Grace Kelly’s Granddaughter Announces Engagement to Basketball Player
Princess Alexandra of Hanover showed off the stunning ring chosen by her athlete-turned-tech-founder fiancé.
Bettmann/Bettmann Archive
Grace Kelly’s granddaughter, Princess Alexandra of Hanover, is engaged.
The 27-year-old royal announced her engagement on Instagram on Sept. 11 with a sweet photo of her and her boyfriend of 10 years, entrepreneur Ben-Sylvester Strautmann.
In the selfie, Alexandra poses with Strautmann, 27, and smiles at the camera, showing off her ring, which features a 4.8-carat fancy yellow diamond her fiancé chose.
Ben Sylvester Strautmann and Princess Alexandra of Hanover, pictured at the 2025 Bal D'Ete in Paris, France, have been together for nearly a decade.
Jacopo Raule/GC Images
“Fancy” is a designation used for diamonds that are naturally colorful. While consumers have historically prized clear diamonds, fancy diamonds are increasingly popular in engagement jewelry.
According to Tatler, the ring is a custom Antinori di Sanpietro in 18-carat yellow-and-white gold, with two colorless trillion-cut diamonds surrounding the centerpiece.
Princess Alexandra of Hanover announced her engagement with a sweet selfie with her fiancé, Ben-Sylvester Strautmann.
Instagram/Princess Alexandra of Hanover
The ring is estimated at £150,000, roughly $202,000, according to Hello!.
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Strautmann, a German native, is the founder of a digital agency and played basketball on Monaco’s youth national team in 2016.
The other photos in the post showed Alexandra’s ring in its box on the nightstand and in her hand while she did everyday things like eating and holding her dog, Eloise, a long-haired dachshund.
Princess Alexandra of Hanover with her dog, Eloise.
Instagram/Princess Alexandra of Hanover
Alexandra titled the post “The marriage plot” with eight yellow heart emojis, and received many congratulations, including from the late Princess Diana’s niece, Kitty Spencer.
Princess Alexandra of Hanover showed off her diamond ring in multiple photos on Instagram.
Instagram/Princess Alexandra of Hanover
The couple grew up in similar circles and were first romantically linked in 2016, according to PageSix.
The ring reportedly features secret symbols of Rome, a city the newly engaged couple loves.
A motif under its setting is inspired by Rome’s public square, Piazza del Campidoglio, and the ring has inscriptions “Made in Italy” and “Antinori.”
Alexandra of Hanover and Ben-Sylvester Strautmann at the Rose Ball in Monaco, in July 2022.
Valery Hache/Pool via Reuters
Alexandra is the daughter of Princess Caroline and Prince Ernst August.
Princess Caroline also has three other children with her late ex-husband Stefano Casiraghi, who died in a boat accident in 1990 at 30.
Princess Caroline of Hanover and her brother, Prince Albert II of Monaco, at the Rose Ball in Monaco, in March 2019.
Sebastien Nogier/Pool via Reuters
Caroline is the eldest of the late Princess Grace of Monaco’s three children with her husband, Monaco’s Prince Rainier III. The royal couple also welcomed Prince Albert II and Princess Stéphanie before Grace died in a car accident in 1982, at age 52.
Edmond O'Brien and Grace Kelly with their Oscars at the 27th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood, California, in March 1955.
Silver Screen Collection/Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Before becoming Princess of Monaco, Grace was a Hollywood movie star, earning an Oscar and three Golden Globe awards. The Philadelphia-born star retired at 26 to get married to Prince Rainier III.
Grace Kelly in her bridal dress in the Prince's Palace, just before the wedding ceremony where she married Ranier III of Monaco, becoming princess of the Principality. In Monaco on April 18th, 1956.
Mondadori Portfolio/Mondadori via Getty Images
The couple met in 1955 when Grace was attending the Cannes Film Festival in France and got an invitation to the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. They married the next year.
After her engagement announcement, Princess Alexandra of Hanover made another Instagram post, posing relaxed on a bed and showing her ring to the camera.
Instagram/Princess Alexandra of Hanover
Alexandra also showed off her new ring in another Instagram post on Sept. 12. In the first photo, she lay on a bed with a sheet mask on her face, showing the ring to the camera.
The next photo captured Alexandra pouring tea with her ring on display, followed by a photo of her husband-to-be and her dog. The last photo showed a person swimming in a spa pool.
Alexandra is the niece of the current monarch, Prince Albert, and 13th in the line of succession, or 14th according to some sources.
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