Royal Family rocked by scandal as disgruntled former staffer threatens to sue

Monaco’s Royal Family has been slowly recovering from months of allegations about the relationship between Prince Albert and his wife, the elusive Princess Charlene . But the ruler of the small principality is now facing a potential legal battle against a disgruntled former employer who is threatening to sue Albert for defamation. Claude Palmero, 67, served in the Monegasque court for years – starting off as the Crown’s asset manager for the late Prince Rainier and then continuing in his post under Albert until last week. Palmero’s high standing in the court made him a leader among the Men in Grey overseeing the inner mechanisms of the small monarchy, and one privy to the juiciest details of the property deals making Monaco’s economy turn. But in 2021 his role was thrown into question after a series of explosive and incriminating documents began to circulate on a Substack dubbed Les Dossiers du Rocher (the Rock’s Dossiers, after the nickname locals use to talk about the principality). Prince Albert said the Palmero claims had a negative impact on Monaco (Image: GETTY) Palmero was one of four close allies of Prince Albert who came under attack in the data-dumping campaign. Alongside him, the prince’s chief of staff Laurent Anselmi, his personal lawyer Thierry Lacoste and the president of Monaco’s Supreme Court Didier Linotte were also named in the files. Over the past two years, property developer Patrice Pastor was linked to the Substack campaign. Pastor had also been a close friend of Prince Albert but their relationship soured in 2014, when his rivals were awarded a major contract. Pastor has repeatedly denied being connected with the files and the allegations, claiming his opponents have attempted to link him to the dossiers to undermine him further. Albert stayed quiet on the files at first as he fought back on speculation about his marriage with his wife Charlene. Prince Albert had already been battling speculation about his marriage (Image: GETTY) But speaking to French newspaper Le Figaro, the Monegasque ruler appeared to distance himself from the group as he warned that “if confidence evaporates you can no longer work together”. He added: “When questions arise, you need to know how to change the people who surround you to find the right path again and to write a new page in your history.’ The prince warned the allegations contained within the dossiers had been “disastrous for Monaco’s image. We must absolutely put a stop to it”. His stance has fuelled the fury of Palmero, who said Albert’s comments to the French newspaper had been a “regrettable echo of a recurrent campaign of denigration… feeding off false documents, malicious accusations and fallacious insinuations. I cannot let myself be slandered in this way”. Follow our social media accounts here on  facebook.com/ExpressUSNews  and @expressusnews