Figure 1.--Albert at 9 was dressed in a rather American-looking Eton suit--presumably picked out by Princess Grace. Many formal portraits show him wearing Eton suits.

Albert was the second of three children. Princess Grace saw to that Albert was dressed very smartly as a little boy. They appear to have been personally selected by her, looking more American than French. Like his sisters, the children were dressed in very American styles. We never noted Albert wearing French rompers, but very often he wore white short pants outfits. He wore American style clothing that was not realy fashionable for French boys like rich family or petit garçon modèl. Prince Albert wore smart short pants Eton suits with kneesocks, usually grey kneesocks. He also wore white shorts with short ankle socks. Princess Grace appears to have been partial to lapel-less Eton suits as commonly worn by younger Amertican boys. This was a very popular style for American boys, especially boys from affluent families. As a little boy Albert wore small Eton-like pointed collars with his Eton suits. We note several portraits of Albert wearing Eton suits. At about 5 years of age he wore a blue Eton short pants suit. This was a popular style in America for younger boys at the time. I do not think it was as widely worn in Europe. As a school-age boy wore regular collars and neckties. In one portrait he wore a red necktie. At the age of 9 he was still wearing Eton-style collarless jackets in a classic gray color. I'm not sure when he began wearing jackets with collars and long pants.

Created: 10:52 PM 4/12/2005
Last updated: 10:52 PM 4/12/2005