Do you remember? Princess Caroline’s spouse died tragically at the age of 30

Stefano Casiraghi and Princess Caroline pictured together in 1983, when they also got married. a.o.p

The royals of Monaco are known for their glamorous life, but also for their misfortune. Over the decades, the story of the royal family has been overshadowed by several tragedies and scandals.

One of the darkest of them was a princess Caroline’s the sudden death of her husband, Stefano Casiraghi, in 1990. Caroline and Stefano reportedly lived a happy family life until a tragic accident cut their love story short.

Stefano was a businessman from a wealthy Italian family who worked in real estate, finance and fashion. Caroline, 65, is the first child of Prince Rainier III of Monaco (1923-2005) and Princess Hollywood star Grace Kelly (1929-1982). His brother Prince Albert is the current ruler of Monaco.

According to Paris Match magazine, Caroline and Stefano’s romance progressed quickly: they met in a nightclub in Monte Carlo through mutual friends and started dating in the spring of 1983. In December of the same year, a wedding was already celebrated.

The marriage was Stefano’s first and Caroline’s second: she had married a Frenchman Philippe Junot‘, but the union had only lasted two years. They wanted to annul the union, but since the Catholic Church did not agree to this, Caroline and Stefano had a civil ceremony.

A terrible boat accident

The couple had three children: Andrea (1984), Charlotte (1986) and Pierre (1987). Only three years after the birth of the bump, the family was faced with great sadness. An avid racing boater, Stefano was the 1989 Class 1 world champion, and took part in the race again the following year.

The races were held on the coast of Monaco in October 1990, after which the 30-year-old Stefano planned to end his racing career. Just a week before, he had survived an engine explosion on his boat, but his luck changed at the World Championships.

On the day of the race, there was a strong wind that threw Stefano around the boat, which was traveling at a speed of 150 kilometers per hour. According to experts, the boat did not have a proper canopy that could have protected Casiraghi. Casiraghi and his co-pilot were taken to the hospital after the accident, but only the co-pilot survived.

Due to the tragedy, the race was stopped and no winner was chosen. After the accident, the safety rules of boat races were tightened. Casiraghi’s funeral was held at Monaco’s St. Nicholas Cathedral, the same location as Grace Kelly’s funeral almost exactly eight years earlier.

Princess Caroline had lost her 52-year-old mother in a car accident, and now her husband in a boat accident. His children were left without a father at the ages of 6, 4 and 3.

New beginning

After Stefano’s death, people started talking about the curse of the Grimaldi family, because the deaths of Stefano and Grace Kelly resembled each other. After years, Caroline found new happiness: she married the German prince Ernst August in January 1999, and the couple had a daughter Alexandra already in July of the same year.

However, Ernst August was embroiled in cheating scandals and in 2009 the couple ended up separating. They are still officially married, although no longer together. Since then, Caroline has had rumored romances, but is reportedly single these days.

Despite the tragic death of his father, Stefano’s sons Andrea and Pierre have both enjoyed water sports. Pierre has competed in sailing: in 2014, he and his team sailed in a record ten days from Cape Town to Rio.

In 2016, Pierre came close to his father’s fate: His team’s boat capsized in a GC32 series race on Lake Garda in Italy, when the boat dodged a press representative’s boat that came in front. The boat suffered in the situation and the race was abandoned, but personal injuries were avoided.

Sources: The Washington Post, People, Power Boat Racing World