Rumors abound about Princess Charlene of Monaco, who has not stepped foot inside the principality of Monaco in six months. Charlene has been in South Africa, and the story everyone is going with is that she’s recovering from an ENT infection, one which required multiple surgeries and hospitalizations. I’ve heard commenters, casual observers and Monaco-watchers spin conspiracies that something else is going on, either with Charlene and Prince Albert’s marriage, or with Charlene’s health specifically. I tend to listen more to the marriage drama conspiracies. I think if Charlene was battling some other illness, they would simply make it public. It’s especially odd because whenever Albert is asked about Charlene and her health these days, he makes it sound like she’s ready to come back to Monaco ASAP. Here’s Albert’s most recent update:
Prince Albert is giving an update about wife Princess Charlene’s long-awaited return to Monaco. Speaking to RMC radio, Prince Albert shared that Charlene “is still in South Africa, but will be back very soon, we have to talk to the doctors in a few days.”
“She is better,” he added, “it was also complicated for her because different problems affected her.”
Princess Charlene has remained in her home country of South Africa for several months as doctors addressed an infection that developed after a previous ENT surgery. The Monaco Palace said the royal went to the hospital on September 1 after collapsing “due to complications from the severe ear, nose and throat infection she contracted in May,” according to the U.K.’s Express.
Prince Albert, 63, told PEOPLE in September that his wife’s return to Monaco “depends on what her doctors say,” adding that she’s said it could possibly be “late October.”
When I covered Charlene’s most recent Instagram photo, I said she “looks healthier,” and I stand by it. She looked really sick just five weeks ago, immediately following a lengthy surgery. Am I saying that she looks fully recovered and back to 100% health? Of course not. She’s clearly still struggling with something. But it is curious that she hasn’t returned to Monaco, and if she doesn’t get on a plane soon, all hell is going to break loose in the European media.
Photos courtesy of Charlene’s Instagram, Avalon Red.
I’ve been in the camp of “she’s never going back to Monaco” for a while now but now I’m wondering – this is so strange, that maybe what’s being reported is the truth – she traveled to SA for charity work, had an infection so couldn’t fly home when scheduled, the infection got worse, she needed surgery, that didn’t go well, and now she’s doing a lot better and so they’re talking about flying her home?
It just seems like too bizarre a cover story to be fake at this point.
I think both can be true–she’s unwell, and she wants out of her arranged marriage.
I cannot imagine Princess Charlene leaving her kids.
I leaning towards Occam’s Razor too. But then why is Albert pushing for her return? Is Charlene not telling him the truth? She does not look well enough to travel back to Monaco in the pictures presented to her subjects.
She does not look better. In the photos from the summer she was at least standing, now she is seated, slumped against a table for support. She looks positively skeletal, clearly very ill and I would not even know she was the same person if this article did not tell me so.
And it’s a blurry photo. I can’t help but think that’s deliberate, she’s so unwell that they wanted not to put that in focus. Poor thing.
She looks too thin and frail. She had the swimmer’s build with strong shoulders from her swimmer’s days. Remember when she did that cycling thing? Not that long ago. There was something unspoken about that too, it had an unusual mission feel to it. I wonder if she started feeling ill then and was using the cardio to energize and get endorphins. She has lost mass, I am just hoping she is getting adequate care and can have daily chats with her children- that is what I would do.
It is surprising that Albert can make room in his busy actress-groping schedule to bother pronouncing on his wife’s condition. Personally, I think the marriage is wholly over. The poor woman has been frantically miserable for a decade. Their respective lawyers are probably drawing up an agreement whereby they can divorce and she has adequate access to her children. I think she’s also very ill indeed. She has the skeletal, translucent aspect of so many I have known with cancer.
Sod the european media. She looks very ill. She should take all the time to recover her health and fly back to Monacho. Albert should be rearranging his agenda in order to spend more time in SA with her.
Her kids are covid risks for her if she’s really that unwell. It may be to protect her. They are too young to be vaccinated.
Yeah that’s my thinking too. When my father-in-law was terminally ill mother-in-law wouldn’t have kids visit at all, no exceptions, she would not take the risk. That was pre covid and she was worried about colds or any little bugs kids may have. I hope whatever is going on with Charlene that she has support from family and friends for her recovery.
I think she is having chemo and wanted to do it at her home in SA and try to have less press. She looks thin and puffy, her hair is covered up in hats and headbands, she fit her hair short right before. I’ve seen people go through chemo and she had the same symptoms. I truly hope she heals and gets back to her kids and has the support she needs.
I think so too. I wonder if she has throat cancer or something? That way they can call it an ENT issue and that’s technically true while sounding less severe. That would also make her severely immunocompromised and very unsafe to travel even before COVID.
I really hope not, but I’ve been think that for some time.
Yes, I agree. She looks like she’s undergoing cancer treatment.
No matter what happened, I hope she’s finally healing. Although rare, severe ENT infections can lead to potentially dangerous complications if the infection spreads to your eyes or god forbid your brain. It can lead to redness, reduced vision, even blindness. Her eyes have actually looked weird in the last couple of photographs. If it spreads into the brain it can cause dangerous conditions like meningitis or a brain abscess which would require surgery and a long convalescence, so I don’t actually think she’s been there plotting her divorce or recovering from a bad face-lift as some have speculated.
I had sphingoid sinus infection. It was scary – this sinus is deep in your skull and very close to crucial brain structures. I had visual disturbances and felt terrible. Not every sinusitis is only runny nose and pain in foreahead.
Having said that, I sadly think she is undergoing some sort of chemo or other difficult treatment. She looks fragile and so so sad. I hope she’ll recover and has some privacy because I would hate it if I had to explain to the whole world what is wrong with me.
Eek! How scary! Yes, she does look fragile and it could very well be she’s on some heavy-duty medications for something other than ENT issues. I wish her well.
Oh God! Can’t they just get a fake Charlene? Remember there were fake Melanias and that basically worked for Melania? Why can’t Charlene’s people to do that too? It may literally save her life. Leave the poor woman alone.
Charlene looks frail. I dont think her mariage is strong because of alberts shenanigans, but definitely mental health during covid – the fact the being a royal is already very isolating, if she could see her regular family, people during covid, that could very much affect one. She needed to unstress herself, be free in her country with family friends and a cause that she loves.