Prince Albert II of Monaco visits D.C.

His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco visited D.C. on Monday to speak at the the opening day of a week-long summit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty.

Prince Albert followed the lawmakers’ remarks with a keynote speech at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, where he recounted his recent trip to the South Pole.

While in Antarctica, he joined Mike Horn, the South African explorer, and the pair skied across the frozen tundra for two days before they finally reached the South Pole. “We camped out and shared a tent, and it was incredible.”

After the morning conference, Prince Albert II headed downtown to a lunch at the National Press Club. During his after-lunch remarks, he made few efforts to hide his disappointment over the recently scaled-back expectations for this month’s global summit on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Prince Albert is the eldest of the three children born to American movie star Grace Kelly and Monaco’s Prince Rainier III. Asked during a brief Q-and-A to choose his favorite of his mother’s films, Prince Albert cited Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological suspense thriller, “Rear Window.”

“There’s an incredible quality in the relationship between Jimmy Stewart and my mom that is simply magical,” he said.

Prince Albert II is only in town for the day, and sources tell ITK that President Barack Obama does not plan to meet with him during the trip, although the two will likely cross paths in Copenhagen in a few weeks.

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