Jacques and Gabriella of Monaco ignite the boat of Sainte Dévote with their mother
It had been a few weeks since Princess Charlene was new absent subscribers. The wife of the Monegasque head of state reappeared on January 26, 2023 to launch the Sainte-Dévote festivities in the Principality. As has been the case for several years now, it was the young twins of the princely couple who set the beached boat ablaze.
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Princess Charlene returns to Sainte-Dévote
At the very start of 2023, the Princess Charlene attended with her husband the funeral of Bishop Bernard Barsi, the bishop who declared their marriage in 2011. Since then, the princess had disappeared from the radar, despite the main family’s busy schedule throughout January. She had not accompanied Prince Albert II to Athens when he attended the funeral of King Constantine II on January 16, nor in Salem when he attended the funeral of Margrave Max of Baden January 13.
Princess Charlene, 45, also did not attend the many Grimaldi outings to the circus. Throughout the week, Princess Stéphanie, her children but also Charlotte Casiraghi and even Prince Albert II, Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella have performed at the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo.
Princess Charlene, Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella set fire to Saint Devote’s boat
This Thursday, January 26, 2023, the princess charlene ended up going on a public outing with her kids. Princess Charlene, Hereditary Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, both 8 years old, were in charge of kissing the boat of Saint Devote, marking the start of the festivities linked to the patron saint of the Principality. Mélanie-Antoinette Costello de Massy, daughter of Baroness de Massy and granddaughter of Princess Antoinette, was also present at the event.
The feast of Sainte-Dévote is so important for Monegasques that January 27 is a public holiday in Monaco. Princess Charlene, very pious, herself attaches great importance to the saint and participates in the burning of the boat every year. In 2022, she was exceptionally absent, while she was interned in a care establishment. She is therefore also returning to this celebration after her notable absence last year. Princess Caroline then accompanied the twins and Prince Albert.
On January 27, 304, a Corsican Christian named Dévote, persecuted by the Emperor Diocletian, is said to have fled by boat and was stranded on the shore of Monaco. Several legends exist on this subject, in particular one, written by the historiographer of the sovereign prince Honoré II in the 17th century. It is also said that thieves seized the relics of Sainte-Dévote in the Middle Ages. They would have been overtaken by the sea and their boat would have been set on fire.
On the day of Sainte-Dévote, a mass is normally given in the cathedral of Monaco, in the presence of the princely family. The celebrations already begin the evening before. On January 26, the festivities are produced by the lighting of a boat, again in the presence of the main family. For several years, the hereditary prince Jacques and the princess Gabriella have been requisitioned to light the branches on which a boat rests.