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Princess Stephanie's daughter Pauline Ducruet reflects on her upbringing in Monaco and her new life in NYC

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The apple didn’t fall far from the tree for Princess Stephanie. The Monaco royal’s eldest daughter Pauline Ducruet revealed in a new interview with the French newspaper Point de Vue that she and her mom are “similar.”

Like her mother who worked as an intern at Christian Dior and made her debut as a model in HELLO!’s sister publication Hola! in addition to launching a swimwear line, Pauline is also interested in a fashion career and possibly launching her own clothing line.

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Photo: PLS Pool/Getty Images

The 22-year-old currently studies fashion design at Parsons Design School in New York City. Pauline credits her parents — Stephanie and Daniel Ducruet — who split in 1996, for making her the person she is today. “My father and my mother have both made me the young woman I am,” she said. “Mother has had a lot of influence over my view of things. We’re similar.”

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Pauline admitted that Princess Stephanie has always been supportive of her and growing up allowed her to express herself. “My parents never said to me, ‘You have to do this, or dress like that,’” Prince Albert’s niece said. “They always let me do things in accordance with my personality. I’ve always been a little rock n' roll.”

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Photo: Michel Dufour/WireImage

As with the budding designer, who talks fondly of her mom, Pauline revealed that Princess Stephanie has shared many memories of her own late mother, Princess Grace Kelly, whom the Parsons student never met. “When she recalls her memory, it is not as an actress or icon, but as a mom,” she said. “She talks about her mother as the person who has instilled essential values, respect for others and tolerance, which she transmitted to us in return.”

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While Pauline grew up in a family many admire, she confessed in the interview that she always wanted to leave home one day. “As a child, I’d already said to Maman, ‘At 18, I’m leaving,'” she said. “As far back as my memories go, I wanted to see the world, meet others, live my life. I grew up surrounded by much love but I felt sometimes like I was in a bubble.”

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Photo: Instagram/@paulinedcrt

“Moving away allowed me to understand that Monaco is and will remain my home, the port to which I’m tied,” the New York resident noted. “The country where I was born is my nest, my house, my cocoon, the place where I come to recharge.”

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And though she is in constant contact with her family and visits them in Monaco, Pauline has settled nicely into life in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood. “I have a neighborhood routine, my little habits, places I like, my restaurants, my boutiques, I do sports and some boxing as well in a little club close to my place,” she said. “There are museums everywhere, always new exhibitions and new places to discover. The energy of that city is incredible, you feel free and alive.”

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Pauline added, “And for the moment, in any case, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

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