Throughout the past year, I’ve remarked on the fact that Princess Charlene seems almost happy these days. She has Resting Sadface, for sure, but she seems relatively content with her situation, especially following her hospitalization and treatment in Switzerland in 2021-early 2022. Now, do I believe that Charlene and Albert have a healthy or loving marriage? No. I don’t, but I’ve assumed that they’ve worked out some kind of arrangement over the past 18 months, one which pleases Charlene and gives her some kind of peace. Back in March, Charlene and Albert formally denied that they had separated… but new European reporting suggests that they are living separate lives and it’s totally fine with them.
Princess Charlene of Monaco is ‘living in Switzerland’ and only sees her husband Prince Albert for ceremonial reasons, reports in German and French media have claimed. The royal, 45, has spent the summer of a yacht trip with her 65-year-old husband and their twins Jacques and Gabriella, eight. But she has not returned to the Palace and is living in abroad, fuelling speculation about the state of the marriage.
A source close to the couple told French newspaper Voici that the former Olympic swimmer and son of Grace Kelly are just a ‘ceremonial couple’.
The report adds that Charlene has promised to return to Monaco on official occasions and is now allowed to see her children more often. Albert and Charlène are now good partners, take turns taking care of the children,’ a source added to German newspaper Bild.
I don’t know, this sounds reasonable to me? Like, I totally believe that Charlene spends much of the year away from Albert, either at the “summer home” or in Switzerland. But she returns to Monaco for events and they’ve worked out some kind of lowkey custodial arrangement with their kids. This whole three-year episode with Charlene has been such a question mark, but she’s come out of it looking healthy and happy – whatever arrangement they have, it’s working.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco at the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey, London.,Image: 774175673, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Matthews / Avalon
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- Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Princess Charlene arrives for the Coroation at Westminster Abbey, London, England, UK on Saturday 6 May, 2023.,Image: 774190642, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- NO TABLOID – TT.SS.HH. Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, King of Malaysia Abdullah Shah, Andrea Casiraghi, President of FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayem, attend the prizes ceremony of the 80th Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco won by Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso finished 2nd and Esteban Ocon is 3rd.,Image: 779904563, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Olivier Huitel / Avalon
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- NO TABLOID. 80th Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco Gala. TT. SS. HH. Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco attend the 80th Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco Gala.,Image: 780011295, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Olivier Huitel / Avalon
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- NO TABLOID. 80th Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco Gala. TT. SS. HH. Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco attend the 80th Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco Gala.,Image: 780011577, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Olivier Huitel / Avalon
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- NO TABLOID. 80th Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco National Anthem Ceremony. TT.SS.HH. Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco attend the 80th Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco National Anthem Ceremony with Andrea Casiraghi, King Abdullah Shah of Malaysia and all the drivers before the start of the race.,Image: 780012263, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO TABLOID, Model Release: no, Credit line: POOL / Avalon
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- The Monaco Red Cross Ball Gala. Featuring: Princess Charlene of Monaco Where: Monte-Carlo, Monaco When: 29 Jul 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NO TABLOIDS.**
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- The Monaco Red Cross Ball Gala. Featuring: Prince Albert II of Monaco, Princess Charlene of Monaco Where: Monte-Carlo, Monaco When: 29 Jul 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NO TABLOIDS.**
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- The Monaco Red Cross Ball Gala. Featuring: Prince Albert II of Monaco, Princess Charlene of Monaco, Camille Gottlieb Where: Monte-Carlo, Monaco When: 29 Jul 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NO TABLOIDS.**
‘Is now allowed to see her children more often” is perhaps one of the saddest sentences ever written.
That hit me as well but I really do think she’s had some serious mental health issues (also caused by being an hostage) and her visitation rights are probably supervised. Albert is definitely still the primary parent imo. I feel so bad for her and the kids.
Albert is using the children to control and manipulate her. That doesn’t sound like a good arrangement to me.
Yeah! That speaks volums.
Sometimes I hear from moms that their spouses really changed when the baby came. That is so sad.
But this one, she saw it coming from before the wedding. She saw the trainwreck starting before it happened and was forced to go along for the entire thing any way.
That’s a whole other level of ow.
Sometimes I hear from moms that their spouses really changed when the baby came. That is so sad.
But this one, she saw it coming from before the wedding. She saw the trainwreck starting before it happened and was forced to go along for the entire thing any way.
That’s a whole other level of ow.
Sad and sinister. This can’t be a good situation. It sounds like he’s broken her in.
Albert is a notorious tool. This girl tried to flee her wedding only to be dragged back. I hope she is healthy and if they have an arrangement that is best for her mental health then good for her. He is trash with a quasi-title. I have said for years the only time I see her smile is when she is celebrating on podium with the F1 winners each year. The year she was absent I knew she wasn’t well. Good health to her & her children
Being kidnapped and held hostage will tend to destroy your mental health. As will a forced marriage.
@BrassyRebel… completely agree. I have felt bad for her since she was dragged back to the palace. The poor dear looked on the verge of tears (not happy) in every wedding photo I saw.
@Snappyfish, Not just on the verge of tears. She was openly crying during the ceremony. It was awful to watch.
I wonder if William is getting any ideas.
🙌 …… had same thoughts.
So while the French and German papers are reporting this, I wonder if it will ever be outright reported in the Monaco papers. It seems most people would just shrug at this point but I don’t actually know what it’s like in Monaco.
Royalty seems increasingly bad for women’s mental health. Stay free, Charlene.
Indeed.
Everything you just said ThatsNotOkay. This story has always made me sad. From the stories about how she wanted out on her wedding day to today’s headlines. I’m glad she is able to be away from him and it explains why she looks more relaxed lately.
It sure is 😱
Between Diana, Meghan and now Charlène, it makes you wonder how hard of a time royal princes will have finding quality wives. Any woman of substance would run for the hills these days.
But she’s not actually free, is she? Charlene is still tied to that tool, forever at his beck and call simply due to his own selfishness and controlling narcissistic personality.
Charlene will never be free until she allowed to be free from his control.
yes, for females that marry into the royal family. They are seen as providing an heir and nothing more. Rare are instances of love and respect.
For some arab countries, even being BORN into royalty is bad for their mental health and physical safety. And please see the actual mental breakdowns that the wives of Japan’s emperors have gone through. It is tragic.
I believe this story. I always believed that part of the reason why Charlene stayed so long in South Africa during the pandemic is she was negotiating a new deal with Albert.
Maybe, but she truly did not look well in some of the picture released to the media when Albert went to visit her with the kids when she was in South Africa. In the awkward embrace picture, Albert looked like he was holding her up and she notably was only sitting in the other pictures with her kids while Albert remained standing. There were no pictures of her standing on her own unassisted. She looked very thin and unwell in those pictures. It was also around the same time she had that weird shaved haircut. I always thought it was odd that Albert stayed away for so long with the kids, he clearly could be there with her and the kids could have spent the whole summer break there with her. The only reason they wouldn’t have is maybe due to her weak physical and mental health? The whole thing was so strange and I don’t think we’ll ever fully know what happened.
She has put on some weight either because of medication or finally feeling like she can choose to live her life the way she wants (within some negotiated restriction). Whatever agreement they reached she seems the better for it, he does too. Tool or not, he’s Albert, and he can also be charming, and seems to have comported himself through all of this as an adult. Charlene, like a certain Waity should have known to some extent what she was in for, which tells me she was mentally fragile likely before even the engagement, let alone the runaway bride moment, followed up by the saddest wedding in royal history. Here’s to happiness for them all in whatever form.
Old unsolved issues between these two. Charlene even ran away the day before their wedding and was stopped last minute at the airport to avoid a diplomatic embarrassment for Monaco.
Charlene initially thought she was marrying into a fairytale but quickly realized she was selected to breed the next heir. Albert has long preferred women of color but his racially prejudiced father Rainier drastically forbade him from marrying Nicole Coste, the love of his life. As a result, Albert unconvincingly picked the tallest, whitest, blondest woman he could find to please daddy and not be thrown of the line of succession.
Problem: Albert kept doing what Albert knows to do best, meaning making children out of the wedlock (there’s another hidden child, besides Jasmine Grace and Alexandre). When she learned about it, Charlene tried to fly back to South Africa but the Albert Police had been instructed to confiscate her passport and take her back to the palace, so that the wedding could take place.
Charlene’s psychiatric meltdown intensified when she found out Albert was still seeing Nicole. That’s when she started treating Alexandre (Albert’s & Nicole’s son) in a discriminatory manner that led Nicole to call her out publicly.
In other words, Kate Middleton is aware that she has 2 options – indulging in William’s Albert lifestyle or ending up an emotional wreck like Charlene. The only Royals who are sincerely in love are the Scandinavians and the Jordans. The rest are just make-believe.
And Spain’s royals? They seem legit.
I almost mentioned Felipe and Letizia but I realized that it all started as a genuine love story, until Letizia started giving Felipe a bit of a headache.
Letizia is super controlling and a dominatrix momanager at heart (at some point, retired Queen Sofia wasn’t allowed access to her granddaughters. Her order lasted for about 2 years). It reached a point when Spanish women started screaming abuse at Letizia out in the streets of Madrid.
Letizia was filmed telling her husband the king to “get the fuck away” from her. And then pretending like nothing had happened.
Letizia was filmed quarreling in public with her stepmother, whom she hates dearly. King Felipe’s facial expression was indescribable.
Letizia is not very much loved in Spain, and dying her hair brown when everybody knew her as an original blondie, just to Hilaria-Baldwin melt into the Spaniard features, contributes to the general dislike.
Queen Letizia is relatively unloved but very respected because king Felipe made it clear to his parents and the nation that she would be the non-negotiable part of his private and public life. He has affairs, not because he fell out of love, but because at the end of the day, he needs a gentle woman without a temper. Their arrangement works well.
I like Letizia.
What’s the best word for this? Codswallop. Or cotilleando, which is obviously where you came from.
Letizia was attacked from the start by an aristocracy-obsessed weirdo who started an entire website just to hate on her. That site is filled with sexists and misogynists who think a woman should be seen and not heard. People who think a woman with a successful career cannot be the ‘gentle’ woman her husband wants. She and Felipe are rock solid.
As for her disliking her MIL? That bitch was grabbing at Letizia’s child for a photo op while the child was pulling away. Sofia, who supports her criminal husband and criminal daughter, is the one at fault here. FFS, Inaki and Cristina were exchanging sexist disgusting emails about Letizia using the official email for their criminal ‘charity’. Letizia is the best adult human in that family.
No doubt Felipe feels guilty for all the years he didn’t stand up and protect his wife against his parents and sisters. Letizia wasn’t allowed to do any foreign work because Sofia was jealous of her popularity. Her local work was strictly controlled by the ex-king, to keep her in the shadows and stop his wife Sofia from b!tching at him.
As for being a micromanager? She’s a Virgo. She does things the way she thinks they should be done. Birthday triplets with Harry and Daniel of Sweden.
@sugarhere Oh FFS. I’m not a fan of Letizia or any of the Spanish Royals, but this is ridiculous.
Letizia happened to have an opinion and personality, which Sofia disliked because she was bred to be the silent, royal wife to a king and wanted the same type of wife for her son. It had been rumoured for years that Sofia never liked any of Felipe’s girlfriends, especially the ones that weren’t aristocrats.
Once her husband was forced to abdicate because his financial scandals couldn’t be hidden anymore, Sofia found herself behind Letizia in order of preference. Letizia who was a commoner, while Sofia belongs to the “Greek Royal Family” who clings to the non-existent royal titles because there’s nothing more important to them. Of course she was going to dislike it and her even more.
And Sofia’s behaviour in those famous photos with the Infantas was bad. The girls were clearly not interested in having their grandmother force them to pose with her. Letizia, the girls’ mother, supported her kids. Of course every single stuck up royalist who has hated Letizia for years shouted at her, that’s what they do. Nobody I talked to about it thought Letizia was in the wrong, but then nobody I talked to about it would be caught dead going to gawk at the Royals.
Sometimes it’s annoying how many people like Letizia here, but Sofia?? Sofia who, along with her husband, happily collaborated with a dictatorship? Come on!
@nota & @ace, I totally cosign with what you are saying about Letizia. @sugarhere, please take a step away from the screen, go for a walk, maybe have some coffee, and then come back and look critically at what you’ve written about both Charlene and Letizia. Your posts read like they are straight from the worst of the trashy Royal fanzines.
Charlene, Letizia and Meghan. Three women trashed by their local press/people and seemingly hated by those that didn’t think any of them were worthy of marrying their husbands. They all three were subjected to undermining by their husband’s family members and none of their husbands took the kind of stands early on that they should have. For example standing up and yelling at their family members and the Press NO this is not going to be tolerated you are going to treat my wife with respect (Harry tried for a brief moment prior to their marriage but it was shot down by his family – Albert talks to the Press but it is more like “nothing to see here”). Instead, all three women fruitlessly tried to work within the dysfunctional systems. In Monaco, Princess Caroline is the new Antoinette (who Grace finally had to kick out of the palace because her husband didn’t have the balls to do it). In Spain, prior posters have stated very well the jealousies, insecurities and snobbishness of Sophia (add to that the vicious, rapid nature of their tabloid press). Then we have Meghan. I don’t think I need to go into all of the horrible ways that the Royal family tried to keep Meghan out, sabotaged her, set the deranged tabloid press on her and essentially drove her to nearly killing herself. Your post, @sugarhere, smacks of the deranged and hateful things said by the polluted tabloid press about these women. Things said about them with no rational basis. Like, Felipe needs a “gentle woman,” WTF? Misogyny, thy name is Royal fandom. Please try to do better.
A bitch? For trying to take a photo! Really? No one I know would have said the behavior fine. It got nothing but negative articles for a child. I’m glad she’s doing well Pr. Leonor. I don’t know about the traveling if it was her, because many of the other heirs don’t travel much either. Juan Carlos was King. But yeah, blame the woman.
Ex-Queen Sofia is a bitch. She grabbed hold of her granddaughter, dragged her around, and was posing her for pictures. Clearly her granddaughter wanted nothing to do with her but that didn’t stop Sofia wanting the limelight again. Sofia chose to publicly support her criminal daughter and SIL against Letizia too.
Other heirs wives were allowed foreign positions with places like the UN. Maxima with microfinance, Mette-Marit with AIDS, Mary with the Population Fund, Mathilde with UNICEF and the WHO, etc.
Letizia was not allowed any foreign placements, nor was she allowed any solo foreign trips until her husband became king. Her local work was also severely limited to keep her from getting good press and getting attention instead of jealous Sofia.
ex-king J-C wanted Sofia and Cristina off his back so he sidelined Letizia. So yes, I do blame those bitches for what was done to Letizia.
And W-A and Maxima in Netherlands! Those two genuinely seem to have a built happy healthy relationship and a likewise happy healthy family. I think it helps that both are smart, professional people who didn’t spend two decades gadding about drinking crack babies.
@Garrity. Agreed. They are Scandinavians, aren’t they? My geography sucks a bit.
Actually, that would be Denmark, Norway and Sweden. I can’t attest how happy the Scandi royals are in their marriages, but they seem more normal than what we see going on with the other families. At least their dirty laundry isn’t publicly aired.
The Netherlands are not a part of Scandinavia. But W-A and Maxima does come across as a very loving couple. Honestly, W-A always looks at her like he cannot believe that she picked him!
The Scandinavian royals seems as happy marriages but of course we don’t know anything real about their private lies. However, I remain very skeptical about anonymous people posting divorce and cheating rumours.
I do know think that Margrethe II and Prince Henrik had a bit of a strange marriage – due to his resentments about his position, both in terms of him being a consort to a ruling Queen but also him being resentful that his son had higher rank. I think that chafed this very patriarchal French man. Then there are the rumous about his sexuality as well.
ArtHistorian, Henrik struck me as sexually fluid. I think he loved Margrethe but had other relationships too. She clearly adored him. I remember a photo from a few years before his dementia was diagnosed. They were walking along a street side-by-side and Margrethe was reaching out to pat his bum affectionately.
Albert’s father died in 2005. He could have married anyone he wanted.
In theory, he could, but not in practice, because Rainier enforced the law precluding any child born out of the wedlock from inheriting the throne, meaning Alexandre – who is biracial – coul never have become Prince of Monaco. He would have to relinquish the throne and yield it to Caroline’s first born son.
Albert likely could’ve changed the law. Rainer himself was only on the throne because his mother was legitimized. And his grandfather didn’t even marry the woman. The monagasque monarchs are pretty absolute.
And he could’ve done it for alexandre just like Rainer’s mother Charlotte. Caroline’s children were legitimized in the eyes of the church when she finally got her annulment.
Exactly, BQM. Albert could have changed the law. He could have married Alexandre’s mother after his father passed and retroactively made his son legitimate. The Catholic Church will do anything for the Monaco royals in exchange for a large enough donation.
The Dutch and Belgian royal couples are solid. Unlike their parents who were/are *messy*.
The Jordanians? Maybe the King and Queen.
The heir pair? She’s a Saudi-connected political marriage, a second cousin of Murderous Bin Salman. Abdullah II is keeping his western allies close while allying (behind their backs) with the Saudi royal family.
😘 @Arthistorian, 💕@Feeshalori: I’m learning quite a number of things reading your posts, thanks! The way you interact – to agree, disagree, or amend information – is a testament to your respect for others, manners and deep understanding that gossip is, after all, a social skill for the civilized.
The European monarchies are more laid-back and less protocol-oriented, hence the greater success of their marriages. England seems to favor etiquette over personal fulfillment.
The king’s brother sought the Saudi’s help in an attempted coup in 2021. Abdullah needed to assure that alliance.
If they’re living separately, there’s no “staying together for the kids”, so is it just Catholicism that’s preventing a straightforward divorce? Like disobeying the Church’s teachings on divorce would undermine the whole concept of the “divine right of kings”?
Pretty much. To get around the whole Catholicism thing, Henry 8th invented a new Christian denomination in the UK. I guess having the marriage “annulled” for (fill in the blank) reasons (the normal way to get out of traditional Catholic marriages) would make Albert lose face somehow? Therefore, the pretense.
Having a marriage annulled makes the children from the marriage bastards (for lack of a better word) so, no, there’s more at stake than Albert losing face.
That’s not fact.
Albert and Charlene married in a civil union as well as a Catholic wedding. Their religious marriage has no standing in Monaco law. If they get a legal divorce, the children remain legally legitimate.
If they seek a Catholic annulment? One of the many games the Catholic Church plays around that? The kids remain legitimate. They were born ‘legitimate’ to the Catholic Church in a Catholic marriage. Even if the marriage is annulled, the kids remain legitimate.
I wonder why he didn’t simply buy her a mansion in one of the beautiful villages outside of Monaco instead of her relocating to Switzerland. They could have kept up the farce of being together and she could see her children more regularly. I feel sorry for those kids.
Relocating to Switzerland, far from his infidelities, was HER decision. She tried to settle back to Monaco but too many hurtful memories.
My take is that she picked Switzerland because her medical team of psys, those who helped her back to her feet, are Swiss. Switzerland is known for handling celebrity issues with discretion and it has the highest living standards on earth. Additionally, the Alps mountains and the whole geography of the land are very sought-after by the rich and mighty who wish to shelter their privacy.
That was pretty much Albert’s mother’s existence. Princess Grace lived most of the time in France while Ranier ho-d around Monaco with god knows whom. So parents living seperately is Albert’s norm. It’s how he grew up.
It is just so sad when you see an unhealthy cycle repeated by the new generation.
She has that new boyfriend glow about her. Looking good.
All of these stories of women marrying the Crown or marrying one close to it blows to bits the Princess Diaries/Hallmark movies/ Cinderella fantasies that some women be they would be able to handle if the prince had picked them. Monarchies and principalities are steeped in centuries of tradition and still being dragged into the the 21st century. Meghan is lucky to escape with her prince Harry to forge a modern life.
Is Meghan really lucky to escape with a prince who was conditioned into royalty and all their racist ways. It’s not easy living with someone who has so much to understand, unpack and work on just to be a better human being. All the trauma Meghan and Harry experienced it’s good that they remain bonded and work as a team. I do not envy Meghan at all, I feel for her and wish her well. Reading about Char being allowed to see her kids and having to settle for what many consider freedom. I don’t think she has freedom. Different cage with further away control being exerted on her. All these outdated monarchies need to go. They’re doing the tax payer no favors and are unnecessary burdens on society.
Spot on! Well said
He definitely gives her ‘the ick’ for sure. She can’t stand the sight of him.
Letizia put up with a lot from the public and her in-laws. A lot of people would have crumbled under such treatment. I’m glad she finally getting good press, even if its just internationally. If Felipe is having affairs because he wants a gentler woman, that says everything about him and nothing about her. A “gentler” woman wouldn’t have survived that family.
Ula, I think any talk of Felipe affairs are lies straight from that misogynistic c-name hate forum.
There’s a sweet quote from Willem-Alexander about how when he met Maxima he knew that even the royal duties he used to find boring would be fun if she was with him, and it seems to be true!
I think Christian of Denmark is the only European male heir of his generation? Hopefully the media will be kinder to his future partner and whoever the Crown Princesses marry.
There’s a new male heir in that generation, the 3-year-old cutie Prince Charles of Luxembourg.
This sounds like it’s better for Charlene.
We met Albert 30 years ago when my son was rowing at Vesper Boat Club (founded by his great grandfather John Kelly). He was very nice and unpretentious “I’m Al. Very nice to meet you”. He invited my son and his wife to a couple of F1 events in Monaco and treated them literally like royalty.
I know he has a history of putting his d*ck in too many places, but I have a bit of a soft spot for him and his sisters. They always seemed like very sad people.
Losing their mom when they were still relatively young was so hard on them. Poor Stephanie-she really seems like she’s had a rough life.
No wonder Charlene has seemed more at peace for awhile now. She’s living far away from her captor/husband. I have no idea why he had to enslave a woman to be his wife. Were there no Waity Keens all over him like dear William had with Khate? Surprised that he had to trap a woman literally to marry him. Where are all the gold diggers? I refuse to believe that Albert is worse than William and William was kind of long-term trapped by Khate (role reversal there).
So, a Catholic divorce.
And if they’re co-parenting well, and everyone is happy and healthy, more power to them.
I’m afraid Charlene is not happy. She simply seems to have made peace with Albert and the wonky situation: she’s legally authorized to have the twins (when in Monaco only), in exchange for making appearances as the Prince’s wife at official meetings.
That’s what happened last July at the Red Cross Gala when Charlene had to quietly face Albert’s other lady and suck it up. Nicole was innocently wearing the reddest dress for the occasion. The union is a sentimental desert with contractual obligations and financial perks for Charlene. End of the fairy tale.
That sounds like William and Kate’s marriage.Ceremonial.
Remember when marrying royalty was seen as a desirable thing to be envied?