The royal family enjoyed some time together on Sunday at the 59th Monte-Carlo Television Festival
From Bikini Bottom to Monte-Carlo!
Prince Albert II and his twins Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques were in for a very special treat on Sunday when they stepped out at the 59th Monte-Carlo Television Festival and were greeted by two of television’s most beloved animated characters.
While wearing coordinating navy outfits alongside their father, the 4-year-old children had an opportunity to meet SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star on the yellow carpet in Monaco, in honor of the television show’s 20th anniversary.
Prince Jacques, who sported a navy polo and matching striped shorts, was very eager to meet the large pink starfish — instantly going in for a big hug.
In a separate photo, the little boy was captured beaming beneath Patrick Star, who kept his hands on Jacques’ shoulders.
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Princess Gabriella, on the other hand, appeared to be a bit timider when it came to meeting the giant mascots.
The little girl, wearing a navy polo dress, kept her distance and often leaned into her father who was kneeling down for comfort and protection.
Though she appeared to be frightened by the life-sized characters, she seemed to feel more at ease when she was handed a small yellow bouquet of roses.
After the exciting meet and greet, Prince Albert, 61, was captured escorting his children off the yellow carpet. For the event, the royal wore a light blue striped button-down, khakis, and a navy blazer that adorably matched his twins.
Festival-goers had a chance to attend a special screening of the first SpongeBob SquarePants episode from May 1999, as well as the most recent one, shown at the Principality of Monaco’s Forum Grimaldi during Sunday’s event.
Children’s activities were also set up after the celebratory event, with snacks, inflatable castles, painting workshops, and makeup workshops offered.
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Prince Albert also helped kick off the four-day festival on Friday during an opening ceremony at the Forum Grimaldi.
Noticeably missing from the sweet family outing, however, was Prince Albert’s wife and the twins’ mother, Princess Charlene.
Though she was not present on Sunday, the former Olympic swimmer, 41, was spotted just one day earlier at the Circuit de la Sarthe raceway in France, waving the national flag to symbolize the start of the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella have been world travelers as of late, jetting off to several destinations alongside their parents.
In February, the twins headed to a private game reserve in South Africa with their mother and got close-up views of lions, zebras, giraffes, hippos, rhinos and more.
A video posted to Instagram by Charlene captioned “First African Experience” showed the young royals set to a soundtrack of South African pop singer Johnny Clegg’s “Searching For The Great Heart.”
The reserve excursion, which occurred over the children’s winter school break, fulfilled a long-expressed wish of Charlene’s to share her home continent (she was born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa) with her two children.
And just a month earlier, the royal twins’ made a visit to New York and a quick holiday jaunt to Lapland to meet Santa Claus.
Snaps taken by Charlene showed the brother and sister duo bundled up on the streets of New York City, taking in the sights through binoculars from a skyscraper and visiting the American Museum of Natural History.
Charlene also shared a photo of the twins at the World Trade Center Memorial.
“First trip to NY ❤️,” Prince Albert’s wife captioned the video, which was set to The Jackson 5’s “ABC.” “Great adventure and a wonderful experience! Thank You 🇺🇸”