Princess Stephanie of Monaco’s daughter, Pauline Ducruet, has shared her escape from Burning Man on social media.
The eldest daughter of the royal gave her followers a glimpse of her getaway from the muddy grounds of the annual arts festival in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada after organizers lifted the driving ban at 2pm on Monday.
Ducruet, 29, posted on her Instagram Story a photo of the Black Rock Desert range through a car windshield and the open route ahead, captioned, “We out.” The Alter designer also posted a photo of herself among a group dressed up in festival-ready garments that appeared to be taken before rain stranded thousands of festival-goers. “When it was dry and fun,” Ducruet wrote over the photo on her Story.
Among 70,000 festival-goers at Burning Man, Ducruet was forced to get creative after extreme rainfall flooded the region and officials closed the exits from the festival. She chronicled her experience on her Instagram Story, posting photos showcasing mud-caked boots at a nearby gas station.
She then reposted a Burning Man meme from a popular meme account, @sainthoax. “Everyone at Burning Man this weekend,” was written above Shakira dancing in mud in her “Whenever, Wherever” music video.
Over the weekend, thousands of Burning Man attendees were trapped when extreme rainfall flooded parts of northern Nevada. The festival shut down three days earlier than scheduled. Officials advised attendees to “conserve food, water and fuel and shelter in a warm, safe space” amid conditions. They also banned driving in or out of Burning Man City beyond emergency vehicles. Celebrities stranded at the festival included Chris Rock, Cindy Crawford, Kaia Gerber, Austin Butler, and Diplo.
Ducruet, a Parsons graduate, splits her time between New York and Monaco. However, the designer is by no means a rookie when it comes to the desert. In February 2018, she and her cousin, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, took part in the all-female Aicha de Gazelles rally, which takes place across the Morrocan desert. Together, the granddaughters of Hollywood icon Grace Kelly raced across the desert for 10 days without the aid of a phone, GPS, or a map. The rally fundraises for Coeur de Gazelles, a relief fund aiding those living in remote areas of Morocco.
“I think it’s just fun that we’re able to share this experience together as family,” Grimaldi told People at the time. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t on the same team as one another, but we’re still a part of it together. We have a competitive nature in our family, but I feel like we’re just in it to have fun and do what we can.”
Earlier this summer, Ducruet - the daughter of Princess Stephanie and her ex-husband Daniel Ducruet - joined several members of the royal family to celebrate the birthday of her late grandfather, Prince Rainier. The designer stepped out alongside her mother, uncle Prince Albert, aunt Princess Charlene, twin cousins Crown Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, eight, brother Louis Ducruet, his wife Marie, and sister Camille Gottlieb to commemorate what would have been Rainier’s 100th birthday.
