The 62nd edition of the Bal de la Rose, supporting the Princess Grace Foundation, took place last night at Salle des Etoiles in Sporting Monte-Carlo.

H.R.H the Princess of Hanover asked her friend Karl Lagerfeld to design the 2016 Bal de la Rose and as a result this edition was inspired by a stopover in Cuba.

Beyond the clichés and picture postcard landscapes, this event embrced the energy, optimism, and hope of a Cuban society which is undergoing great change. As relations between the United States and Cuba are warming, after more than half a century of embargo, everyone was able to make the expression pronounced by US President Barack Obama at the end of 2014 their own, “Todos somos Americanos”.

This year’s Bal de la Rose was decked out in the greenery of the sugar cane fields, the turquoise blue of the Caribbean Sea and the terracotta of the Viñales valley. The fruit of a rich and complex culture, Cuban music set the mood to the royal guests.

With the rhythms of unavoidable and inescapable tunes, the guests enjoyed salsa and embarked on the dance floor for a very “caliente” evening.

by Olga Barrale

All photographs © Le Palais Princier / Pierre VILLARD / Gaetan LUCI / Luc CASTEL / SBM