Partying prince of Monaco beaten up in brawl

Prince Pierre Casiraghi, grandson of the late Princess Grace of Monaco. Photo / AP

As a member of one of Europe's most glamorous dynasties, he has long grown accustomed to wealth, fame and power.

And when it came to the sight of another man with a woman he wanted, Prince Pierre Casiraghi of Monaco was apparently unable to control himself.

The 24-year-old prince, son of Princess Caroline and grandson of Grace Kelly, allegedly got into a fight with a stranger at an exclusive New York nightclub because he was 'jealous' of him.

Former nightclub owner Adam Hock was sitting with two friends and three catwalk models when Pierre, the third in line to Monaco's throne, allegedly approached him and started a confrontation.

Hock is said to have punched Pierre and sent him flying into a table on the other side of the room, where he landed with blood pouring from his face. It was so badly cut it 'looked broken', according to one witness, 'like he needed plastic surgery'.

The 47-year-old was arrested and later appeared in court, charged with four counts of assault against Prince Pierre and three of his friends.

Hock's lawyer, Sal Strazzullo, said: 'My client was with some very very nice women and Mr Casiraghi became jealous of who he was with. They wanted some recognition [from the women] and it happened because of that. My client acted in self- defence, it was an unprovoked attack.

'I don't know why Mr Casiraghi got jealous about my client - he is from a humble background.' He added: '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 one of the prince's friends said he was 'slammed for no reason', and that another was punched when he tried to intervene.

Richard Golub, who is representing the prince and his friends, said the incident was 'entirely unprovoked'.

Pierre's family have a long history of scandal and intrigue, and the latest episode seems to suggest he is following in their footsteps. Known as the 'party prince', Pierre is believed to have dropped out of university and has been seen at nightclubs everywhere from Miami to Milan.

The fight broke out on Saturday, at the Double Seven club in Manhattan's Meatpacking District. Prince Pierre and his entourage, who were drinking £350 bottles of champagne, are said to have gone over to Hock's table and started behaving 'obnoxiously'.

Among those with the prince was Jessica Hart, a supermodel, Stavros Niarchos III, a shipping heir and ex-boyfriend to Paris Hilton, Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, a New York art dealer and godson to photographer Mario Testino, and Diego Marroquin, a Manhattan socialite

Among those on Hock's table were catwalk models Natasha Poly, Valentina Zalyaeva and Anja Rubik, and the club's owner, Jeffrey Jah.

Hock is said to have punched Prince Pierre in the face and lashed out at three of his friends, one of whom allegedly grabbed a bottle of Grey Goose vodka and tried to hit Hock with it.

The prince was taken to hospital for treatment and released a short time later.

The episode once again puts the spotlight on Monaco's royals - or the Grimaldi family, as they are better known. They are said to have been cursed by a 13th century witch, who vowed no member of the dynasty would ever have a long or successful marriage.

Prince Pierre is the grandson of actress Grace Kelly, who brought Hollywood glamour to the family when she married Prince Rainer III in 1956. She died in a car crash in 1982.

Pierre's father, Stefano, was Princess Caroline's second husband, and died in a boating accident when Pierre was three.

Her marriage to her third husband, German prince Ernst August von Hanover, has struggled amid episodes of public drunkenness and alleged infidelity.

Prince Pierre's elder brother Andrea, 27, is studying at the University of Barcelona, while his sister Charlotte, 25, is a magazine editor and amateur show jumper.

- Daily Mail