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CNN Larry King Live

Interview With Prince Albert of Monaco

Aired November 18, 2004 - 21:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, exclusive. A rare, one on one with the son of the storybook marriage between Hollywood's Grace Kelly and Monaco's Prince Rainier. His Serene Highness, Prince Albert of Monaco, heir to the throne. Still a bachelor. His sisters, Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie still tabloid targets. All that, a lot more, with His Serene Highness, Prince Albert of Monaco for a rare exclusive hour next, on LARRY KING LIVE.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: It's always a great pleasure to welcome royalty to LARRY KING LIVE. Some people think the show is royalty but it's been six years since we did an extended interview, although he was with us shortly after 9/11. His Serene Highness, Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. He is the only son of His Serene Highness, Prince Rainier III of Monaco and the late Princess Grace, the brother of Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie.

As we tape this interview, by the way, which is airing this night in November but was taped in late October, there was word that your father had been taken to the hospital with a lung infection. Can you give us how he is and what's...

PRINCE ALBERT, CROWN PRINCE OF MONACO: My father's fine. I talked to him just a few hours ago and usually at this time of year, actually, he has this bronchitis - sort of a chronic bronchitis. It's nothing to worry about. He's had this a few years now and it flares up every once in a while but he's actually fine and ...

KING: But they had to hospitalize, though.

ALBERT: Because he prefers to get it treated right then and there and the best way to do it is at the heart and lung private clinic in Monaco so he goes in there and ...

KING: Bronchitis is one of those things that's hard to get rid of.

ALBERT: Yes.

KING: It lingers.

ALBERT: Yeah, especially, obviously, if the weather is not too nice. It's been nice in Monaco but when it's very humid and all of that it can be a problem to get rid of.

KING: Is it further affected because of his age?

ALBERT: Obviously all this has made him a little weaker and he doesn't recuperate as easily as he used to but he's still very strong. He was playing golf just a few days ago so ...

KING: Is his...

ALBERT: ...he's still pretty active.

KING: ... attitude good?

ALBERT: His attitude's great. He knows what he can and can't do now and he doesn't want to travel extensively anymore and he doesn't do duties outside of Monaco so he sends me off and does different diplomatic missions and trips and all that and he does, obviously, all of the work at the palace.

KING: So he'll be out of the hospital soon.

ALBERT: Yes.

KING: What brings you to the States?

ALBERT: Several things but mainly the 20th anniversary gala of the Princess Grace Foundation, a foundation that we set up in my mother's name. She didn't have time during her lifetime to help emerging artists in theater, dance and film so we give grants, scholarships, apprenticeships, scholarships to young artists from all over the United States.

KING: And hold an annual dinner in New York?

ALBERT: It's an awards dinner but also a fundraiser, obviously for us and it's every year in New York and this year it's at Cipriani's and Sharon Stone will be the host.

KING: I got a first chance to see Monaco last year when I sailed by, never had been on the French Riviera. One of the most beautiful cities in the world. How big is Monaco?

ALBERT: You know, Monaco is half of Central Park in New York. I try to tell that to people.

KING: You could put Monaco in Central...

ALBERT: You could put Monaco into Central Park. We're just under two square miles.

KING: So what is it like to be the Serene Highness of - is it the smallest kingdom in the world?

ALBERT: Well, along with the Vatican we are the smallest country in the world, I think, still.

KING: What's it like to be...

ALBERT: Well, I think you know the place and you know the area, it's a very special part of the world...

KING: It sure is.

ALBERT: And it's well worth the visit. Aside from the beauty, there is a lot of history there. It has a lot to offer. But I think no matter what the size of the country is, it's the people that make the country and we have a very small community, we have 32,000 residents, only 7,000 nationals, but we have 120 different nationalities that live in Monaco so that's...

KING: Really?

ALBERT: That's pretty -- I don't know if that's a record or not for that size of community but we have a very interesting fabric of population.

KING: Are they an opinionated, diverse group?

ALBERT: Oh, yes. It's reflected in different ways but we do have people who voice their opinions freely and we've always valued not only whatever our nationals say but whatever our foreign community says and we try to cater to them...

KING: Your Highness, it must be unique -- now, of course it's unique, to be an heir to a throne. When you hear of anything involving your father or illness, there has to be that kind of breath away, right? Do you think about it? Especially as he ages...

ALBERT: You think about it. Obviously you're prepared in that to assume that kind of role and that kind of leadership pretty early on and I have enjoyed for many years now working very closely with my father and helping him out as much as possible in government issues and...

KING: But do you say to yourself someday -- by the way, why isn't he king?

ALBERT: Well, that's historical fact. We were given the title -- or, we were recognized by King Louis XV of France so in 1641, by treaty the Grimaldis were only lords of Monaco so we were granted the title of "Prince" by the then King of France.

KING: Like a territory.

ALBERT: Yes.

KING: So he is crown prince? You will be crown prince or you are now crown prince?

ALBERT: A crown prince is a hereditary prince, it's not a...

KING: So you don't get a new name, a new title.

ALBERT: Well, sovereign prince is the head of state.

KING: We'll be right back with His Serene Highness, the Crown Prince Albert of Monaco, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Crown Prince Albert, His Serene Highness, the crown prince of Monaco. It's always good to see you. We're going to get into a lot of areas tonight.

You remain single, age 46, no children, never married. Plan to?

ALBERT: Obviously, yes. No I'm...

KING: What's taking so long. As your mother Grace might say, Albert?

ALBERT: Yeah, it's probably taking me longer than most but I met someone the other day who is happily married at the age of 50, so ...

KING: You mean recently happily married?

ALBERT: Yes. Mm-hmm. And I don't go usually by that kind of example. But if I stick to a gameplan I still have four years, but ...

KING: Have you come close?

ALBERT: There have been some relationships where had they gone on a little bit more they would have headed that way. But I think it's -- it's so much your own timing and your own agenda and the person you want to be with ...

KING: Is it important that there be an heir?

ALBERT: It is, but not as important as it used to be because the order of succession has changed, the law has changed in Monaco so you can actually...

KING: Who would succeed you if you didn't...

ALBERT: It doesn't have to go through a male heir.

KING: It can go through your sister's children?

ALBERT: Yes.

KING: Let's discuss how the family is doing.

Your older sister Caroline, she's now Princess of Hanover, meaning?

ALBERT: Because she married Prince Ernst August of Hanover. And so therefore she inherited that title from her marriage.

KING: Now where does she stand in the hierarchy of things? Would it be her son that would succeed you?

ALBERT: If that were the case...

KING: If you're 120 and you pass away...

ALBERT: Obviously if that was the case, yes, it would. The line could go through her and her son.

KING: How is she doing?

ALBERT: She is doing fine. She is actually in the Philippines right now on behalf another of my mother's associations, the Amade, which stands for Friends of Children Worldwide. And we have different Amade associations in 25 different countries around the world. And the Philippines there is a specific issue there. We fund different research for illnesses. There's a shelter center also in Manila for young teenage mothers, things like that, but there is also a very acute problem in the Subic Bay area. There was as U.S. base there and when they left they sort of were not too careful in disposing of their toxic waste.

KING: Really.

ALBERT: And unfortunately it went into the...

KING: System?

ALBERT: ... water system. There's a whole generation of kids in that are that now suffer from this toxicity of the water.

KING: So she is very active with that?

ALBERT: So she is very active with that. She is trying to find a solution and trying to help out. And I -- we will know the outcome very soon.

KING: How is her husband doing, Prince Ernst? We understand he had problems with two journalists and a photographer. He had a suspended sentence. Does he give into anger?

ALBERT: Well, yes, I think he's sort of impulsive. That's the best way to put it.

KING: Are you friendly with him?

ALBERT: Yes. Certainly. He is a great character. He is very joyful and enjoys life a lot.

KING: Happy marriage?

ALBERT: Everyone gets along great.

KING: We'll be right back with the Serene Highness, Crown Prince of Monaco. Lots to talk about, and of course, his extraordinary mother. Right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back on LARRY KING LIVE with His Serene Highness, the Crown Prince Albert of Monaco and how is your younger sister, Stephanie, one of the tabloids' favorite.

ALBERT: Yes. I'm afraid she's been pursued by tabloid press for years. I mean, we all have but she's had it especially...

KING: Does she bring it on herself, frankly, or -- why she?

ALBERT: She -- I think to a certain extent, she is not always very careful, maybe, and leaves herself a little open to that sort of attention. But she's doing great right now. She's had her problems but -- with different relationships but...

KING: How many children, now?

ALBERT: She has three.

KING: Are you close?

ALBERT: I see her as often as I can. She is in Monaco most of the time now. She has her own charity, it's called Fight AIDS Monaco and it's precisely a woman against AIDS type of charity...

KING: Is that a problem for Monaco?

ALBERT: It's a problem everywhere in the world. There are and there have been cases in Monaco and in fact, unfortunately, if you look at per capita, we have, unfortunately, one of the highest indexes of AIDS related cases.

KING: Where -- was she not the most shattered by mom's death?

ALBERT: Well, obviously, Larry, no, she was right there with her when it happens, and there was this whole debate whether she was actually driving the car or not. I think that's pretty much been cleared up that she was not driving, but even though, I mean, it was a traumatic moment for her and a devastatingly tragic incident.

KING: How old was she then?

ALBERT: She was 17. So -- and obviously a very sensitive 17- year-old too, and it had much more of a lingering impact than people think.

KING: Help us. What was your mother doing driving? Don't princesses get driven?

ALBERT: For -- and this is sort of in our family, this is the general rule. For official functions, official circumstances, we do go to different locations in a chauffeur-driven car, but when we're in a private situation, we like to drive our own cars.

KING: You do too? ALBERT: Yeah. And so she was coming down. She and Stephanie were coming down from our country house, which is up above Monaco, and it is a pretty windy road. But she was used to driving this road, obviously.

KING: Do you drive it frequently?

ALBERT: Yeah. I don't ...

KING: Is it eerie to go down it?

ALBERT: Well, there's not one road that goes up to this place, but -- and I probably -- not consciously, but I don't usually go down that road as often as I used to.

KING: How did you learn of Princess Grace's death?

ALBERT: Well, I learned about the accident -- actually, I was up at the country house with dad ...

KING: You saw them leave?

ALBERT: I didn't actually see them leave because I was in another part of the property, but my father -- and I was back in the house and I remember my father coming into my room, telling me that there had been an accident and that we should go down. Because they were already in the hospital at this time.

KING: What a thing that must have been for you. You were how old?

ALBERT: I was 24.

KING: Very close to your mother and sister?

ALBERT: Obviously, yes. And you know, my parents tried not to travel together much, and so I was usually the one -- not all the time, but most of the time who traveled with my mother when she asked me to accompany her to ...

KING: How long did she live?

ALBERT: She was 52.

KING: And did she live in the hospital a while?

ALBERT: She was in the hospital -- well, actually, it was just one day, 24 hours, before she ...

KING: Was there ever any hope?

ALBERT: No, and unfortunately -- and there was -- one of the doctors came out saying that she must have probably suffered an attack before the accident.

KING: The autopsy would show that. ALBERT: Which would probably explain why the car left the road.

KING: Was Stephanie injured?

ALBERT: Yes, she had -- she had -- not much, but she did have a neck injury and ...

KING: Does she remember it a lot?

ALBERT: She remembers some. And I didn't want to -- I never wanted to pressure her with this, and I know that she didn't want to talk about it ...

KING: Your father was totally devastated.

ALBERT: Understandably, you know.

KING: How did the rumors start that Stephanie might have been driving? Where did that come from?

ALBERT: You know, I think it came from different reports saying that she came out of the car on the driver's side. But that's because the car was on the other side, so that was the only way out of there. But -- and then, of course, then you get a lot of witnesses wanting to make a name for themselves saying, "Yeah, she must have been driving because of so and so." And then obviously the press played their part.

KING: Didn't hit another car?

ALBERT: No.

KING: What kind of mother was she?

ALBERT: She was a very caring, very loving mother.

KING: Doting?

ALBERT: Not -- I wouldn't go that far, but she -- I mean, she was strict when she had to be. Hopefully, it wasn't too often. But she really gave us a lot of her love and her care, and I think we really had such a wonderful childhood because of that, and she would make sure that, obviously, we were well taken care of, but that we led as normal a life as possible, in that when we could we would have very informal family gatherings. And in those days, we didn't have the security setup that we have now, so we were a little freer to move around. And she made sure of that. She made sure that we would walk to school everyday. That we had friends over to play. That ...

KING: She was child-oriented?

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: We'll take a break and we'll come right back with His Serene Highness Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. One of my producers tells me that the driving scene from "To Catch a Thief" was shot there. Is that true?

ALBERT: Actually, it's not on the same road. It's on a different road, and the scene where they look out on the view, that's higher up and sort of a different area.

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) shot there too?

ALBERT: On one of those roads, yes, but not exactly in that.

KING: Did you watch all her films?

ALBERT: I've seen, yes, pretty much all of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE KELLY: Do you think a murderer would let you see all that, that he wouldn't pull the shades down and hide behind them?

JIMMY STEWART, ACTOR: Just where he's being clever, he's being ...

KELLY: Oh and that's where you're not being clever. A murderer would never parade his crime in front of an open window.

STEWART: Why not?

KELLY: For all you know, there's probably something a lot more sinister going on behind those windows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) before she died?

ALBERT: Some before, most of them before, and some after. But it was hard to in the months, or years after her passing, to watch on the screen. Now, of course, it's...

KING: What was it like to see her?

ALBERT: It was strange. And the fact that a couple times I was seated right next to her as we were watching her on the screen. So it was always strange, but yet wonderful at the same time to see your mother onscreen and to have her right next to you explaining what that scene was all about.

KING: I know you're a son, so it's impossible to judge it but what do you think -- she was beautiful, of course, but there are a lot of beautiful people. What was special about Grace Kelly?

ALBERT: I don't know -- I think she -- The reason why she touched people's lives not only in Monaco but here, but all over the world. I still get mail from people still remembering her and still paying tribute to her. I think it's the warmth and the humanity and the love.

KING: It came through in the directing, right?

ALBERT: Right. It came out of her soul and came out of her persona that made her such a beautiful person inside and out.

KING: Do you see a comparison with Princess Di?

ALBERT: A lot of people have -- tried to compare them.

KING: They certainly had a world attraction. The public loved them.

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: Died in a car crash.

ALBERT: That's true. There are some similarities there. I knew Princess Diana a little bit. In a way, but it's hard for me to judge because I'm not too partial but I don't think that they were quite the same in their own -- they were their own personalities.

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) princess. Were you surprised at world reaction to your mom's death?

ALBERT: I was surprised, in fact, that even in countries that she didn't visit that there were people there who felt close enough to her to have their lives touched or changed in a certain way by what she had done or what she had said or how she looked or something that she sent them or did for them and on all five continents. And that's what to me was the incredible thing.

KING: She had great girlfriends in the United States.

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: Any would go over and visit her?

ALBERT: Oh we had frequent visitors. Not only her friends from Hollywood, but obviously from Philadelphia. From also, New York and she still had not only family but a lot of friends over here.

KING: This interest that she had in young artists, was that always your memory? Was she always interested in helping?

ALBERT: She did. She always mentioned the fact that something should be done for young artists who were just starting out and don't have a lot of money and who are struggling in many different ways and it's just not a charity dedicated to that. Or there wasn't up until she got the Princess Grace Foundation rolling.

So it not only recognizes those talents of those struggling artists but also a lot of our applicants come from institutions, come from different schools around the country. We obviously recognize some of their best students who are furthering their career or those who have special projects. KING: So it was to her great credit.

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: She founded the foundation, or did it start after her?

ALBERT: She had the initial idea, but she never actually put it into foundation format and so we did that for her right after her passing.

KING: So she was doing this for up-and-coming artists in the United States and Europe?

ALBERT: We did it primarily just in the United States. There is talk, and there has been talk, several years of trying to branch out and to do it in other countries. I know there's some Asian countries interested in that, also, but we don't know. We wanted to really make this foundation over here work and be successful and develop in a meaningful way and so we might do it elsewhere.

KING: And you attend an awards gala every year?

ALBERT: Yes. My sister Caroline was here last year. I mean sometimes we get the whole family together. My father hasn't been here in a few years.

KING: We'll be right back with His Serene Highness, the Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERT: It's incredibly gratifying to see the faces and the looks of all these children. Their joy and their tenderness that we can get out of the way they look at us. And if it wasn't for these children, this wouldn't have the same meaning, and we wouldn't be here, I think, today if it wasn't to try to give them a little hope and something to educate them and something to help them in their development.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We're back with His Serene Highness, Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. You addressed the UN earlier this year.

ALBERT: I did indeed.

KING: On?

ALBERT: On different topics that -- and we usually try to talk in these different areas on environmental issues and on something also related to the charity that I talked about before, the Friends of Children. We are trying to, along with other countries, obviously, to put a resolution in format to make crimes against children the same as crimes against humanity to have that on the same line as the most serious crimes that...

KING: Like genocide, you mean?

ALBERT: To have a special status ...

KING: They aren't now?

ALBERT: Now, they are not. And that's part of the problem that it can't be prosecuted in the same way.

KING: You also said in the speech, "Terrorism has now become a day-to-day reality. Our determination to combat it must remain without breach. Monaco has become a party to all 12 conventions that curtail international terrorism and take inappropriate action against domestic laws." Do you fear it in your small country?

ALBERT: You know, we fear it only in the fact that we are sort of a passage point for the French Riviera and then also into Italy and as any points of passage it potentially could be a target. But we've never felt anything -- any serious threat. Although we did have a pretty strange incident earlier on this year where a small device exploded near our -- at one of the entrances, one of the office entrances of our stadium complex.

KING: Really?

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: Did you trace this down?

ALBERT: We still have not traced it down and obviously our police force is working on it...

KING: Did you get international help on it, too?

ALBERT: We have. I don't know where the inquiry is at this point but obviously we have access to different services like Interpol and we have very good relationships with other police forces around Europe and the world.

KING: Why, Your Highness, after 9/11 I remember you presented Mayor Giuliani with $700,000 donated from Monaco for the victims of 9/11...

ALBERT: Yes.

KING: The United States, and New York in particular, were loved around the world 9/11. What happened?

ALBERT: Well, I think it's a combination of different things. I think it's -- obviously the war in Iraq had something to do with it.

KING: Turned people off?

ALBERT: Yeah, I think no one really wanted it to go to that extent. Fight terrorism, yes, in very specific areas and take a hard stand and make sure that in all our respective countries that all the necessary arrangements were made for something like that never to happen. But, I don't know, and I don't know if I can speak out on this but, and I don't know if I can speak for the people but I think no one wanted this kind of full-scale war on a country where we didn't know exactly what the links were.

KING: So you'd say the feeling in Monaco is pretty much as the rest of Europe?

ALBERT: I think so. Although we...

KING: Most of Europe.

ALBERT: I mean, obviously a lot of people -- I think at the onset everybody thought something had to be done but no one had ever thought of -- and there is pretty wide-range sympathy, at least in Monaco and in our part of the world toward the United States, obviously. And there still is to a certain extent. But I think everyone thought that it was going too far.

KING: Iraq. Going into Iraq.

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: You unveiled a memorial to the 9/11 victims last year, including five trees that survived the World Trade Center devastation. Where is that memorial?

ALBERT: That memorial is near City Hall and it can be seen and you can walk through it very, very easily, but most of the trees are in the various parks around Metropolitan Europe.

KING: You also represented Monaco at the services for the victims of the Madrid train bombings.

ALBERT: Yes, I did indeed.

KING: That's one of the tough things for heads of state, right?

ALBERT: Yeah. You have to go unfortunately to a lot of funerals and a lot of those kind of ceremonies.

KING: Comforting ain't easy, is it?

ALBERT: No. But I think it was important to show our compassion and solidarity at that point.

KING: We'll be back with our remaining moments with Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with our remaining moments with His Serene Highness, Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. What's the yellow bracelet?

ALBERT: Well, I think you have seen that around... KING: I have. I haven't seen heads of state or princes wearing them.

ALBERT: Well, why shouldn't we?

KING: Why not?

ALBERT: You know, it's the Lance Armstrong Nike Cancer Foundation program that a lot of sports people and also a lot of politicians or other people in public life have adopted.

KING: Why isn't Lance Armstrong popular in France? Because he keeps winning?

ALBERT: I think that has something to do with it. He is preventing French cyclists from doing well and...

KING: Are you a friend of his?

ALBERT: I have come to know him through -- we have several friends in common from Texas and I have met him several times and he is an incredible man.

KING: You participated in the Olympics, right? Five of them. Bobsledding.

ALBERT: I was in five Winter Olympics. Yes.

KING: What kind of thrill is that just to be in it?

ALBERT: It's unbelievable, Larry. It's just being part of that opening ceremony, just to name that moment, is incredible. That you are representing your country at the biggest gathering - biggest peaceful gathering in the world. OK, it is a sports event but I think it's more than that, it's a festival of humanity. And as long as we can keep that -- those values and that spirit I think the Olympics still have it long way to go.

KING: Reports that -- Monaco's economy is not as robust as it once was. What's the future look like?

ALBERT: I think we've had a difficult period and just to take tourism, for instance, obviously because of 9/11 and because of the general economy, things have not been as promising as they were. And -- but we've sort of felt an upswing this year and I hope the trend will continue. But it's -- that's why we have to diversify and that's why we...

KING: Tourism is the principal industry?

ALBERT: Actually, our biggest source of revenue is our share of the French Added Value Tax, that's also applied in Monaco.

KING: Really?

ALBERT: So to say that there are no taxes in Monaco is not exactly true.

KING: So the visitor's paying it, right?

ALBERT: Well, no, but also ...

KING: Residents when they ...

ALBERT: Residents buy goods -- it's included in your price so you don't really notice it but it is -- so we -- it's there, and we share it with France and they give back to us what they agreed...

KING: You use the euro dollar?

ALBERT: We did adopt the euro at the same time that France did.

KING: How is that working?

ALBERT: You know, surprisingly well. At first we thought, oh, some people are going to take a long time to get used to it and everybody was fearing it. It was sort of like the fear of the year 2000, the Y2K. But it worked very well and now it's -- there was a period there where you saw in shops, where they put the same price in French francs.

KING: Now you've carried on other duties. You go to the opening of the U.N.

ALBERT: I am also president of the Monaco delegation to the General Assembly, so when there is a General Assembly every year in September, I usually head that delegation and give the address on behalf of Monaco in front of the General Assembly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERT (VIDEO CLIP) (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We assure you that the delegation of Monaco which I am leading will provide you with full support in your noble task in the service of peace and development.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Has Monaco taking a stand, like on Iraq?

ALBERT: Obviously, we were part of the debates and part of the -- although we are not on the Security Council, obviously, we, like any other nation -- member nation of the United Nations we were involved in all the discussions there.

KING: And did you support President Bush's view?

ALBERT: Well, we went along with whatever the U.N. was involved in at the time and the decisions that were taken. We were there. But I don't know if it was the -- the U.N. was kind of divided and not taken into full consideration.

KING: Did France's votes affect how you feel? ALBERT: Obviously, we -- although we have an independent voice and we have no voting instructions, we generally follow where our great neighbor and don't vote against their interests, but we have on certain occasions but in this case we went along with the majority of the nations.

KING: Monaco have a drug problem?

ALBERT: We're not exempted from those kinds of problems.

KING: Nobody is, huh?

ALBERT: We've tried to address the issue and we have been fortunate that there've been no large scale problem. But it is a problem in certain schools and because we don't really have a border it's -- because we have a customs agreement with France it is very easy for neighboring towns to smuggle things in and out. But we are very vigilant that that's kept to...

KING: Do you expect your father to stay until death or might he retire?

ALBERT: You know, we've always said that -- he has said this also in interviews that when he feels the time is right in a discussion that we will have, inevitably that it would be through common agreement. But I think it's pretty much his decision. I don't know when that'll be or if he will feel up to it.

KING: Does he discuss it with you?

ALBERT: He hasn't really, but I know that he will when he feels the time is right.

KING: Thank you.

ALBERT: Thank you.

KING: Always a great pleasure seeing you.

ALBERT: A great, great pleasure to be here.

KING: His Serene Highness, the Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. I'll be back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We thank, His Serene Highness, Crown Prince Albert of Monaco, for being our special guest tonight on Larry King Live.

NEWSNIGHT with Aaron Brown is next. See you tomorrow night. Good night.

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Aired November 18, 2004 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, exclusive. A rare, one on one with the son of the storybook marriage between Hollywood's Grace Kelly and Monaco's Prince Rainier. His Serene Highness, Prince Albert of Monaco, heir to the throne. Still a bachelor. His sisters, Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie still tabloid targets. All that, a lot more, with His Serene Highness, Prince Albert of Monaco for a rare exclusive hour next, on LARRY KING LIVE.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: It's always a great pleasure to welcome royalty to LARRY KING LIVE. Some people think the show is royalty but it's been six years since we did an extended interview, although he was with us shortly after 9/11. His Serene Highness, Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. He is the only son of His Serene Highness, Prince Rainier III of Monaco and the late Princess Grace, the brother of Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie.

As we tape this interview, by the way, which is airing this night in November but was taped in late October, there was word that your father had been taken to the hospital with a lung infection. Can you give us how he is and what's...

PRINCE ALBERT, CROWN PRINCE OF MONACO: My father's fine. I talked to him just a few hours ago and usually at this time of year, actually, he has this bronchitis - sort of a chronic bronchitis. It's nothing to worry about. He's had this a few years now and it flares up every once in a while but he's actually fine and ...

KING: But they had to hospitalize, though.

ALBERT: Because he prefers to get it treated right then and there and the best way to do it is at the heart and lung private clinic in Monaco so he goes in there and ...

KING: Bronchitis is one of those things that's hard to get rid of.

ALBERT: Yes.

KING: It lingers.

ALBERT: Yeah, especially, obviously, if the weather is not too nice. It's been nice in Monaco but when it's very humid and all of that it can be a problem to get rid of.

KING: Is it further affected because of his age?

ALBERT: Obviously all this has made him a little weaker and he doesn't recuperate as easily as he used to but he's still very strong. He was playing golf just a few days ago so ...

KING: Is his...

ALBERT: ...he's still pretty active.

KING: ... attitude good?

ALBERT: His attitude's great. He knows what he can and can't do now and he doesn't want to travel extensively anymore and he doesn't do duties outside of Monaco so he sends me off and does different diplomatic missions and trips and all that and he does, obviously, all of the work at the palace.

KING: So he'll be out of the hospital soon.

ALBERT: Yes.

KING: What brings you to the States?

ALBERT: Several things but mainly the 20th anniversary gala of the Princess Grace Foundation, a foundation that we set up in my mother's name. She didn't have time during her lifetime to help emerging artists in theater, dance and film so we give grants, scholarships, apprenticeships, scholarships to young artists from all over the United States.

KING: And hold an annual dinner in New York?

ALBERT: It's an awards dinner but also a fundraiser, obviously for us and it's every year in New York and this year it's at Cipriani's and Sharon Stone will be the host.

KING: I got a first chance to see Monaco last year when I sailed by, never had been on the French Riviera. One of the most beautiful cities in the world. How big is Monaco?

ALBERT: You know, Monaco is half of Central Park in New York. I try to tell that to people.

KING: You could put Monaco in Central...

ALBERT: You could put Monaco into Central Park. We're just under two square miles.

KING: So what is it like to be the Serene Highness of - is it the smallest kingdom in the world?

ALBERT: Well, along with the Vatican we are the smallest country in the world, I think, still.

KING: What's it like to be...

ALBERT: Well, I think you know the place and you know the area, it's a very special part of the world...

KING: It sure is.

ALBERT: And it's well worth the visit. Aside from the beauty, there is a lot of history there. It has a lot to offer. But I think no matter what the size of the country is, it's the people that make the country and we have a very small community, we have 32,000 residents, only 7,000 nationals, but we have 120 different nationalities that live in Monaco so that's...

KING: Really?

ALBERT: That's pretty -- I don't know if that's a record or not for that size of community but we have a very interesting fabric of population.

KING: Are they an opinionated, diverse group?

ALBERT: Oh, yes. It's reflected in different ways but we do have people who voice their opinions freely and we've always valued not only whatever our nationals say but whatever our foreign community says and we try to cater to them...

KING: Your Highness, it must be unique -- now, of course it's unique, to be an heir to a throne. When you hear of anything involving your father or illness, there has to be that kind of breath away, right? Do you think about it? Especially as he ages...

ALBERT: You think about it. Obviously you're prepared in that to assume that kind of role and that kind of leadership pretty early on and I have enjoyed for many years now working very closely with my father and helping him out as much as possible in government issues and...

KING: But do you say to yourself someday -- by the way, why isn't he king?

ALBERT: Well, that's historical fact. We were given the title -- or, we were recognized by King Louis XV of France so in 1641, by treaty the Grimaldis were only lords of Monaco so we were granted the title of "Prince" by the then King of France.

KING: Like a territory.

ALBERT: Yes.

KING: So he is crown prince? You will be crown prince or you are now crown prince?

ALBERT: A crown prince is a hereditary prince, it's not a...

KING: So you don't get a new name, a new title.

ALBERT: Well, sovereign prince is the head of state.

KING: We'll be right back with His Serene Highness, the Crown Prince Albert of Monaco, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Crown Prince Albert, His Serene Highness, the crown prince of Monaco. It's always good to see you. We're going to get into a lot of areas tonight.

You remain single, age 46, no children, never married. Plan to?

ALBERT: Obviously, yes. No I'm...

KING: What's taking so long. As your mother Grace might say, Albert?

ALBERT: Yeah, it's probably taking me longer than most but I met someone the other day who is happily married at the age of 50, so ...

KING: You mean recently happily married?

ALBERT: Yes. Mm-hmm. And I don't go usually by that kind of example. But if I stick to a gameplan I still have four years, but ...

KING: Have you come close?

ALBERT: There have been some relationships where had they gone on a little bit more they would have headed that way. But I think it's -- it's so much your own timing and your own agenda and the person you want to be with ...

KING: Is it important that there be an heir?

ALBERT: It is, but not as important as it used to be because the order of succession has changed, the law has changed in Monaco so you can actually...

KING: Who would succeed you if you didn't...

ALBERT: It doesn't have to go through a male heir.

KING: It can go through your sister's children?

ALBERT: Yes.

KING: Let's discuss how the family is doing.

Your older sister Caroline, she's now Princess of Hanover, meaning?

ALBERT: Because she married Prince Ernst August of Hanover. And so therefore she inherited that title from her marriage.

KING: Now where does she stand in the hierarchy of things? Would it be her son that would succeed you?

ALBERT: If that were the case...

KING: If you're 120 and you pass away...

ALBERT: Obviously if that was the case, yes, it would. The line could go through her and her son.

KING: How is she doing?

ALBERT: She is doing fine. She is actually in the Philippines right now on behalf another of my mother's associations, the Amade, which stands for Friends of Children Worldwide. And we have different Amade associations in 25 different countries around the world. And the Philippines there is a specific issue there. We fund different research for illnesses. There's a shelter center also in Manila for young teenage mothers, things like that, but there is also a very acute problem in the Subic Bay area. There was as U.S. base there and when they left they sort of were not too careful in disposing of their toxic waste.

KING: Really.

ALBERT: And unfortunately it went into the...

KING: System?

ALBERT: ... water system. There's a whole generation of kids in that are that now suffer from this toxicity of the water.

KING: So she is very active with that?

ALBERT: So she is very active with that. She is trying to find a solution and trying to help out. And I -- we will know the outcome very soon.

KING: How is her husband doing, Prince Ernst? We understand he had problems with two journalists and a photographer. He had a suspended sentence. Does he give into anger?

ALBERT: Well, yes, I think he's sort of impulsive. That's the best way to put it.

KING: Are you friendly with him?

ALBERT: Yes. Certainly. He is a great character. He is very joyful and enjoys life a lot.

KING: Happy marriage?

ALBERT: Everyone gets along great.

KING: We'll be right back with the Serene Highness, Crown Prince of Monaco. Lots to talk about, and of course, his extraordinary mother. Right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back on LARRY KING LIVE with His Serene Highness, the Crown Prince Albert of Monaco and how is your younger sister, Stephanie, one of the tabloids' favorite.

ALBERT: Yes. I'm afraid she's been pursued by tabloid press for years. I mean, we all have but she's had it especially...

KING: Does she bring it on herself, frankly, or -- why she?

ALBERT: She -- I think to a certain extent, she is not always very careful, maybe, and leaves herself a little open to that sort of attention. But she's doing great right now. She's had her problems but -- with different relationships but...

KING: How many children, now?

ALBERT: She has three.

KING: Are you close?

ALBERT: I see her as often as I can. She is in Monaco most of the time now. She has her own charity, it's called Fight AIDS Monaco and it's precisely a woman against AIDS type of charity...

KING: Is that a problem for Monaco?

ALBERT: It's a problem everywhere in the world. There are and there have been cases in Monaco and in fact, unfortunately, if you look at per capita, we have, unfortunately, one of the highest indexes of AIDS related cases.

KING: Where -- was she not the most shattered by mom's death?

ALBERT: Well, obviously, Larry, no, she was right there with her when it happens, and there was this whole debate whether she was actually driving the car or not. I think that's pretty much been cleared up that she was not driving, but even though, I mean, it was a traumatic moment for her and a devastatingly tragic incident.

KING: How old was she then?

ALBERT: She was 17. So -- and obviously a very sensitive 17- year-old too, and it had much more of a lingering impact than people think.

KING: Help us. What was your mother doing driving? Don't princesses get driven?

ALBERT: For -- and this is sort of in our family, this is the general rule. For official functions, official circumstances, we do go to different locations in a chauffeur-driven car, but when we're in a private situation, we like to drive our own cars.

KING: You do too? ALBERT: Yeah. And so she was coming down. She and Stephanie were coming down from our country house, which is up above Monaco, and it is a pretty windy road. But she was used to driving this road, obviously.

KING: Do you drive it frequently?

ALBERT: Yeah. I don't ...

KING: Is it eerie to go down it?

ALBERT: Well, there's not one road that goes up to this place, but -- and I probably -- not consciously, but I don't usually go down that road as often as I used to.

KING: How did you learn of Princess Grace's death?

ALBERT: Well, I learned about the accident -- actually, I was up at the country house with dad ...

KING: You saw them leave?

ALBERT: I didn't actually see them leave because I was in another part of the property, but my father -- and I was back in the house and I remember my father coming into my room, telling me that there had been an accident and that we should go down. Because they were already in the hospital at this time.

KING: What a thing that must have been for you. You were how old?

ALBERT: I was 24.

KING: Very close to your mother and sister?

ALBERT: Obviously, yes. And you know, my parents tried not to travel together much, and so I was usually the one -- not all the time, but most of the time who traveled with my mother when she asked me to accompany her to ...

KING: How long did she live?

ALBERT: She was 52.

KING: And did she live in the hospital a while?

ALBERT: She was in the hospital -- well, actually, it was just one day, 24 hours, before she ...

KING: Was there ever any hope?

ALBERT: No, and unfortunately -- and there was -- one of the doctors came out saying that she must have probably suffered an attack before the accident.

KING: The autopsy would show that. ALBERT: Which would probably explain why the car left the road.

KING: Was Stephanie injured?

ALBERT: Yes, she had -- she had -- not much, but she did have a neck injury and ...

KING: Does she remember it a lot?

ALBERT: She remembers some. And I didn't want to -- I never wanted to pressure her with this, and I know that she didn't want to talk about it ...

KING: Your father was totally devastated.

ALBERT: Understandably, you know.

KING: How did the rumors start that Stephanie might have been driving? Where did that come from?

ALBERT: You know, I think it came from different reports saying that she came out of the car on the driver's side. But that's because the car was on the other side, so that was the only way out of there. But -- and then, of course, then you get a lot of witnesses wanting to make a name for themselves saying, "Yeah, she must have been driving because of so and so." And then obviously the press played their part.

KING: Didn't hit another car?

ALBERT: No.

KING: What kind of mother was she?

ALBERT: She was a very caring, very loving mother.

KING: Doting?

ALBERT: Not -- I wouldn't go that far, but she -- I mean, she was strict when she had to be. Hopefully, it wasn't too often. But she really gave us a lot of her love and her care, and I think we really had such a wonderful childhood because of that, and she would make sure that, obviously, we were well taken care of, but that we led as normal a life as possible, in that when we could we would have very informal family gatherings. And in those days, we didn't have the security setup that we have now, so we were a little freer to move around. And she made sure of that. She made sure that we would walk to school everyday. That we had friends over to play. That ...

KING: She was child-oriented?

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: We'll take a break and we'll come right back with His Serene Highness Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. One of my producers tells me that the driving scene from "To Catch a Thief" was shot there. Is that true?

ALBERT: Actually, it's not on the same road. It's on a different road, and the scene where they look out on the view, that's higher up and sort of a different area.

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) shot there too?

ALBERT: On one of those roads, yes, but not exactly in that.

KING: Did you watch all her films?

ALBERT: I've seen, yes, pretty much all of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE KELLY: Do you think a murderer would let you see all that, that he wouldn't pull the shades down and hide behind them?

JIMMY STEWART, ACTOR: Just where he's being clever, he's being ...

KELLY: Oh and that's where you're not being clever. A murderer would never parade his crime in front of an open window.

STEWART: Why not?

KELLY: For all you know, there's probably something a lot more sinister going on behind those windows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) before she died?

ALBERT: Some before, most of them before, and some after. But it was hard to in the months, or years after her passing, to watch on the screen. Now, of course, it's...

KING: What was it like to see her?

ALBERT: It was strange. And the fact that a couple times I was seated right next to her as we were watching her on the screen. So it was always strange, but yet wonderful at the same time to see your mother onscreen and to have her right next to you explaining what that scene was all about.

KING: I know you're a son, so it's impossible to judge it but what do you think -- she was beautiful, of course, but there are a lot of beautiful people. What was special about Grace Kelly?

ALBERT: I don't know -- I think she -- The reason why she touched people's lives not only in Monaco but here, but all over the world. I still get mail from people still remembering her and still paying tribute to her. I think it's the warmth and the humanity and the love.

KING: It came through in the directing, right?

ALBERT: Right. It came out of her soul and came out of her persona that made her such a beautiful person inside and out.

KING: Do you see a comparison with Princess Di?

ALBERT: A lot of people have -- tried to compare them.

KING: They certainly had a world attraction. The public loved them.

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: Died in a car crash.

ALBERT: That's true. There are some similarities there. I knew Princess Diana a little bit. In a way, but it's hard for me to judge because I'm not too partial but I don't think that they were quite the same in their own -- they were their own personalities.

KING: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) princess. Were you surprised at world reaction to your mom's death?

ALBERT: I was surprised, in fact, that even in countries that she didn't visit that there were people there who felt close enough to her to have their lives touched or changed in a certain way by what she had done or what she had said or how she looked or something that she sent them or did for them and on all five continents. And that's what to me was the incredible thing.

KING: She had great girlfriends in the United States.

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: Any would go over and visit her?

ALBERT: Oh we had frequent visitors. Not only her friends from Hollywood, but obviously from Philadelphia. From also, New York and she still had not only family but a lot of friends over here.

KING: This interest that she had in young artists, was that always your memory? Was she always interested in helping?

ALBERT: She did. She always mentioned the fact that something should be done for young artists who were just starting out and don't have a lot of money and who are struggling in many different ways and it's just not a charity dedicated to that. Or there wasn't up until she got the Princess Grace Foundation rolling.

So it not only recognizes those talents of those struggling artists but also a lot of our applicants come from institutions, come from different schools around the country. We obviously recognize some of their best students who are furthering their career or those who have special projects. KING: So it was to her great credit.

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: She founded the foundation, or did it start after her?

ALBERT: She had the initial idea, but she never actually put it into foundation format and so we did that for her right after her passing.

KING: So she was doing this for up-and-coming artists in the United States and Europe?

ALBERT: We did it primarily just in the United States. There is talk, and there has been talk, several years of trying to branch out and to do it in other countries. I know there's some Asian countries interested in that, also, but we don't know. We wanted to really make this foundation over here work and be successful and develop in a meaningful way and so we might do it elsewhere.

KING: And you attend an awards gala every year?

ALBERT: Yes. My sister Caroline was here last year. I mean sometimes we get the whole family together. My father hasn't been here in a few years.

KING: We'll be right back with His Serene Highness, the Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERT: It's incredibly gratifying to see the faces and the looks of all these children. Their joy and their tenderness that we can get out of the way they look at us. And if it wasn't for these children, this wouldn't have the same meaning, and we wouldn't be here, I think, today if it wasn't to try to give them a little hope and something to educate them and something to help them in their development.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We're back with His Serene Highness, Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. You addressed the UN earlier this year.

ALBERT: I did indeed.

KING: On?

ALBERT: On different topics that -- and we usually try to talk in these different areas on environmental issues and on something also related to the charity that I talked about before, the Friends of Children. We are trying to, along with other countries, obviously, to put a resolution in format to make crimes against children the same as crimes against humanity to have that on the same line as the most serious crimes that...

KING: Like genocide, you mean?

ALBERT: To have a special status ...

KING: They aren't now?

ALBERT: Now, they are not. And that's part of the problem that it can't be prosecuted in the same way.

KING: You also said in the speech, "Terrorism has now become a day-to-day reality. Our determination to combat it must remain without breach. Monaco has become a party to all 12 conventions that curtail international terrorism and take inappropriate action against domestic laws." Do you fear it in your small country?

ALBERT: You know, we fear it only in the fact that we are sort of a passage point for the French Riviera and then also into Italy and as any points of passage it potentially could be a target. But we've never felt anything -- any serious threat. Although we did have a pretty strange incident earlier on this year where a small device exploded near our -- at one of the entrances, one of the office entrances of our stadium complex.

KING: Really?

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: Did you trace this down?

ALBERT: We still have not traced it down and obviously our police force is working on it...

KING: Did you get international help on it, too?

ALBERT: We have. I don't know where the inquiry is at this point but obviously we have access to different services like Interpol and we have very good relationships with other police forces around Europe and the world.

KING: Why, Your Highness, after 9/11 I remember you presented Mayor Giuliani with $700,000 donated from Monaco for the victims of 9/11...

ALBERT: Yes.

KING: The United States, and New York in particular, were loved around the world 9/11. What happened?

ALBERT: Well, I think it's a combination of different things. I think it's -- obviously the war in Iraq had something to do with it.

KING: Turned people off?

ALBERT: Yeah, I think no one really wanted it to go to that extent. Fight terrorism, yes, in very specific areas and take a hard stand and make sure that in all our respective countries that all the necessary arrangements were made for something like that never to happen. But, I don't know, and I don't know if I can speak out on this but, and I don't know if I can speak for the people but I think no one wanted this kind of full-scale war on a country where we didn't know exactly what the links were.

KING: So you'd say the feeling in Monaco is pretty much as the rest of Europe?

ALBERT: I think so. Although we...

KING: Most of Europe.

ALBERT: I mean, obviously a lot of people -- I think at the onset everybody thought something had to be done but no one had ever thought of -- and there is pretty wide-range sympathy, at least in Monaco and in our part of the world toward the United States, obviously. And there still is to a certain extent. But I think everyone thought that it was going too far.

KING: Iraq. Going into Iraq.

ALBERT: Yeah.

KING: You unveiled a memorial to the 9/11 victims last year, including five trees that survived the World Trade Center devastation. Where is that memorial?

ALBERT: That memorial is near City Hall and it can be seen and you can walk through it very, very easily, but most of the trees are in the various parks around Metropolitan Europe.

KING: You also represented Monaco at the services for the victims of the Madrid train bombings.

ALBERT: Yes, I did indeed.

KING: That's one of the tough things for heads of state, right?

ALBERT: Yeah. You have to go unfortunately to a lot of funerals and a lot of those kind of ceremonies.

KING: Comforting ain't easy, is it?

ALBERT: No. But I think it was important to show our compassion and solidarity at that point.

KING: We'll be back with our remaining moments with Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with our remaining moments with His Serene Highness, Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. What's the yellow bracelet?

ALBERT: Well, I think you have seen that around... KING: I have. I haven't seen heads of state or princes wearing them.

ALBERT: Well, why shouldn't we?

KING: Why not?

ALBERT: You know, it's the Lance Armstrong Nike Cancer Foundation program that a lot of sports people and also a lot of politicians or other people in public life have adopted.

KING: Why isn't Lance Armstrong popular in France? Because he keeps winning?

ALBERT: I think that has something to do with it. He is preventing French cyclists from doing well and...

KING: Are you a friend of his?

ALBERT: I have come to know him through -- we have several friends in common from Texas and I have met him several times and he is an incredible man.

KING: You participated in the Olympics, right? Five of them. Bobsledding.

ALBERT: I was in five Winter Olympics. Yes.

KING: What kind of thrill is that just to be in it?

ALBERT: It's unbelievable, Larry. It's just being part of that opening ceremony, just to name that moment, is incredible. That you are representing your country at the biggest gathering - biggest peaceful gathering in the world. OK, it is a sports event but I think it's more than that, it's a festival of humanity. And as long as we can keep that -- those values and that spirit I think the Olympics still have it long way to go.

KING: Reports that -- Monaco's economy is not as robust as it once was. What's the future look like?

ALBERT: I think we've had a difficult period and just to take tourism, for instance, obviously because of 9/11 and because of the general economy, things have not been as promising as they were. And -- but we've sort of felt an upswing this year and I hope the trend will continue. But it's -- that's why we have to diversify and that's why we...

KING: Tourism is the principal industry?

ALBERT: Actually, our biggest source of revenue is our share of the French Added Value Tax, that's also applied in Monaco.

KING: Really?

ALBERT: So to say that there are no taxes in Monaco is not exactly true.

KING: So the visitor's paying it, right?

ALBERT: Well, no, but also ...

KING: Residents when they ...

ALBERT: Residents buy goods -- it's included in your price so you don't really notice it but it is -- so we -- it's there, and we share it with France and they give back to us what they agreed...

KING: You use the euro dollar?

ALBERT: We did adopt the euro at the same time that France did.

KING: How is that working?

ALBERT: You know, surprisingly well. At first we thought, oh, some people are going to take a long time to get used to it and everybody was fearing it. It was sort of like the fear of the year 2000, the Y2K. But it worked very well and now it's -- there was a period there where you saw in shops, where they put the same price in French francs.

KING: Now you've carried on other duties. You go to the opening of the U.N.

ALBERT: I am also president of the Monaco delegation to the General Assembly, so when there is a General Assembly every year in September, I usually head that delegation and give the address on behalf of Monaco in front of the General Assembly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERT (VIDEO CLIP) (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We assure you that the delegation of Monaco which I am leading will provide you with full support in your noble task in the service of peace and development.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Has Monaco taking a stand, like on Iraq?

ALBERT: Obviously, we were part of the debates and part of the -- although we are not on the Security Council, obviously, we, like any other nation -- member nation of the United Nations we were involved in all the discussions there.

KING: And did you support President Bush's view?

ALBERT: Well, we went along with whatever the U.N. was involved in at the time and the decisions that were taken. We were there. But I don't know if it was the -- the U.N. was kind of divided and not taken into full consideration.

KING: Did France's votes affect how you feel? ALBERT: Obviously, we -- although we have an independent voice and we have no voting instructions, we generally follow where our great neighbor and don't vote against their interests, but we have on certain occasions but in this case we went along with the majority of the nations.

KING: Monaco have a drug problem?

ALBERT: We're not exempted from those kinds of problems.

KING: Nobody is, huh?

ALBERT: We've tried to address the issue and we have been fortunate that there've been no large scale problem. But it is a problem in certain schools and because we don't really have a border it's -- because we have a customs agreement with France it is very easy for neighboring towns to smuggle things in and out. But we are very vigilant that that's kept to...

KING: Do you expect your father to stay until death or might he retire?

ALBERT: You know, we've always said that -- he has said this also in interviews that when he feels the time is right in a discussion that we will have, inevitably that it would be through common agreement. But I think it's pretty much his decision. I don't know when that'll be or if he will feel up to it.

KING: Does he discuss it with you?

ALBERT: He hasn't really, but I know that he will when he feels the time is right.

KING: Thank you.

ALBERT: Thank you.

KING: Always a great pleasure seeing you.

ALBERT: A great, great pleasure to be here.

KING: His Serene Highness, the Crown Prince Albert of Monaco. I'll be back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We thank, His Serene Highness, Crown Prince Albert of Monaco, for being our special guest tonight on Larry King Live.

NEWSNIGHT with Aaron Brown is next. See you tomorrow night. Good night.

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