Fast Facts: Monaco's New King

Monaco's throne will no longer be empty.

Prince Albert II became the new king of Monaco Tuesday, three months after his father's death. Although he had assumed royal duties immediately following the death of his father, Rainier III, a somber mass officially entitled Albert to the power of His Serene Highness. Here are the facts on Albert, as well as his family and the nation he now controls.

THE BASICS

— Albert is 47 years old.

— He was born March 14, 1958.

— He's never been married. He recently said he will get married someday.

— Albert has a toddler son with an African-born flight attendant. (See below for more.)

— Albert's full name is Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi.

— He went to Amherst College in Massachusetts.

— Fear that he won't produce an heir led to changes in Monaco's constitution so the throne could pass through his sisters' families.

YOUNG SON

— Albert acknowledged the child last week, after the mourning period for Prince Rainier ended.

— The boy is nearly two years old.

— His mother is Nicole Coste, a former flight attendant for Air France.

— Coste is originally from Togo. She now lives in Paris.

— The boy will not ascend to the throne.

— The constitution in Monaco says only a child born in wedlock can rule the principality.

— Albert says his son will never want for anything. The prince has asked that the boy be given privacy and as normal a childhood as possible.

— Albert also says more paternity suits could be coming. He says he'll withhold further comment until appropriate.

NEXT IN LINE TO THE THRONE

— Is Princess Caroline. That's if Albert never has children in wedlock.

— Following her would be her eldest son, Andrea Albert Pierre.

PERSONALITY/INTERESTS

— He speaks English, French, German and Italian. He knows some Spanish.

— Albert sings. In 1979, he toured Europe with the Amherst College Glee Club.

— Mainly, the prince is known as a shy but passionate sportsman.

— He was on Monaco's bobsled team in the past five winter Olympics.

— He is chairman of Monaco's swimming federation, yacht club and Olympic committee.

— Albert chairs Monaco's Red Cross.

— He is a deputy chairman of the Princess Grace Foundation.

MONACO BASICS

— Monaco is less than a square mile in size.

— It's 0.8 of a square mile. That's about the size of New York's Central Park.

— Monaco is 485 acres total. 100 of those acres were recently reclaimed from the sea.

— It's the second smallest nation in the world, after Vatican City.

— Monaco is just .65 miles wide at its widest.

— Some 33,000 people live in Monaco.

— 85% of them are foreigners.

— A citizen of Monaco is a Monegasque (mon-eh-GAS'-keh).

— French is the official language, but native Monegasques have their own language.

— 95% of the population is Roman Catholic.

— It's a prosperous country, with jobs for all of its citizens and another 25,000 foreigners.

— Gambling and resorts provide its main industry.

PRINCESS CAROLINE

— Was born January 23, 1957. She's 48.

— Is now functioning as the first lady of Monaco.

— She's been married three times.

— She has four children, three from her second marriage and one from her third.

— Her first marriage ended in 1980.

— Her second husband died in a boating accident in 1990.

— Her third husband is German Prince Ernst August of Hanover.

PRINCESS STEPHANIE

— Was born February 1, 1965. She's 40.

— She is known as the wildest one in the family.

— She has three children, all out of wedlock.

— Two of the children are with a former bodyguard whom she married in 1995.

— The couple divorced 18 months later.

— Stephanie hasn't revealed the father of her third child.

— Her most recent husband is a circus acrobat, but it's not clear if they are still together.

MONACO'S HISTORY

— It was founded in 1215 as a colony of Genoa.

— In 1419, Monaco became independent.

— It's been ruled by the Grimaldi family ever since, some 585 years.

— Until 1962, the law held the Grimaldis ruled by divine right.

— In 1962, Monaco formally became a constitutional monarchy.

GOVERNMENT

—— The prince is effectively the head of state and of government.

— That means he acts as both a president and prime minister.

— Even so, the prince shares some power with an 18-member National Council.

— The council is elected directly by trueborn Monegasque citizens.

— The council can veto the prince's legislation.

Sources: http://www.palais.mc