The malaise Charlene of Monaco, the princess who did not return
They were to celebrate their 10 years of marriage on the Rock in July, but, stranded in South Africa for medical reasons, she was not there. Enough to revive the rumors about her relationship with Albert II. And to question the happiness of a princess who never seemed comfortable under her crown.
“Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco had to undergo several complicated operations after contracting a serious otolaryngological infection in May,” said the official statement from the Palace of Monaco, released to the press on June 25. “The princess’s medical team asked her not to make the trip to Monaco because the princess still has to undergo further operations and turn around. Here are the reasons, at first glance unassailable, why the forty-something could not logically celebrate her 10 years of marriage, on July 2, with Albert II. Reasons which left perplexed. To pay here is, Charlène would experience strong tensions with her husband For her part, the Daily mail hastens to publish an article on an obscure curse that would affect the Grimaldis: in the 13th century, a young Flemish kidnapped by Rainier I would have avenged herself by throwing a sort of it on her descendants: none would live a happy marriage. At the end of July, Stéphane Bern signs a large paper in Paris Match, with this title, explicit: “Charlene and Albert on the verge of breaking up?”
Since ? Charlene has not returned. She still has to rest from the consequences of her multiple operations, we hear at a time when the princess has again made a round trip to the emergency room of the Netcare Alberlito hospital, in KwaZulu-Natal, after a discomfort in her pavilion of Durban. It must – also – continue to protect rhinos threatened with extinction with its foundation. At the end of August, Albert and their children, Jacques and Gabriella, 6, went to visit him on his land, where, according to German journalists from Bunté, she has long been looking for a house near Johannesburg. On Instagram, she posts reassuring messages – “I am so happy to see my family again” – but hardly convincing. A photo of the couple published on August 25, shifty looks and tight embrace, instills doubt.
In video, Charlène and Albert of Monaco, 10 years of marriage
Damn marriage
To understand the outbursts of concern of these specialists in crowned heads, we must go back to the beginnings of the marriage of Charlene Wittstock and Albert II of Monaco, the South African swimming champion and heir to the Monegasque throne. She, an athlete-star in her country, is nicknamed “a blonde with a brain” by the national press. He, twenty years older, has been single for too long.
At the end of June 2011, therefore, at the dawn of the long-awaited wedding on the Rock, the site of The Express affirm that the 33-year-old fiancee allegedly tried to fly to go home. He also claimed that she was “intercepted” by the Nice airport police, at the request of relatives of the main family. Yes the proofs are immediately contested by Albert de Monaco’s lawyer, Thierry Lacoste, who speaks then of “media delirium”, the image of a fleeing princess and badly in her place, will stay, and settle down. “Many had this impression of an arranged marriage, it’s true,” remembers Philippe Delorme, historian specializing in monarchies, authors of Most beautiful hours of the Grimaldis and Monaco (ed. Pandora’s Box). From the so publicized D-Day, the most dubious will remember this moment when Charlene leaves her bouquet in the small Sainte-Devote chapel, before bursting into tears.
In the shoes of Grace Kelly
Since then, no more sobs or police interventions, but an often melancholy look and many absences. “No one has ignored for years that Charlène, as soon as she can, flees protocol, dividing her time between the Provencal refuge of Roc Agel, offered by Rainier to Grace, a house in Corsica, on loan from friends, and vacation in Turkey. When she lingers on the Rock, it is not at the Palace that she resides but at Place de la Visitation, above the Monaco chocolate factory, in the former apartment of Princess Stéphanie, placed at her disposal ” , wrote Stéphane Bern in Paris Match. Isolation would be a way for the former champion to remain herself, to refuse the mold that has yet been offered to her on a silver platter: that of Grace Kelly, to whom she resembles so much. Like her, she has Germanic ancestry. Like her, she is tall and sculptural, blonde and diaphanous. “Albert chose a wife who looks a lot like his mother, and Charlene probably felt very uncomfortable in this role of” Grace Kelly “that we wanted her to play”, decrypts Philippe Delorme. “As Karl Marx says, history repeats itself, the first time like a tragedy, the second time like a farce.”
Rebellious princess
Charlene, no doubt, did not want to laugh. She tried hard to follow what was expected of her, swapping her sporty look for that of a princess; doing some cosmetic surgery touch-ups. But the mold quickly cracked. His changes of look were more adventurous, more rock – a neon yellow biker jacket at the 2020 Tour de France, a beret and black leather gloves during the Christmas holidays of the same year … – and his hairstyles – long , courteous, platinum blonde, mini bangs … – much more engaged. His latest hair transformation, a “half-hawk” inspired by the Mohawk Indians, a sort of bowl cut on one side, shaved head on the other, remains the greatest daring ever seen in a crowned head.
A bit like Melania Trump during her husband’s presidential term, Charlene of Monaco expresses herself as best she can, with camouflage suits (worn in her last photos with Albert) and tribal winks. But until when ? How long will she be able to keep away from her children and her homework? Until when can the fight against rhino poaching remain the priority of the Princess of Monaco? Until when will Albert II of Monaco endure this affront which borders on the ridiculous? What had we promised Charlene Wittstock to accept this role that she ultimately never liked? What exactly does she want? Or what does she not want? This is the question … which traverses the Rock. And around.