Princess Charlene of Monaco reappears… in the manga “Blitz”
“Back to the Palace soon?” “, “A very long absence”, “The mystery of the princess”… For months, people magazines have been lost in conjectures on the “disappearance” of Princess Charlene of Monaco. Leaving in March 2021 for her native country, South Africa, the ex-swimming champion stayed there for eight months. Official reason for this absence: health concerns and in particular an ENT infection, requiring several surgeries. Since then, after a brief return to the principality in November, she has disappeared again, heading for Switzerland to rest. This Friday, she signs a return in an unexpected form: Charlène becomes a manga heroine in “Blitz”, a Franco-Japanese comic strip on the subject of chess.
The appearance is, it must be admitted, rather brief. Four pages where the princess, elegant and dark glasses on her nose, goes with her bodyguard to the Casino de Monte-Carlo to give a conference. There she meets two children who are impatiently awaiting the next chess tournament in the principality…
A participation that she fully approved and that she even commented on, in writing, for Le Parisien. “I am delighted with the release of the sixth volume of Blitz, magnificently sublimated by Garry Kasparov and drawn by Daitaro Nishihara. The idea of participating in the adventure Blitz immediately seduced me and I thank Cédric Biscay (screenwriter and creator) for inviting me to discover the world of manga”, namely the princess, from her place of retirement, via her publisher.
“She could see the boards and she didn’t ask for any changes”
“I have been seeing the princess for a few years. We are both rugby lovers and we had a few discussions around the oval ball. She has already agreed to sponsor the festival Magic on pop culture that I organize in the principality. Of course, I asked his agreement to make it appear in Blitz and I went through the protocol route. It was about a year ago. She immediately accepted. Later, she was able to see the boards and she didn’t ask for any changes,” says Cédric Biscay, 42, business manager based in Monaco and so passionate about manga that he wanted to create his own, with the complicity of Garry Kasparov, the legendary chess champion.
Always in search of good ideas, this boss of Shibuya Production is not at his first attempt with the main family. In June 2021, Prince Albert played the manga hero in volume IV of “Blitz”. He was also “delighted” with it. “When the action takes place in Monaco, I think it’s natural and cool to be able to integrate the principality’s highest personalities into the story,” he explains. Nothing to do with broadcast media possible? “It can undoubtedly help to publicize the manga, but it’s not a commercial. To include current events characters in a manga, I find that it gives credibility to the genre, too often considered as something for kids, ”defends Cédric Biscay.
Moreover, he will admit it and always with their agreement, he would like to be able again, for the next volumes, to use the image of the prince and the princess “if the scenario requires it”. In the meantime, the screenwriter hopes very soon, as he had done with Albert, to give Charlène original boards. When ? “As soon as he gets back…” he blurts out, a bit fatalistic.
“Blitz”, volume VI by Cédric Biscay and Daitaro Nishibara, Iwa. Released February 25. 226 pages. 7.95 euros.