His Serene Highness represented Monaco in bobsleigh at five consecutive Olympic Winter Games from 1988 to 2002, and was presented with his OLY Certificate of Recognition by WOA President Joël Bouzou at his Monaco palace.

The Prince, who accepted the award under his athlete name of Albert Grimaldi rather than his full royal title, expressed his pride at being bestowed with OLY.

"I feel proud and honoured to receive this certificate under my athlete name, Albert Grimaldi OLY," he said.

"Like many other athletes I trained hard for many years before reaching the Olympic Games and becoming an Olympian.

"As much as the goal, I treasured this journey, which taught me how to dedicate myself and build up an open-minded character.

"Therefore, I greatly support this initiative, which will promote the skills of many Olympians and help them find opportunities in society after the end of their sports career."

More than 3,000 Olympians have registered to add the OLY designation to their names since the scheme's launch at the eighth International Olympic Committee (IOC) Forum in Lausanne earlier this month.

OLY was created to promote Olympians' social, charitable and community-based work, acting as a reminder of their achievements and of their responsibility to represent the Olympic values in everyday life.

Other notable recipients of the award are IOC President Thomas Bach, who won gold for West Germany in the fencing team event at the Montreal 1976 Olympics, British gold medal-winning swimmer Adam Peaty and four-time ice hockey gold medallist Hayley Wickenheiser of Canada.