Prince Albert II of Monaco visits CERN

With a strong curiosity for the work of CERN, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco visited CMS and the CERN Control Centre on 2 September.



"The Prince is interested in and sensitive to what CERN is doing. Monaco is closely linked to France, which is an important member of CERN. He wishes to express his help to the scientific community in every trip. He wants to meet scientists and to be really personally involved," explained Francois Chantrait, Head of the Press Service of the Prince’s Palace.

CERN Director-General Rolf Heuer welcomed the Prince of Monaco to Point 5 with a presentation about CERN before they descended 100 metres underground to see the CMS experiment. Although the detector was closed up for test runs, he was able to see its grand scale as well as look at some of the intricate sample parts exhibited by CMS Spokesperson, Jim Virdee.

The Prince wrote in the CERN Visitors’ Book that he perceives a realisation of promising research in particle physics and, even here on the Swiss-French border, a harmonious collaboration that is not just European but international. He salutes CERN’s determination, courage and ambition, as well as the enormous opportunities for collaborating with science and industry.