Prince Albert II celebrated his 65th birthday this Tuesday (March 14). In an Instagram post, the Prince’s Palace announced how the head of the Grimaldi family spent the day. “Prince Albert II, born on March 14, 1958, celebrated his 65th birthday with his family today,” says a published series of pictures.

Two photos, all by Éric Mathon and Mika Alesi, show the 65-year-old with his children, twins Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques (8), appearing on the palace balcony. “At noon, during the changing of the guard in Palace Square, the Orchestra of the Princely Carabinieri played music to congratulate him on his birthday,” it explains. The birthday song can also be heard in a second post.

Albert II then had lunch with his family, including his wife Charlene of Monaco (45), the post continues. The 45-year-old had not shown herself on the balcony. In the evening, the twins invited their parents to a theatrical performance created especially for this occasion, entitled “The Witch in the Broom Closet”. “A play directed and performed by Anthéa Sogno and her troupe of actors,” it goes on to explain. On the other pictures you can see the princely family with the ensemble.

Princess Charlène and Prince Albert II were married on July 1, 2011, and the church wedding followed the day after. Twins Gabriella and Jacques were born in December 2014. Charlène celebrated her 45th birthday on January 25th and has been back in the Principality for some time after a difficult period behind her. In the spring of 2021, Charlène fell ill during a trip to her home country of South Africa. According to media reports, she had a serious ear, nose and throat infection, which allegedly even required one or more operations.

The princess could not be transported and had to stay in South Africa for several months. When she returned to Monaco, she only stayed with her family for a short time. This was followed by a stay in a rehabilitation clinic in Switzerland. She didn’t come home until spring 2022 – and promptly suffered a corona infection, which was mild. Speculations about her absence have always been denied. “My family is my rock,” she told the Monaco Matin newspaper at the end of 2022.