The princess - who is president of the annual festival held in Monte Carlo in January - fearlessly handled the colourful parrot and gushed about the magic of the circus. She said: 'The circus is very special - it's in your blood. You have to be open to accept the magic, and have your eyes light up and become a child again.' The festival was founded by the princess' father Prince Rainier in 1974 and Stephanie took over as president when her father died in April 2005.
However, the 42-year-old princess had a love of the circus long before she inherited the position of festival president.
She spent a few months in 2002 touring round Europe with Swiss elephant trainer Franco Knie, and was briefly married to Portuguese trapeze artist Adans Peres Lopez in 2003.
The International Circus Festival is in Monte Carlo from January 17 to 27 2008.