pantsuit

The Grimaldis celebrated one of their biggest annual events over the weekend. Every year, Prince Albert hosts the Rose Ball, a huge fundraiser for the Princess Grace Foundation, one of the Grimaldis’ big charitable organizations. The Rose Ball is a huge deal. So is it weird that Princess Charlene didn’t come out for it? I’ve been saying that Charlene and Albert seem a lot stronger now that they’ve got an heir and a spare (Gabrielle and Jacques), but it also feels like Charlene skips out on a lot of stuff now that she’s got the babies as an excuse to not be around. So, at this year’s Rose Ball, Albert’s sister Princess Caroline acted as hostess, and her children came out. Andrea and his wife Tatiana were there, as were the rest of her kids: Pierre Casiraghi and his new wife Beatrice, Charlotte Casiraghi (who was also missing her partner, Gad), and Princess Alexandra of Hanover, who is Caroline’s youngest child, the only child Caroline had with Ernst August of Hanover. Caroline and Ernst are pretty much separated full time – I don’t think he’s ever in Monaco, and he seems to live with a succession of mistresses all around the world. Just FYI. As for the fashion, Caroline, Charlotte and Alexandra all wore Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld is particularly close to the Grimaldis, and he often dresses the royal women. I personally like that Charlotte went with a caped pantsuit, it looks daring and modern on her, although the silk satin is slightly budget for Chanel. The big show-stopped look came from Beatrice Casiraghi, who married Pierre last summer in a lavish, multi-nation extravaganza. Beatrice is Italian, so she chose to wear an Italian designer: Giambattista Valli. Her gown with big, frothy and red. I actually like the big-ball-gown look, and my only real qualm is that with all of that old-money and glamour, her wispy bangs still look kind of awful. Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.