A TALE OF RESILIENCE

Countess Albina du Boisrouvray looks back on her life – one of triumph tinged with tragedy – in this exclusive interview

- 

Countess Albina du Boisrouvray has led a glamorous and remarkable life. Her Bolivian maternal grandfather was among the richest men in the world and, through her French aristocrat father, her "dear uncle" was Prince Rainier of Monaco.

"I was very fond of him, and I think he was very fond of me, too," she says as she meets HELLO! for this exclusive interview.

Her godchildren include Alexandre Kouchner, whose father co-founded Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), and Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, who has a particular penchant for Albina's wardrobe.

"I'm not a total fashion person," Albina says. "I like nice clothes, but I also wear clothes that are vintage, which makes my goddaughter say, 'I'd love to have your vintage clothes.' I'm sorry, I wear them still!"

After her son, François-Xavier Bagnoud, died in a helicopter crash aged 24, she poured her grief into building a foundation that has lifted millions out of poverty. She's also been a model, actress, war reporter and film producer, mingling with numerous world leaders, as well as the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and Karl Lagerfeld.

She's a huge fan of the King and Queen, whom she has met on many occasions.

"The Queen is so charming, she's one of those people I call 'solar' - when they come into a room they have an energy around them," Albina says over tea at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair, where she's visiting from her home in Le Valais, Switzerland. (Her other homes are in Paris and Comporta, Portugal, where her neighbours include the designers Christian Louboutin and Philippe Starck.)

"She has a good energy and I think her and the King's story is so lovely, like a fairytale."