As part of the commemorations of the centenary of the passing of Prince Albert I, H.S.H. Prince Albert II visited Bagnères-de-Luchon on Tuesday, June 14th.
After being welcomed in the afternoon in front of the town hall by the sub-prefect of Saint-Gaudens, Mr. Jean-Philippe Dargent, and the mayor of the town, Mr. Eric Azemar, H.S.H. Prince Albert II attended several local cultural performances, including a song in Gascon by the pupils of the elementary school of Luchon. The Sovereign Prince then proceeded to the Town Hall for the signature of a partnership between the Prince Albert II Foundation and the town of Bagnères-de-Luchon.
Afterwards, H.S.H. the Prince discovered this Pyrenean town, under the guidance of the mayor, during a stroll that highlighted the Luchon of the Belle Epoque and the Roaring Twenties, the time of his great-great-grandfather's expeditions to the Pyrenees, Prince Albert I. The Prince continued his visit in the park of the Casino where he enjoyed a fantasia performed by the company of horse guides of Luchon.
The day ended with the inauguration of the exhibition "Albert I, Prince of Monaco, and the Pyrenees (1861 - 1921)", in the presence of its curator, Professor Serge Brunet. This exhibition, which the public will be able to discover from June 15 to September 15, 2022 at the Casino de Luchon, reveals in particular one of the last battles of the "Prince Savant", the conservation and development of the Pyrenean landscape, supporting the creation of a national park to protect this mountain range. It is only a few years after his death that this project came into being, underlining once again the visionary nature of Prince Albert I.
H.S.H. Prince Albert II is the fourth Prince of Monaco to come to Luchon.
