Born Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi on 13 November 1848 in Paris, France, the son of Prince Charles III (1818-1889), and Countess Antoinette de Mérode-Westerloo (1828-1864), a Belgian noblewoman, maternal aunt of Donna Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo, Princess della Cisterna, Duchess consort of Aosta and Queen consort of Spain.
As a young man, Prince Albert served in the Spanish Navy, during the Franco-Prussian War, he joined the French Navy where he was awarded the Legion of Honor.