Tricentenaire de la Nouvelle-Orléans - Réception d’une délégation au Palais - Dévoilement d’une plaque à la Nouvelle-Orléans

Réception d'une délégation au Palais.
Le 30 novembre 2017, S.A.S. le Prince Albert II a accueilli, pour un déjeuner au Palais princier, une délégation de la ville de la Nouvelle-Orléans (États-Unis, Louisiane) conduite par l'Honorable Mitchell J. Landrieu, maire de la ville.
La délégation de la Nouvelle-Orléans était composée de l'Honorable Mitchell J. Landrieu, son épouse Mme Cheryl Landrieu, première dame de la Nouvelle-Orléans, M. le consul honoraire de Monaco à la Nouvelle-Orléans et Mme Calvin Fayard, M. Scott Hutcheson, directeur administratif adjoint et conseiller principal du maire pour l'économie culturelle, M. Marc Walsh, conseiller spécial, Mme Tara Carter Hernandez, présidente de greater New Orleans, Inc et S.E. Mme Maguy Maccario-Doyle, ambassadeur de Monaco aux États-Unis d'Amérique.
Une délégation monégasque participait également à ce déjeuner. Elle était composée du Lcl Laurent Soler, chambellan de S.A.S. le Prince, de M. Gilles Tonelli, conseiller de Gouvernement-ministre des relations extérieures et de la coopération, de M. Georges Marsan, maire de Monaco, de Mme Anne-Marie Boisbouvier, conseiller au cabinet de S.A.S. le Prince, du Lcl Philippe Rebaudengo, aide de camp de S.A.S. le Prince, de M. Thomas Fouilleron, directeur des archives et de la bibliothèque du Palais princier, et de Mme Marieke Touati, professeur d'histoire au lycée Albert Ier, auteur d'une thèse de doctorat sur l'émigration française à la Nouvelle-Orléans et à New York au XIXe siècle.
S.A.S. le Prince a accueilli chacun de Ses invités, par un serrement de mains dans l'antichambre des valets, qui se sont dirigés vers le salon des glaces. À l'issue de la cérémonie de serrement de mains, une photo de groupe est réalisée avec S.A.S. le Prince et les deux délégations puis un apéritif est servi.
S.A.S. le Prince a rejoint la salle à manger, suivi de Ses invités prenant place autour de la table.
Avant le début du déjeuner, S.A.S. le Prince a prononcé un toast :
« Dear Minister, Ambassador, Mayors, Consul, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you here today to my Palace to share this friendly and enjoyable moment.
I am extremely happy to know that Monaco will be closely associated with the forthcoming commemorations for the tercentenary of the foundation of New Orleans.
As you know, New Orleans gave Monaco a Princess.
In 1889, Marie Alice Heine became the second wife of my great-great-grandfather Albert 1st and she was born there on the 10th February 1857\. It really was 1857 and not 1858 which is an often repeated error even now. The birth certificate and baptism records prove the case!
Whilst Alice's father, Michel Heine, had only been in the United States for 15 years when his daughter was born, Alice's maternal family had left Alsace a long time before.
Her ancestor, Christian Miltenberger, had emigrated from France and in 1802 got married in Santo Domingo but left the island for Cuba around 1803, because of the French defeat. His son, Joseph Alphonse Miltenberger, Alice's grandfather, was born in Cuba in 1808 before the family took refuge in New Orleans the following year, after the French were expelled from Cuba.
In fact the future Princess Alice did not spend much of her childhood in New Orleans, as history shows that her mother had two younger sons born in Paris in 1860 and 1861\. There is more to learn about the early part of her life; which leaves research for the historians still to do.
In any case, she remains, thanks to her unique personality, very much a representative of this Belle Époque period in which she lived as well as being quite a symbolic figure in the Principality's history, partly because she gave her name to two of my great-great-grandfather's scientific ships but especially because she was the first American Princess of Monaco.
I would therefore like to propose a toast today to History, to the development of closer ties between our continents and of course to the strengthening of our bonds of friendship for the benefit of our people. ».
À l'issue du déjeuner, le café a été servi dans la salle des gardes où s'est déroulé l'échange des cadeaux remis, par S.A.S. le Prince et l'Honorable Mitchell J. Landrieu, à chacune des délégations.
Dévoilement d'une plaque à la Nouvelle-Orléans.
Le 18 mars 2018, S.A.S. le Prince S'est rendu à la Nouvelle-Orléans, afin de dévoiler une plaque commémorative apposée sur la maison de famille maternelle de la Princesse Alice (née Marie Alice Heine le 10 février 1857).
S.A.S. le Prince était accompagné de S.E. Mme Maguy Maccario-Doyle, ambassadeur de la Principauté de Monaco aux États-Unis, de S.E. M. Bernard Fautrier, vice-président administrateur délégué de la Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco et du colonel Bruno Philipponnat, Son chargé de mission.
Le gouverneur de la Louisiane et son épouse, M. John Bel Edwards, ainsi que Mme Cheryl Landrieu, épouse du maire de la Nouvelle-Orléans, ont accueilli Son Altesse, en présence des propriétaires actuels de la maison, du consul honoraire, M. Calvin Fayard et son épouse. Au cours de la réception, S.A.S. le Prince a prononcé le discours suivant :
« Governor Edwards and Mrs Donna Edwards, Madam Ambassador, Mrs Landrieu, Mayor Elect LaToya, Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished guests, Dear Friends of New Orleans,
It is both an honour and a pleasure to be welcomed to your city in its tricentenary year. Admittedly, the Princes of Monaco were not among the pioneers of 1718 who named the new city in honour of the Regent of France, Philippe d'Orléans.
However, as you know, New Orleans gave a Princess to the Principality of Monaco; the first American Princess of Monaco!
Marie Alice Heine, who, in 1889, became the second wife of my great-great-grandfather Albert I, was born here, in this French quarter, on 10 February 1857.
Although Alice's father, Michel Heine, had only been in the United States at the time of his daughter's birth for about fifteen years, Alice's mother's family had left their homeland in the east of France a long time before.
The ancestor who had emigrated, Christian Miltenberger, had married in Santo Domingo and had left the island for Cuba around 1803\. His son, Joseph Alphonse Miltenberger, Alice's grandfather, was born there in 1808, before the family fled to New Orleans the following year after the expulsion of the French from Cuba. It was in 1809 that Christian Miltenberger bought this house which remained in the family until 1883.
The future Princess Alice did not spend much of her childhood in New Orleans, and due to the unfortunate events of the civil war, her mother later went on to have two younger sons who were born in Paris.
She was a very unique personality, typical of this European Belle Époque period before the First World War, during which she mainly lived, and she was also quite a leading figure in the Principality's history, promoting its culture and lending her name to two of my great-great-grandfather's scientific research vessels.
Alice and Albert met by chance on the island of Madeira, off the African coast, in 1879\. The Hereditary Prince Albert of Monaco, thirty years old, was sailing for pleasure aboard his schooner l'Hirondelle. During social events, he met Alice, who had been married since 1875 to the Marquis de Jumilhac.
The couple, who had a child, had decided to spend the winter in Madeira; a fashionable winter destination for the European aristocracy. After the death of his uncle, the Marquis became Duke of Richelieu, a very desirable historical French title, and Alice became a duchess.
I can assure you, at the time, there was no question of a relationship between Alice and Albert.
Two, almost consecutive, events made their story possible. Prince Albert's first marriage, from which my great-grandfather was born, was annulled by the Pope in January 1880, and the Duke de Richelieu died suddenly in June of the same year. A little over a year later Prince Albert and the Dowager Duchess of Richelieu commenced a romantic relationship.
Things were not easy at first. The Sovereign Prince Charles III, Prince Albert's father, had long imposed ″conditions″ which were tantamount to a refusal. My great-great-grandfather Albert disregarded these and ended up overturning this paternal opposition. It was therefore a true marriage of love which took place in October 1889.
The Princess wrote to her husband: ″You have made me better, you have opened my mind to all that is beautiful and you have raised me above the banality of the world.″.
For his part, in February 1891, speaking at the launch of the first ship named Princess Alice, Albert I said: ″I address my toast to the one whose name will now shine like a ray of sunshine on the calm sea, or as a talisman in storms: To my dear wife! Under whose auspices I place my ship, as I have so happily placed my whole life, to Princess Alice!″.
In conclusion I would say that you can be proud, as we are in Monaco, of the child of New Orleans, whose name is associated with all Prince Albert I's oceanographic campaigns through until 1910, as well as being linked to decisive discoveries for the science of his time.
In 1901, it was aboard the Princess Alice that research led to the identification of the major allergic phenomenon of anaphylaxis. It is also on board that meteorological work took place which has been a milestone in climate studies.
I'm sure you are aware of my personal focus on the environment, sustainable development and climate change, especially through the action of my Foundation which I created in 2006\. Here, in front of Princess Alice's family home in your city, which unfortunately is often subject to dramatic natural disasters, I would like to reiterate, as a bridge between the past, the present and the future, the magnitude of these issues, their importance and the necessity of prevention.
We will not be able to say that we did not know. This is also what history teaches us. I would like to thank once again the Mayor and the city of New Orleans for making this event possible.
Without further ado I have great pleasure in unveiling this new commemorative plaque.
Thank you. ».
Après une visite de la résidence, Mme Landrieu a remis symboliquement les clés de la ville. Cette séquence a été suivie d'un échange de cadeaux. Puis l'ensemble des invités s'est regroupé devant l'entrée principale au 910 Royal Street. Enfin, S.A.S. le Prince a prononcé un second discours :
« Governor Edwards, Mayor Elect Cantrell, Mrs Landrieu, Distinguished guests, Dear Friends,
Thank you for your warm Big Easy welcome and your thoughtful gifts.
I'm very proud to accept the key to your great city and especially since New Orleans and Monaco share so many cultural and historical connections.
My great-great grandfather's marriage to Marie Alice Heine of Royal Street, New Orleans in 1889 cemented our links and gives today's ceremony a very special personal meaning for me and my family. Today will count as one of the proud moments I will tell my children about.
As you know my mother was from Philadelphia and close family members are scattered throughout the United States. I have many fond memories of holidays, schooling and working here over many years. What you may not know is that, coincidentally, this month marks 36 years exactly since my mother, Princess Grace, was honored by the City of Philadelphia on their Tricentennial.
So it seems fitting that I return to the birthplace of the first American-born Princess of Monaco, Princess Alice, in the year of your Tricentennial, to commemorate yet another US-Monaco link and celebrate our kinship.
It has been very special to learn some ancestral background and fill in some historical gaps today. Thank you for opening your lovely homes to me and allowing me to visit this house. My thanks to you all for your gracious hospitality. I couldn't think of a nicer heritage to pass to my children than the ties of family and friendship between us.
I look forward to welcoming many of you to Monaco in November when I hope we can reciprocate your generosity.
Thank you. ».
Cette cérémonie a été clôturée par le dévoilement de la plaque commémorative.