Prince Albert of Monaco has been branded a ‘weak’ leader who ‘uses money to buy peace in the family’, according to reports.
After questions arose about the finances of the Monegasque royal family, journalists in the principality commented on the character of the 65-year-old prime minister.
A dossier uncovering the ‘secret notebooks’ of Claude Palmero, who was in charge of the palace’s finances for more than two decades and a confidante of Prince Albert until he was deposed last summer, revealed startling claims about the royal family’s finances – especially that of Princess Charlene, 45.
The submissions, which were shared with French newspaper Le Monde, detailed the excessive costs the princess had spent on items such as the baptisms of her twins Jacques and Gabriella, at around £600,000, and a general expenditure allowance of more than £1 million a year .
Now, talking to Tatlerone of the journalists who broke the story revealed that Charlene has a “crazy desire to spend money,” which is indulged by her husband to keep the peace.
Journalists in France and Monaco claim Prince Albert of Monaco, 65, is a “weak person” who does not like confrontation, as questions about the royal family’s finances mount.
Gérard Davet, investigative journalist at Le Monde: ‘Prince Albert says yes to everything. Charlene is very lonely in the palace; so her best friend may be the prince’s money.’
He added that the only person who ever set his foot on Charlene’s spending was Mr Palmero, who filed several lawsuits against Prince Albert after he was ousted last year, including for defamation and unfair dismissal.
After Mr. Palmero was forced out of his office by a colonel working in the palace and handed his letter of resignation, the prince publicly accused his close ally of more than two decades of corruption — which Mr. Palmero flatly denies.
Regarding Albert’s treatment of Palmero, an unnamed journalist in Monaco said: “Albert is a weak person…” I think his heart is in the right place, but he avoids confrontation.”
Princess Charlene has a ‘crazy desire to spend’, according to journalists, with her husband reportedly saying ‘yes’ to whatever she wants to buy
They speculated that the prince’s character was due to experiencing “a lot” of confrontations when his late father, Prince Rainier III, was alive.
Elsewhere in the interview, Mr Davet reveals that the files he and fellow reporter Fabrice Lhomme discovered suggested that Princess Charlene and her sister-in-law, Princess Caroline, are ‘not friends’.
FEMAIL has contacted the Monegasque Palace for comment.
Among the explosive claims uncovered in the dossier were allegations that Princess Charlene had hired illegal immigrants for less than £90 a day to work for her, despite her personal expenses allowance skyrocketing to £1 million a year.
Palmero’s records showed that a large portion of Charlene’s full-time personal staff consisted of eight “illegal migrants,” something the accountant expressed concerns about.
“Her Serene Highness the Princess has people working for her who are not compliant,” Mr. Palmero warned Prince Albert, also referring to “a sideline Filipino woman who ties up dogs in the shower.”
Prince Albert of Monaco is said to be spending money to ‘keep the peace’ within the royal family
In a January 2017 letter, he said another worker from the Philippines had been “illegal” for five years, despite only having a one-month tourist visa.
“He is paid 100 euros per day, which is excessive,” Palmero wrote.
In December 2014, Charlene gave birth to Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, and immediately placed them in the care of illegal immigrant nannies.
“Update on hiring nannies…We are completely illegal (even their tourist visa expired on January 7),” Mr Palmero wrote on January 15 of that year.
“Not only are they in an illegal situation, but someone has come in with a fake passport,” Mr Palmero added.
Despite this, Mr Palmero released almost £600,000 to celebrate the children’s birth and baptism.
On one day in April 2016 alone, Charlene asked for the equivalent of £66,000, which was “definitely too much”, Mr Palmero said, especially as she was also planning to rent a second villa in Corsica.
“Isn’t that a lot?” asked the accountant, who was concerned that the princess was taking money from funds that were “undeclared” for tax purposes.
“These practices are dangerous,” Palmero warned.
“Not only are they in an illegal situation, but someone has come in with a fake passport,” Mr Palmero added.
The former chief administrator of the Mediterranean tax haven claims he desperately tried to rein in Charlene’s “dangerous” spending, and at one point stopped the South African-born 45-year-old from hiring new staff.
The books also claim Albert spends millions every year from a secret French bank account to pay his former mistresses and beloved children – with Jazmin Grimaldi, 31, and Alexandre Coste-Grimaldi, 20, receiving a £344,000 allowance each year.
This was while Charlene spent £826,000 on redecorating her holiday villa in Calvi, on the island of Corsica, along with £860,000 on furnishing her office in Monte Carlo.
Charlene paid her personal chef the equivalent of £250 a day from pocket change, Palmero said, while her South African family also received hundreds of thousands of pounds.
In February 2017, the accountant also released the equivalent of over half a million pounds to pay off the Princess’s overdraft.
In December 2019, an alarmed Mr Palmero noted that Charlene had spent ‘approximately 15 million euros (£13 million)’ over eight years, despite her allowance being ‘7.5 million euros’ (£6.4 million).
This was while Charlene also put a combined sum of almost £2 million into the holiday villa in Calvi and the redecoration of her office.
“It’s crazy!” Mr. Palmero wrote. “I have no control over the princess’s expenses.”
