A sudden drama shakes the royal house of the Principality of Monaco. Antoine de Massy, 29 years old, cousin of Prince Albert II and nephew of Princess Antoinette (sister of Rainier III), was found dead in circumstances that are still unclear. The news of his untimely death has thrown the Grimaldine family and the entire Principality into despair, where the name of the de Massys has always been linked to the history and tradition of local tennis.
Confirmation of the death came directly from an official note released by the Prince’s Palace, which formalized the sovereigns’ deep condolences. “Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlène learned with sadness of the death of Antoine de Massy,” reads the communication from the royal house. Albert II, 68, and his wife Charlène, 48, expressed their closeness to the young man’s relatives and closest loved ones in a moment of painful silence.
The body found in a garden
According to initial reports and press sources, the family members became alarmed after the boy did not show up for a scheduled lunch. Following the report to the authorities, the body of the twenty-nine year old was subsequently found in a garden near Villa Sauber, in the Larvotto area. The Attorney General of Monaco confirmed that, upon discovery of the body, “an investigation was launched to ascertain the causes of death”.
There is a stopped
According to the local newspaper Monaco-Matin, one person was arrested as part of the preliminary investigations. It has not yet been specified whether the person arrested is directly implicated in the death or whether he is being held as a witness. The police investigations began after a family member, alarmed by the young man’s absence at a family lunch on Sunday, alerted the Munich Public Security Department.
Who was Antoine
Antoine de Massy was the son of Baron Christian de Massy, 79, and Cécile Gelabale. He was also a second cousin of the current Monegasque sovereign, Albert II. Raised in the myth of sport, he had always cultivated a deep bond with tennis, as he himself said in an interview with Vogue magazine in 2012, recalling how it was his father who introduced him to the racket when he was just three years old. He subsequently moved to the United States, to Florida, to train at a competitive level and continue his studies at the same time, fueling the dream of one day being able to represent the colors of Monaco at the Olympic Games.
Below, the entrance to Villa Sauber, where the body of Antoine De Massy was found