‘HIS DUTIES IMPOSE A DISCRETION, WHICH HE HAS VIOLATED’
THEY’RE a family used to scandal – a glimpse into their long history will attest to that.
Yet the latest one to rock Monaco’s glittering House of Grimaldi has nothing to do with infidelity, divorce rumours or children born out of wedlock. This time it’s money, betrayal and revenge that’s making headlines and shedding light on the spending habits of the notoriously private Prince Albert and his family.
The 65-year-old head of the pinprick principality has had to respond to recent allegations made by a former employee. Claude Palmero (67) made a series of damning allegations about the Monegasque royals and, as someone who was deeply ensconced in the prince’s inner circle, knows a lot about what happened to the family coffers.
For more than two decades Claude held the Pink Palace’s purse strings as chief financial officer. He inherited the role from his father, André, who’d served Albert’s father, Prince Rainier.
During his 22-year tenure, Claude kept secret diaries and recently handed over five of them to leading French publication Le Monde, who published bombshell excerpts.
Claude accuses the royals of overspending and tax evasion,
