| Stefano Casiraghi | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 8 September 1960 Como |
| Died | 3 October 1990 (aged 30) |
| Occupation | Chairman, Cogefar France Majority shareholder, Engeco World Offshore Champion |
| Known for | Son-in-law of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco |
| Spouse(s) | Caroline of Monaco |
| Children | Andrea Casiraghi Charlotte Casiraghi Pierre Casiraghi |
| Parents | Giancarlo Casiraghi Fernanda Palici |
Stefano Casiraghi (8 September 1960 – 3 October 1990) was an Italian sportsman and businessman. He was the son of Giancarlo Casiraghi and wife Fernanda Palici, and became the second husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco.
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Early life
The son of Giancarlo Casiraghi, a hardworking self-made wealthy businessman, and his wife, Fernanda, Stefano Casiraghi grew up in Fino Mornasco.[1] He had two brothers, Marco and Daniele, and one sister, Rosalba.[1] Even as a young schoolboy, he knew he wanted to make a lot of money.[1] He also developed an early passion for the speedboat races on Lake Como.[2] He was naturally charismatic and popular, but also very shy.[1] He followed the course of his brothers by enrolling at Milan's Bocconi University. However, his eagerness to work in business was stronger than his wish to have a degree,[3] and he left the university after only two years of study, to begin to work for his father and his oldest brother, Marco.[1]
Business
He had once described himself as "a born businessman" who was involved in all sectors of business, such as retail export, construction, and real estate.[3] He owned garages, used car lots, restaurants, boutiques, heliports, apartment houses, factories and souvenir shops. He had investments in North Africa, the Middle East, Rome, Milan, Paris and New York. His obituary in the New York Times described him as a financier and said, at his death, Casiraghi was Chairman of "Cogefar France" (a construction subsidiary of Fiat). The same source said he had a majority interest in Engeco, a Monaco-based real estate developer.[3] At the time of his first child's birth, it was said that he was the director of the Christian Dior boutique in Monte Carlo.[1]
Speedboat racing
A self-styled "throttle man,"[4] Casiraghi participated in eighty offshore races during his lifetime. Over a 20-year career, he won a dozen of those competitions and, at the time of his death, was the word champion of offshore speedboat racing, including the World Championship held off the coast of Atlantic City in 1989.[3] Casiraghi had set the record (since broken) for 172 mph on Lake Como in 1984.[2] It is a very dangerous sport, but as Casiraghi once said, "There are more dangerous sports and I believe one should live life to the fullest."[2]
Marriage and family
On 29 December 1983 in Monaco, he and Princess Caroline married in a civil ceremony in the Hall of Mirrors of the Monegasque royal palace. They were not able to have a religious ceremony due to the fact that Caroline was still married to Philippe Junot in the eyes of the Catholic Church. However, as Caroline was over three months pregnant, the couple did not want to wait any longer.
Her father, Prince Rainier was by all accounts initially suspicious of his new son-in-law as were many others. The Italian papers called Casiraghi "Carolino" and portrayed him as a mere plaything for his wife, but he surprised everyone by becoming a very powerful man in Monaco in a very short time. By the time of his death, he had emerged from the shadow of Prince Rainier's suspicion and become highly valued by his father-in-law for his business sense and discretion.
The couple had three children:
- Andrea Casiraghi, born June 8, 1984.
- Charlotte Casiraghi, born August 3, 1986.
- Pierre Casiraghi, born September 5, 1987.
The children are, respectively, second, fourth and third in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, after their mother, HRH the Princess of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco. Despite their parents' not having married in the Church as required for legitimacy under church law, they were legitimized by the Pope in February 1993, eight months after their mother's marriage to Junot was annulled in June 1992.
Death
Casiraghi was killed in an offshore powerboat racing accident off the coast of Monaco near Cap Ferrat on 3 October 1990 while defending his world offshore title.[3] He was just 30 years old and had planned to retire after this race. Only weeks earlier, he had escaped death when his boat blew up off the coast of Guernsey.[5]
There were three to four-foot wave conditions on the race course, which caused Casiraghi's 42-foot catamaran, Pinot di Pinot, to flip.[3] Traveling at plus-90 mph,[3] it did not have a full canopy, and experts who studied the accident have said that Casiraghi would most likely have survived the accident had the boat been equipped with such a canopy. As a result of his death, safety laws became more stringent; a safety harness and closed hull became compulsory, as was a twin hull design for boats. Races are nowadays take place close to the harbor where waves are gentler, which is policed off for safety reasons as boats are no longer allowed to drive near the course.
Casiraghi's copilot, Patrice Innocenti, survived the accident. He was pulled from the water and taken to Monaco's Princess Grace Hospital, where he was treated for unspecified injuries.[3]
Many believe that there was Mafia involvement in Casiraghi's death, but there is no substantial evidence to support this theory.[5]
The funeral Mass was held in Monaco's Cathedral of St. Nicholas exactly eight years after Princess Grace's funeral in the same place.[6]
Stefano Casiraghi is buried in the Chapelle de la Paix in Monaco, which is also the resting place of his wife's paternal grandfather, Prince Pierre of Monaco.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Biographie de Stefano Casiraghi.
- ^ a b c Reed, J.D., Joel Stratte-McClure and Logan Bentley: "Another Tragedy for Monaco," People, 15 October 1990
- ^ a b c d e f g h Fowler, Glenn: Stefano Casiraghi, 30, Husband of Caroline of Monaco, is killed." The New York Times. October 4, 1990.
- ^ Private Lives, published by Oxmoor House, 1991. ISBN 9780848710248
- ^ a b "In the House of Grimaldi", article by Peter Kurth for Cosmopolitan.
- ^ Tarraborelli, J. Randy :Once Upon a Time: Behind the Fairy Tale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier . Warner Books, 2004. ISBN 9780446613804
External links
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