Princess Charlene Picks Elie Saab for Italy's First State Visit to Monaco
Princess Charlene of Monaco chose embroidered silk georgette by Elie Saab for a state banquet honoring Italy. The dinner closed a night of ceremony during Italy's first state visit to Monaco. The visit took place Oct. 2-3.
Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene welcomed Italian President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter, Laura Mattarella. The trip came at Prince Albert's invitation, according to the Italian presidency. It was the first state visit to Monaco by a president of Italy, a state visit being the highest and most ceremonial form of official visit between countries. Italian Presidency
The formal program paired culture with protocol. On Oct. 2, the leaders attended an evening at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Monaco's historic opera house, followed by the state banquet. The banquet is the white-tie dinner that typically anchors such a visit.
For that dinner, the princess wore the Elie Saab gown with platinum and diamond earrings by Graff. Town & Country The choice was no surprise. Saab has become her steady pick for Monaco's biggest nights.
In March, she wore a custom off-shoulder silver Saab gown to Monaco's Rose Ball. The dress had glittering embellishments and a dramatic cape. That edition marked the 70th anniversary of the Rose Ball, the principality's major spring charity gala.
She stayed with the designer for the annual Red Cross Ball this year. There she chose a luminous one-shoulder column gown. The Red Cross Ball is another fixture on Monaco's charity calendar, long associated with the ruling family.
This spring she also wore a forest green Saab jacket with embroidered trousers to the reopening of a historic Monegasque garden. And in May 2025, she wore a powder white Saab midi dress with a scalloped hemline to the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.
What makes this stand out is the consistency. Princess Charlene, who married Prince Albert at the Prince's Palace of Monaco on July 2, 2011, tends to return to clean lines and quiet embroidery for daytime. At night, she lets the fabric do the work. In Monaco, that rhythm fits a tiny coastal state where charity galas and official visits carry real diplomatic weight.
