Monaco–United States relations the First World War. From 1956 until her death in 1982, the American-born Grace Kelly was married to Prince Rainier III. They made their first official visit to the United States in 1956. Until 2006 Monaco's only career Consul-General (Maguy Maccario Doyle in 2006) operated out of New York, but directed all the Honorary Consuls in placements worldwide. In December 2006, the United States and Monaco upgraded from consular to full diplomatic relations. Shortly thereafter, Craig Stapleton (ambassador to France) was accredited to Monaco, and ambassador Gilles Noghes became the first Monegasque ambassador to the United States. In 2009 Stapleton
Albert I, Prince of Monaco building contractor of German-Jewish descent, Alice Heine had married the Duc de Richelieu but had been widowed by age 21 and left with a young son, Armand. Her marriage to Prince Albert proved an equal blessing for him and the tiny principality of Monaco, since Alice brought a strong business acumen, well in advance of her youth. Having helped put her husband's principality on a sound financial footing, she would devote her energies to making Monaco one of Europe's great cultural centers, with an opera, theater, and a ballet under the direction of the famed Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev. Despite