Prince's Palace of Monaco Prince's Palace of Monaco The Prince's Palace of Monaco is the official residence of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besieged by many foreign powers. Since the end of the 13th century, it has been the stronghold and home of the Grimaldi family who first captured it in 1297. The Grimaldi ruled the area first as feudal lords, and from the 17th century as sovereign princes, but their power was often derived from fragile agreements with their larger and stronger neighbours. Thus
Vehicle registration plates of Monaco Vehicle registration plates of Monaco Vehicle registration plates of Monaco are unusually small (a few centimeters smaller than an American license plate), and are composed of four numbers and/or letters. The plates are colored blue font on a white background and have the coat of arms of Monaco on the left side with the year number (on the rear plate only) to attest that tax has been paid. All plates starting with "000" belong to the family of Albert II, Prince of Monaco. ""Principauté de Monaco"" is written at the bottom of the plate. Before 1979, the color of the