Albert II, Prince of Monaco in the context of "Ocean conservation"

The sovereign prince of Monaco (French: prince de Monaco; Monégasque: príncipe de Mónaco) is the monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. All reigning princes and princesses have taken the name of the House of Grimaldi. When Prince Rainier III died in 2005, he was Europe's longest reigning monarch. The Grimaldi family, which has ruled Monaco for eight centuries, is Europe's longest-ruling royal family.

The reigning prince is Albert II, who ascended in April 2005.

Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) (Latin: magnus princeps; Swedish: storfurste; German: Großfürst; Greek: Μέγας Αρχών, romanized: Megas Archon; Russian: великий князь, romanized: velikiy knyaz) is a hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families.

Grand duke is the usual and established, though not literal, translation of these terms in English and Romance languages, which do not normally use separate words for a "prince" who reigns as a monarch (e.g., Albert II, Prince of Monaco) and a "prince" who does not reign, but belongs to a monarch's family (e.g., Prince George of Wales). Some Slavic (Królewicz), Germanic, Dutch, and Scandinavian languages do use separate words to express this concept, and in those languages grand prince is understood as a distinct title (for a cadet of a dynasty) from grand duke (hereditary ruler ranking below a king). Some recent sources also use Archduke.

Ernst August von Hannover (German: Ernst August Albert Paul Otto Rupprecht Oskar Berthold Friedrich-Ferdinand Christian-Ludwig Prinz von Hannover Herzog zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg Königlicher Prinz von Großbritannien und Irland, lit. 'Ernest August Albert Paul Otto Rupert Oscar Berthold Frederick-Ferdinand Christian-Louis, Prince of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Royal Prince of Great Britain and Ireland'; born 26 February 1954) is the head of the House of Hanover, members of which reigned in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (Great Britain and Ireland were separate kingdoms, 1714 to 1801) from 1714 to 1901, the Kingdom of Hanover from 1814 to 1866 (electorate, from 1714 to 1814), and the Duchy of Brunswick from 1913 to 1918. As the husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, he is the brother-in-law of Albert II, Prince of Monaco.

The funeral of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, took place at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate in Monaco-Ville on 15 April 2005. A heavy smoker, Rainier suffered from chest and lung infections in his final years and was hospitalized numerous times. He was placed in intensive care unit with renal and heart failure in March 2005. He died on 6 April at the age of 81. His only son, Albert, was at his bedside. He was Europe's longest-serving monarch at the time of his death.

This article lists the consorts of the sovereign prince or princess of Monaco during their reign. Until 1612, the title was held by the spouse of the lord of Monaco.

Since her marriage to Albert II on 1 July 2011, Charlene has been princess consort of Monaco.

Princess Caroline of Monaco (born 23 January 1957) is Princess of Hanover by marriage to Prince Ernst August. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Princess Stéphanie.

She was Hereditary Princess of Monaco and heir presumptive to the Monegasque throne from her birth in 1957 until her brother Albert was born the following year, and again from Albert's accession in 2005 until the birth of his twins, her niece Gabriella and nephew Jacques, in 2014.