Daniel Ducruet

Daniel Ducruet (born November 27, 1964) was the husband of Princess Stéphanie from 1995 until 1996.

Ducruet was born in Beausoleil. A muscular, 185 cm athlete and bodybuilder, he worked as a pet shop salesman and fishmonger before being accepted into the Monaco police force as a trainee officer in 1986.

Within two years he had been appointed a Palace bodyguard with responsibility for Prince Albert. In 1991, he was appointed by Prince Rainier to accompany his daughter Princess Stéphanie as bodyguard on her ill-fated tour to promote her record album.

The princess began an affair with the bodyguard and had two children by Daniel. The first, son Louis, was born in 1992 only 10 months after the birth of his first child from his former girlfriend. Their daughter, Pauline, was born in 1994 before Ducruet and Princess Stephanie married in a civil ceremony on July 1, 1995.

The couple were divorced in 1996 after lurid photographs were published of Daniel frolicking at poolside in Villefranche-sur-Mer with Muriel "Fili" Houteman (or "Fily"), variously described as either "Miss Nude Belgium" or "Miss Bare Breasts Belgium". She and two associates (former lover Yves Hoogewys and photographer Stéphane de Lisiecki) were later given suspended sentences for their role in entrapping Ducruet, charges which De Lisiecki admitted but Houteman denied. Hoogewys and de Lisiecki were also ordered to make financial compensation to Ducruet. Ducruet's assertion that there may have been palace involvement in the setup has never been proven. After the divorce, Stéphanie bought his share of their joint business interest Replay Stores.

Daniel has since launched a career as a singer releasing two albums Pourquoi Pas and Jamais personne, with little success. He has also taken part in the Italian reality TV show La Fattoria and the similar French reality TV show La Ferme Célébrités, where he finished second. He also wrote a book about his life with the Grimaldi family.

He was previously married to Sandra Naccache and also has another son, Michaël (see above), born in 1991, with former girlfriend Martine Malbouvier.

Louis and Pauline Ducruet have been legitimated by their parents' marriage and are currently 7th and 8th in the line of succession.