Marie Ducruet, daughter-in-law of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, is speaking publicly about her relationship with her mother-in-law for the first time - and what she said comes down to something very ordinary for a European royal family. "In Monaco, you can find her at Carrefour or out shopping," said Marie, a 33-year-old entrepreneur and wife of Louis Ducruet, the princess's son.

The statement seems banal at first, but for fans of the Grimaldi saga it's testimony to something that's been felt for a long time - Stéphanie, once described as the "rebellious princess," no longer plays a role in the royal theater. She's long mixed with the citizens of the tiniest principality and doesn't make a spectacle of it. Marie describes her as "accessible" and "authentic," without the rigidity that defines Monegasque families where even the kangaroo has to follow protocol.

The couple met in 2012 at Skema Business School in France and married in July 2019 in the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas. Their two daughters - Victoire, born April 2023, and Constance, born December 2024 - were officially presented in early 2026 at the opening of a children's center in Monaco that Marie co-founded. It's "Little Wonders" - a 235-square-meter space for children up to age 7, with play zones, climbing equipment and interactive stations.

The advice the Grimaldis gave her when she entered the family? "Be yourself. We don't care what others think." That's not a sentence you'd expect from a royal house, and yet exactly these phrases explain why Monaco works - when there isn't such a big audience, there's also no big obligation to play someone else. Stéphanie chose rebellion long ago. Marie now chooses straightforwardness. A generation later, the same result - a civic royal house.