PHOTOS. Prince Albert II, in the footsteps of Prince Albert I in Portugal
Gatean Luci / Prince's Palace
The Sovereign visited the Azores on 13 October and Lisbon the following day: the first two stages of a four-day trip to Portugal and Spain as part of the commemorations to mark the centenary of the Explorer Prince’s death.
Prince Albert II began a four-stage journey on 13 October in Portugal, in the Azores to be precise. This was not a random choice, as the archipelago was of great significance to Prince Albert I, who carried out half of his 28 scientific campaigns there between 1885 and 1914.
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Welcomed by the President of the Azores Regional Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, and by Monaco’s Ambassador to Portugal, Henrique de Polignac Mascarenhas de Barros, the Sovereign walked through the city of Ponta Delgada via the Avenue of Prince Albert I, then laid a wreath of flowers at the foot of the bust of his great-great-grandfather.
The Sovereign then visited City Hall, before inaugurating an exhibition at the Carlos Machado Museum, which documents the friendship and cooperation between the Explorer and the scientist and photographer Francisco Afonso Chaves.
The following day, the Prince and the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, inaugurated the exhibition “The Oceanographer’s Friend” at the Lisbon Marine Museum, which pays tribute to the friendship between the two sovereign oceanographers: Prince Albert I and King Carlos I of Portugal.
“It is a lovely, lovely tribute, and I am of course really very happy to have been able to be here, with a delegation from the Principality, but also happy that there is this beautiful exhibition which illustrates in such a lovely way these very special bonds of friendship, which were very important during Prince Albert I’s life,” the Sovereign commented to Monaco Info.
Finally, Prince Albert II was welcomed to Belem Palace, where he was decorated by the Portuguese President with the Grand Cross and Necklace of the Order of the Infant Dom Henrique.