The Grimaldi family is preparing for another wedding. Alexandra of Hanover has announced that she will marry Ben-Sylvester Strautmann, her partner since adolescence and one of the regular faces alongside her at social events in the Principality.
The daughter of Caroline of Monaco posted several photographs on Instagram in which she shows the engagement ring.
The post was accompanied by a brief reference to "The marriage plot," without giving details about the ceremony.
A relationship that began when they were 17 years old
Alexandra and Strautmann are both 27 years old and have been in a relationship for more than a decade.
They started dating when they were around 17 years old. Since then, he has appeared alongside Alexandra at various events of the Monegasque family, including the Rose Ball and sporting events held in Monaco.
Strautmann is of German origin, was a basketball player and later developed his business career.
He has maintained a much more discreet profile over the years than that of his future wife's family.
The ring that has confirmed the engagement
Alexandra herself made the jewel the star of the photographs.
According to the description published by specialized media and reported by El País, the ring features a large elongated cushion-cut yellow diamond, accompanied by two triangular diamonds and set in platinum and 18-carat yellow gold. The couple has not announced a date or location for the wedding yet.
The youngest daughter of Caroline of Monaco
Alexandra was born in Austria and is the only daughter of the marriage between Caroline of Monaco and Ernst August of Hanover. On her mother's side, she is the sister of Andrea Casiraghi, Charlotte Casiraghi, and Pierre Casiraghi. On her father's side, she has siblings Ernst August and Christian of Hanover.
Caroline and Ernst married in 1999 and have been separated since 2009, although they have not divorced.
History, literature, and fashion
Alexandra has led a much more discreet public life than other members of the Grimaldi family.
She studied Political Science and Philosophy in New York and later History and Literature in Paris. According to the information published about her career, she completed those studies in 2024.
She has also publicly spoken about her interest in literature, fashion, and figure skating, a sport she practiced since she was little.
In recent years, she has been gaining presence at family and cultural events in the Principality.
The next wedding of the Grimaldi
Monaco has not celebrated a wedding of this branch of the family since 2019, when Charlotte Casiraghi and Dimitri Rassam got married and, weeks later, Louis Ducruet and Marie Chevallier.