Today Prince Albert II, the Sovereign of Monaco, Celebrates His Birthday.
Musicians of the Prince’s Band of Carabiniers will appear on Red Square as part of the main programme of the Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival 2018.
The official and business life of the Principality of Monaco is concentrated in Monaco Ville, where Prince Albert’s Palace is also located. The Palace is built on top of a cliff, where once in 1215 the Genoese settled their fortress. A change of guard is performed daily on the Palace Square by the Prince’s Guards to the music played by the Carabiniers Band.
The ritual has not changed for centuries. Since long ago, the Prince’s guardsmen would give signals by horn or military drums to set the rhythm of a soldier’s day or deliver orders to the Prince’s palace. The ensembles evolved, and over time, their duties began to include also musical accompaniment of receptions, commemorations and masses at the Prince’s Palace. In 1966, the ensembles turned into companies, which in 1978 became groups of wind and percussion instruments. In 2014, the groups merged into a single company, named the Prince’s Band of Carabiniers.
Nowadays, the Prince’s Band of Carabiniers plays at various events nationally and abroad; it performed in Edinburgh, Milan,
Today, on March the 14th, Prince Albert, the ruling prince of Monaco and the Duke of Valentinois, celebrates his birthday; on this occasion, the Band plays a concert dedicated to their sovereign. The Directorate of the Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival joins all congratulations, wishing to the Prince inexhaustible energy and vibrant health, to make all his plans and aspirations come true!