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Monaco prince hospitalised after 'drunken brawl over supermodels in Manhattan'
The 24-year-old grandson of Princess Grace of Monaco has been hospitalised
following what is described as a drunken brawl in a trendy Manhattan
nightspot.
The youngest son of Princess Caroline
of Monaco is said to have partied with friends including Stavros
Niarchos III, the shipping heir and ex-boyfriend of celebrity Paris
Hilton, and the model Jessica Hart before the melee broke out. Photo: AFP
of Monaco is said to have partied with friends including Stavros
Niarchos III, the shipping heir and ex-boyfriend of celebrity Paris
Hilton, and the model Jessica Hart before the melee broke out. Photo: AFP
2:08PM GMT 20 Feb 2012
Prince Pierre Casiraghi suffered cuts to his face in the late-night bust-up in
the Double Seven bar in New York's meatpacking district, which was witnessed
by a number of top models and wealthy socialites.
Adam Hock, a former nightclub owner, was arrested and charged with assaulting
the prince and three of his friends.
During a brief court appearance, he insisted that he was the victim of an
unprovoked attack, and questioned why Prince Pierre was not the one in
handcuffs.
The youngest son of Princess Caroline of Monaco is said to have with friends
including Stavros Niarchos III, the shipping heir and ex-boyfriend of
celebrity Paris Hilton, and the model Jessica Hart before the melee broke
out.
Hock, who was drinking with catwalk models Natasha Poly, Valentina Zalyaeva
and Anja Rubik, claimed that the prince and three friends walked over and
began abusing the women before grabbing a $500 (£315) bottle of vodka from
his table.
Members of the group said that Prince Pierre and his entourage "were
being completely obnoxious".
"The next thing I saw, all hell broke loose,'' one witness told the New
York Post.
Friends of the prince claim that Hock started the fight, however. One said: "The
prince walked up to the table, and Adam just slammed him for no reason.
"Stavros jumped in to help Pierre, and then he got slammed in the face."
Hock is alleged to have sent the prince sprawling, before going on to punch
out Mr Niarchos, 26, and the other two men - Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, 27,
a French art dealer, and their friend Diego Marroquin, 33.
The witness said that Prince Pierre: "...fell very badly. He flew across
the room and landed on a table on the other side.
"Pierre's face looked broken, with deep cuts and blood everywhere. He
looked like he needed plastic surgery."
The prince was treated at the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical
Centre following the incident on Saturday night, before being released.
Hock, 47, was arrested and appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court.
He told the court: "I was defending myself and others... Why aren't [the
prince and his entourage] handcuffed?"
He was released to appear back in court next month.
Hock's lawyer said: "My client was having a nice time with a married
couple and a lady friend and a group of very beautiful women, and these
individuals were jealous, and they resorted to elementary-school tactics.
"My client is not Bruce Lee. These four guys are trust-fund babies who
think the world is owed to them. They are like spoiled brats."
But Richard Golub, who is representing the prince and his friends, said, "It
was a horrifying incident . . . It was entirely unprovoked."
Prince Pierre is the third in line to the throne of Monaco, following his
mother Caroline and brother Andrea Albert. He is the grandson of Grace
Kelly, the late American actress who married Prince Rainier of Monaco in
1956.
His father, Stefano, was Princess Caroline's second husband, and died in a
boating accident when he was three.
Prince Pierre lives in Italy and works as a businessman.
