Princely Family’s New Generation revealed to HelloMonaco: Pierre Casiraghi
Pierre Casiraghi biography in the spotlight
Pierre Rainier Stefano Casiraghi, or simply Pierre, the youngest son of Princess Caroline of Monaco and Stefano Casiraghi, and the grandson of Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly, was born on the 5th September 1987 at Princess Grace Hospital Centre. His full first name was intended to honour his maternal-great-grandfather (Prince Pierre Duke of Valentinois), his maternal grandfather and his father. In the Family Tree, he is eight in line of succession, following the Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, his mother, presently H.R.H. Princess of Hanover, his brother Andrea, his nephews Alexandre, nicknamed “Sacha”, as well as Maximilian and his niece India Casiraghi.
At the age of three he lost his father involved in a serious speed motor boat accident within the 1990 edition of the Off-Shore World Championship in Monaco. He moved then to her mother’s farm house in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (France) where he started school, cared for by his family together with his elder brother, Andrea, and his sister, Charlotte. Shortly after, he relocated to Fontainebleau, in the surrounding areas of Paris, where his mother settled after she married H.R.H. Ernst August, Prince of Hanover.
In 2005, Pierre got his baccalaureate in Paris and soon after he moved to the renowned Bocconi University in Milan attending a three-year course on International Economics and Management. His background allows him to speak fluently French, Italian, English and to have a knowledge of some German. At the same time, he is passionate about extreme sports and music. He practiced parachuting and in May 2014, he competed for the first time in a car race at the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup in Hockenheim. Since his childhood, following his father’s footsteps, he has been fond of yachting, boat racing and Corto Maltese’s comic strip adventures. Rock-climbing and historical fencing are his additional hobbies. Not by chance, he is the main sponsor of ‘Buhurt Prime’, the final tournament of the international Buhurt Medieval Battles League that has been hosted in Fontvieille since 2019.
Pierre Casiraghi is living between Italy and the Principality where he is the main shareholder of Engeco S.A.M., a leading construction company conceived by his father in 1984. Pierre is also Honorary Member of the Jeune Chambre Economique de Monaco (Monaco’s Junior Chamber of Commerce).
Pierre Casiraghi and his wife, Beatrice Borromeo
In May 2008, Pierre formalized the engagement with his love, university mate, Beatrice Borromeo, a pretty blonde young lady descendant of one of the oldest noble families in Milan. After a successful outcome as a model and testimonial for some renowned brands, Beatrice starts working as a journalist participating in different programs on Italian television and international broadcasting where she carries out some relevant journalistic investigations on organised crime of the Southern Italy. In July 2015, Pierre and Beatrice got married in a civil small ceremony held at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. The religious exclusive wedding took place in August of the same year within the superlative location of ‘Isole Borromee’ (Borromeo’s Islands), a charming archipelago on the Lake Maggiore, Beatrice’s Family estate.
Several hundred distinguished guests attended the event at Isolino di San Giovanni and the reception at the Rocca di Angera Castle, notably: her sister’s husband, John Elkann, current president of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Johns’ brother, Lapo, and many other royals and celebrities. To celebrate the Italian tradition of high fashion, Beatrice wore in both ceremonies a set of amazing outfits by Giorgio Armani and Valentino.
Passion for the Sea and ‘Malizia II’
Pierre is currently member of the Yacht Club de Monaco Committee and, since 2004, he has been taking part in major sailing boat sport events. In 2013, Pierre took part successfully to the 9th edition of the prestigious Palermo-Monte-Carlo Regatta as a member of the winning Monaco Racing Fleet led by Tommaso Chieffi. In January 2014, he was a member of the Maserati crew led by Giovanni Soldini in the context of Cape2Rio race achieving a record: reaching Rio from Cape Town in about ten days. Later, that year, Casiraghi’s team was first to cross the finish line, boarded Esimit Europa 2, in the iconic Giraglia Rolex Cup and just after he was awarded, for the second time, the Palermo-Monte-Carlo Regatta first place trophy.
Since 2015, Pierre has been supporting ‘Malizia II’ sailing project. By his strong will he named it after Grimaldi’s Family founder, Francesco Grimaldi, who ‘conquered’ Monaco’s rock in 1297. This special sailing catamaran he owns, represents a flagship in terms of technology with low environmental impact thanks to its lightness as well as to a set of photovoltaic panels and underwater turbines able to generate electricity without CO2 emissions.
But ‘Malizia II’ is much more than a racing vessel. Pierre’s co-skipping partnership with the skilled award-winning German yachtsman, Boris Herrmann, has represented an added value as for competitive performance. However, besides participating to the hardest and qualifying races in the world, the second mission is to communicate to new generations a motivating message to boost eco-awareness as well as to find practical solutions to fight against climate change. Malizia II is then a sailing boat, a science platform and an education centre at once, supporting Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s cause.
In the summer of 2019, on board ‘Malizia II’, Pierre and Boris hosted the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and his father to make her cross the ocean to reach New York for the UN Climate Summit, on the 23rd September, and then the COP25 Climate Conference in Chile, in December of the same year. True global icon of recent environmentalism, Greta’s target to change the way of thinking of major decision makers was fully supported by Pierre and Boris. “I am not worried about my safety because I know it is a very safe boat and the crew is very experienced”, Greta pointed out to La Repubblica while cruising. “It was really a great adventure and we congratulate her for her bravery and the ability to adapt to life aboard this boat, definitely not easy being her first experience”, highlighted Pierre to Monaco Info on their arrival in New York, by the end of August.
‘Malizia II’, led by Boris Herrmann, has just finished the ‘Vendée Arctique-Les Sables-d’Olonne’ only edition challenge and, next October, he will face the solo non-stop Vendée Globe regatta, a big task to achieve crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards Cape of Good Hope, then around Antarctica to reach Cape Horn.
Pierre’s wife, Beatrice Borromeo, evidently shares her husband’s sea passion and she has recently released, in Italian language, a special children’s picture book entitled “Capitan Papaia e Greta” that describes the adventurous sea journey through text and artistic drawings designed by Maddalena Gerli.
Social engagement and philanthropic interests
In 2007, Pierre followed her mother on a trip to Africa for humanitarian purposes to assist a project in favour of vulnerable children by AMADE Mondiale association, chaired by Princess Caroline. Moreover, in 2015, Pierre allied himself with “Sail for a Cause” charity race organized by his cousin, Leticia de Massy, to raise money for Monaco Collectif Humanitaire and for Maison Notre Dame de Paix in favour of migrants and seriously ill children from developing Countries.
