Since we met Charlene from Monaco back in 2006 after meeting and falling in love with the prince Albert of Monaco at the Winter Olympics in Turin (Italy), many have described her as the unhappy princess on numerous occasions. Just a couple of weeks ago, an official statement announced that the Monegasque princess would retire for a time from public life. “Their Serene Highnesses have decided that a period of calm and rest necessary to guarantee the best recovery of the health of princess charlene“They explained in the press release. But since when has Charlene been on everyone’s lips for her sadness? What is the chronology of this withdrawal that seemed advertised for fifteen years?
When Charlene wittstock began an affair with Alberto de Monaco she was a professional swimmer who had participated at the 2000 Sydney Olympics as a member of the relay team and had won some championships in South Africa, his home country. For its part, the monegasque prince it was one of the golden singles Europeans and many wondered then why he had not yet married at 48 years old, something unusual among royals. Alberto officially introduced Charlène during the Formula 1 Grand Prix in May 2006 and four years later they got engaged, a time when Charlene She had to convert to Catholicism (she was a Protestant) and also had to learn French and everything related to the highest level of protocol to be able to integrate into the most popular Monegasque family on the planet. As an engagement ring, Alberto gave his fiancée a pear-shaped three-carat diamond surrounded by small diamonds designed by the Parisian jeweler Repossi, one of the most famous among the European aristocracy.
Runaway girlfriend?
On July 1, 2011 their wedding was celebrated in two days, a civil ceremony in the Palace Throne Room Grimaldi, and another religious that was attended by members of all the royal houses as well as characters from the world of show business and fashion such as the model Naomi campbell or the designer (and intimate of Carolina de Monaco) Karl Lagerfeld. The bride wore a classic mermaid cut Giorgio Armani design. But days before their marriage, the first rumors began to appear about the discomfort of the athlete in the Monegasque house. For Charlene being in the spotlight (and a lot of criticism and malicious comments) was never something she accepted naturally. Comparisons with the princess Grace of Monaco, Alberto’s mother and the former actress and Rainier’s wife, for her beauty and elegance and even the supposed jealousy that she could have caused in some members of the family.
According to the weekly L’Express, Charlene he allegedly tried to leave the Principality days before the wedding in which, according to the French media, would have been his third attempt to leave there. “Wittstock tried to take refuge in the South African Embassy in May, during a visit to France to prepare the wedding dress,” explained L’Express, adding that he would have also tried to do it “during the Monaco Grand Prix and when he booked a flight only for He went to South Africa and almost made it to the nearby Nice airport in France. ” But “the prince’s entourage found her and tried to persuade her to stay,” said the aforementioned media.
And it seems that during the three days of the wedding, Charlene’s happiness did not improve, who, according to The Guardian, “left the royal chapel where she deposited her bouquet with a trembling upper lip and a tear running down her cheek. While wiping her tears with a handkerchief, Prince Albert begged him between whispers: “Don’t cry, don’t cry.” From the Associated Press they spoke of “the downcast looks almost completely and the tears that flowed freely” on the bride’s face. LaineyGossip went so far as to affirm that supposedly the couple would have spent the honeymoon “not only in separate beds or in separate rooms, but in different hotels.” Of course, the Principality and Prince Albert strictly denied all these rumors.
The sad princess
Always with an eye on Princess Charlene, the Royal Palace announced in 2014 that the couple were expecting twins. At the end of that year they were born Jacques and Gabriella, first children for Charlene but not for Alberto, who has two more children out of wedlock, so they are not within the line of succession to the throne (Alexandre, the result of his relationship with Nicole Coste, and Jasmine grace, from an affair with the American Tamara Jean). Despite the fact that Charlene has always tried to show her best face and smile at public events, there are many moments in which she has even been compared to Lady Di for her sad and lost look on many occasions.
In one of the few interviews that the princess granted to Point de Vue magazine he claimed to be “one thousand percent” with her husband and that he was happy. “There are more or less easy moments, as it happens to everyone. But I am happy as I am, filled with what I live, I know that I am very privileged,” she said. But in 2020, rumors reappeared about the princess’s discomfort, who only attends those events in which her presence is essential. In addition to living a hard time when Alberto was infected with Covid, at the end of last year, Charlene appeared with a new look of the most punk that left no one indifferent. With her hair almost shaved, the princess arrived at the traditional Christmas ceremony with her children and her husband. Her style went around the world and there was much talk about whether it was the most suitable for a princess, comparing it again with the classic elegance of her sister-in-law, Carolina de Mónaco, always impeccable.
Away from it all in South Africa
In January 2021 the most insistent rumors began about an alleged marriage crisis of the couple and even some media even spoke of “imminent divorce”, something that Alberto was in charge of denying. In May, the princess traveled to South Africa, his country of origin, and there he contracted a serious ear and throat infection, something that made him have to undergo surgery on several occasions and that he stayed in the African country longer than expected. Many wanted to see there a way to ‘escape’ the princess from the media noise about her marriage and she did not truly disappear from any kind of public life for months.
“She didn’t leave because she was angry with me or with someone else. He went to South Africa to check on his foundation’s work there and to spend some time with his brother and friends. It was supposed to be a week long stay, ten days maximum, and still still there because of your infection and of all the medical complications that have arisen ”, explained months later the own Albert of Monaco. “He has not gone into exile. It was a medical problem that simply needed treatment. She is ready to go home. She already jokes that she is prepared to become a stowaway on a ship back to Europe, “he added jokingly.
During the summer, her children and her husband flew to Johannesburg to visit her and perhaps give a family image of tranquility and love. “Happy to have my family at home. Gabriella has cut her hair herself … I’m sorry Bella, Mom has done the best she could to fix it,” she wrote sweetly Charlene on Instagram with a photo next to her children and Alberto. Although it was rumored that the princess would return to Monaco after that visit, nothing could be further from the truth. She had to undergo emergency surgery again shortly after her family returned home. “Her Serene Highness, Princess Charlene of Monaco she was rushed to the hospital after fainting due to complications from a severe ENT infection. His Highness is closely followed by his medical team, who commented that his state of health is not worrisome, “they explained from the Palace.
His withdrawal, temporary?
On November 8, Charlene was finally returning to Monaco and it seemed that the princess would resume her schedule with a trip to Dubai with her husband. But this did not happen and just two weeks later it was announced that the South African was temporarily retiring of public life. In an interview with People magazine, her husband wanted to explain what happens to his wife. “Suffers from a severe exhaustion what is nature both emotional and physical “, commented. In addition, he assured that upon his return to Monaco, “things went quite well in the first few hours, and then it became apparent that she was not feeling well. Her current state is the result of various factors that are private matters, but she was clearly exhausted, physically and emotionally. I was overwhelmed and could not cope with official duties, life in general or even family life “.
Prince take the opportunity to deny the crisis rumors in their marriage: “I’m probably going to say this several times, but this has nothing to do with our relationship. I want to make that very clear. These are not problems within our relationship; not with the relationship between husband and wife. It is of a different nature. ”
Where is the princess?
Some media have spoken of an admission to a clinic in Switzerland and others in one on the outskirts of Monaco, but none of these places have been confirmed since the stay of Charlene it is absolutely confidential and private at this time. According to the news portal Birds daily, Charlene was supposedly attending an exclusive clinic in Switzerland and staying in a luxury apartment in Zurich with a limousine and a private chef. “Alberto loves and supports Charlene one hundred percent“, Has expressed his sister-in-law Chantell Wittstock. “Their marriage is strong and they totally support each other. Charlene is not going to live in an apartment alone. She and Alberto have properties all over the place and they stay in different ones depending on where they are needed. I can definitely tell you that if she it will be there with Alberto and his children, “he added.
The princess’s father He has assured that “it is very strong and will recover.” A family friend commented: “Her marriage has weathered many storms and attacks over the years and will certainly continue to do so. I have known Charlene for many years. She is determined to grow stronger and stronger. recover to be able to return to her husband, your children and your obligations. “When he will do it, like his new home, is still a mystery.
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Charlene from Monaco: timeline of an announced withdrawal