Prince Albert of Monaco has expressed his grief over the sudden demise of shut good friend Didier Guillaume, the principality's minister of state, who handed away final week aged 65.
The 66-year-old monarch described Guillaume, who died on January 17, as "a person of dedication and coronary heart" in a heartfelt tribute.
"I’m shedding a good friend, somebody I appreciated very a lot and on whom I counted," the prince instructed Monaco-Matin on Sunday.
Guillaume had been hospitalised in Good on January 10 with an undisclosed sickness, passing away every week later.
The French-born minister had solely taken workplace on September 2, 2024, changing Pierre Dartout for what was meant to be a four-year time period.
His sudden demise comes lower than a month after his wedding ceremony to Béatrice Frecenon-Guillaume, which happened at Monaco City Corridor on December 21, 2024.
Monaco has entered a interval of nationwide mourning following Guillaume's demise.
Prince Albert has ordered flags to be flown at half-mast on all public buildings all through the principality till the funeral.
The state funeral will happen on January 23, simply days earlier than Monaco's nationwide vacation, Sainte Commit Day, on January 27.
The principality historically marks Sainte Commit Day with Prince Albert and Princess Charlene attending a church service earlier than greeting crowds from the Prince's Palace balcony with their twins.
In an official assertion, Prince Albert mentioned: "The Principality of Monaco has misplaced an exemplary servant, whose motion and loyalty will stay engraved in our recollections."
The monarch prolonged his "honest condolences to his household, in addition to my warmest ideas to all those that mourn him at this time."
Chatting with Monaco-Matin, Albert praised Guillaume's personable nature: "He had a really human facet, very pleasant, near everybody.
"Through the years, we had cast bonds of belief and mutual esteem."