Over the weekend, while the world's attention was riveted on football, Princess Stephanie of Monaco was immersed in a different sporting event. She attentively watched her daughter, 16-year-old Pauline Ducruet, compete at the European Junior Swimming and Diving Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Stephanie, showing a mix of pride and nervousness, watched intently as Pauline executed her dives.
Pauline, blossoming into a young woman with poise and grace reminiscent of her cousin Charlotte Casiraghi, has been pursuing diving for four years. She previously represented Monaco at the World Junior Diving Championships in Aachen, Germany. With her dedication and the influence of her future aunt, former Olympic swimmer Charlene Witstock, Pauline may have Olympic aspirations herself.
Athleticism seems to be a trait in the family. Stephanie was a gymnast in the 1970s, and her brother, Prince Albert, represented Monaco in Olympic bobsleigh. Pauline's results in Helsinki, while not leading her to the finals, showed promise. She ranked 22nd out of 24 in the three-meter competition and 19th in the preliminaries of the one-meter section. With the determination she likely inherits from her mother, Pauline is expected to return to the diving board with the goal of improving her performance.
Pauline is one of two children born to Stephanie and her former bodyguard, Daniel Ducruet. The couple, who fell in love during Stephanie's music album promotional tour in the early 1990s, welcomed Pauline two years after the birth of their son Louis. They married in 1995 but divorced a year later. Stephanie also has another daughter, Camille Marie Kelly Grimaldi, born in July 1998, but has kept the identity of Camille's father private.