. She doesn’t care if she gets cut off from Albert, but she doesn’t want her son to get cut off.
He didn’t deny that it happened though.
I disagree with what he’s upset about, however, I appreciate that he said it on the record. Versus some other royals we know who leave to sources when they want it to be known they are incandescent with rage. At least he put his name on it.
Do we even know for sure if the room changing happened or why if it did?
Yes. We do.
Thanks. Not having followed this closely and seeing what has happened to Meghan in the press causes me to question press more than ever dealing with Royals.
How do we know? Curious. Apart from the mother’s say so?
As the child of a very messy divorce with parents who still talk bad about one another to this day, all I can say is I feel for Alexandre. Can’t even begin to imagine the media circus AND racism layering on top of that.
I also detest when the father can’t set boundaries and manage the relationship between his children from a previous situation and the new partner. It’s just so… Typical and pathetic. May or may not be speaking from bitter experience.
#AbolishTheMonarchy
Furious that she told the truth? Color me surprised!🙄
Exactly! Shouldn’t the statement be about how that didn’t happen rather than, “She gave an interview. Oh noez.”
Always funny how people who practice bad behavior or condone it clutch their pearls when it is found out. If you’re going to live your life like an a—hole, expect some sh-t to seep out from time to time.
All of Albert’s children look 100% like their mothers
I’ve never followed this couple. I have no idea what person is Charlene, same for Albert, though we know he is unfaithful husband. The tiny bit I know is what I see in the photos and occasionally read.
To my shallow understanding, she is in unhappy marriage. It also seems that she is trapped, literally.
We literally don’t know what is going on, with her health, with her life and with her marriage. It seems Albert can be very tough. It also seems he doesn’t respect her and doesn’t take into account her opinions and well-being.
I think Nicole took advantage of the current situation. Maybe because she was deeply hurt by Charlene actions if this story is true. Maybe because Charlene is easy target now.
Honestly? I dislike both women. Charlene – because she tried to hurt Albert humiliating his child, Nicole – because this interview is the interview of the woman who is gloating and thinks she has upper hand in the situation. This is true, it seems – Charlene has no real power in her marriage, she is rather lonely in Monaco. And now she is ill.
I don’t like women’s cruelty and revengefullness towards each other.
I agree with all of this. Unfortunately, all the people taking sides are still engaging the anti-woman narrative. In the end, the real villain of this story is Albert. He’s the one everyone should direct their ire at. But he escapes scot-free while people throw stones toward Charlene and/or Nicole.
Somehow this man manages to be a complete non-entity even in his own scandals. He’s somehow even more beige and boring than the entire British royal family, but in this oddly semi-pleasant way…he’s the human personification of white noise.
@ Gina & @ MissMarirose, yup!! And he can’t keep his little Albert in his pants long enough for anyone, except big Albert. As for both women, they are both hurt. Nicole thinks that Albert would have married her and she, their son, her other sons and Albert would have been Monaco royalty. But Charlene came in and “stole” Albert from her. Then we have Charlene who was taking her issues of Albert out on Alexander, which is never acceptable as he is the only innocent one is this entire scenario.
It’s the actions of little Albert and big Albert that are at fault for ALL of this nonsense!! Now, I will say that Nicole should have spoken to Albert privately about Charlenes awful treatment of Alexander though. That’s the only thing that I dislike about this scenario, because it’s very apparent that Charlene is sick and Nicole spoke to the world about her treatment of Alexander while she has been very ill. I don’t believe in kicking someone when they are down, hitting below the belt.