Princess Charlene is blasting all of us for thinking she was crying tears of imprisonment on her wedding day! Remember how sad she looked on her wedding day? Remember when she watched the children sing to her and she burst into tears and Albert gave her a “WTF?” look? Remember all of the stories about how Charlene tried to escape Monaco in the days before her wedding, only to have her passport confiscated? Well, Charlene now says that all of those stories are “categorical lies” except… not really. She does say that she was crying “tears of happiness” on her wedding day but she was also overwhelmed and there were “mixed emotions because of the rumors”. Which rumors? That she tried to escape or that the groom had fathered yet another child with some woman and the news broke the day after the wedding?

As she walked down the aisle in a bespoke Armani dress that had taken the Italian atelier an astonishing 2,500 hours to create, Charlene Wittstock, now Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco, looked anything but the happy bride. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she exchanged vows with the principality’s ruler, Prince Albert II, in front of a global audience of millions. But her tears weren’t, as reported, the result of a series of rows over her fiance’s womanising ways and a failed escape attempt in the days leading up to her wedding.

In a rare interview, the South African former swimmer has revealed that they were tears of happiness and has described the speculation as ‘categorical lies’.

‘Everything was just so overwhelming and there were all the mixed emotions because of the rumours, and obviously the tension built up and I burst into tears [immediately after the ceremony]. And then I burst into tears some more because I was thinking “Oh no, now the whole world has seen me cry”‘.

Despite the slew of negative headlines that marred her big day, Europe’s newest royal wife has happy memories of her wedding.

‘It was such a wonderful three days,’ she told the Times Weekend Magazine. ‘Even months afterwards I would get flashbacks and think, “Oh my goodness, did I really have the Eagles playing at my wedding?” I think back and wonder how we managed to pull it off. There was a lot going on. It was beautiful; it was sentimental, showing my most intimate moment to the world.’

Since her 2011 nuptials, Charlene has thrown herself into her new role, building relationships with other European royals and working on her charitable foundation which encourages French and Monégasque children to learn to swim.

‘My cousin drowned when he was five years old,’ she says. ‘He went to swim in a neighbour’s pool and fell in. Thousands of people drown in France every year… and I want to spearhead this water safety project of mine, giving people access to someone to teach them to swim free.’

She’s working on smoothing the gap between the designer clad children of the super-rich and everyone else and is currently setting up a competition that will encourage Monégasque children to design their own school uniforms. She also speaks warmly of her work with Dior designer Raf Simons who recently staged a show in the principality.

‘I worked for two years on that,’ she explains. ‘I had a vision to arrange a fashion show between Cannes Film Festival and the [Monaco] Grand Prix, because everybody is here. I thought it would work out and people would love to see Raf Simons’ line. I mean, he’s the number one designer in the world! I’m still smiling about it.’

Another person who makes her smile is the Netherland’s new queen, Maxima. ‘Maxima has been unbelievably supportive if I need help with anything,’ reveals Charlene. ‘Because she came from Argentina and moved to Holland, we have made similar lifestyle choices. She has given me advice that I identified with.’

And Maxima isn’t the only fellow royal to meet with Princess Charlene’s approval. The Duchess of Cambridge, married just months before Charlene, has also proved a friendly source of support.

‘She’s very sweet and lovely,’ says Charlene. ‘I can understand it must be difficult for everyone being in this situation when you’re not born into it.’

But as the Duchess of Cambridge, now a day overdue, prepares for the birth of her first child, does she hope for a little prince or princess of her own?

‘Look, I’m not going to put myself under any pressure,’ she says. ‘I just got married. I’m just settling into this enormous place and getting used to having huge responsibilities. You know,’ she adds, ‘we travel a lot, so it’s going to take time. But as I said, I’m not going to put myself under any pressure. It will happen; it will happen.’

[From The Mail]

I think Charlene is showing us a new side. She’s a bit more confident these days, she’s vacationing with friends (and not her husband), she’s managing some charitable projects of her own and I think Albert must have stopped putting her in The Impregnation Dungeon. Maybe Charlene agreed to get pregnant… next year. Or the year after. And I seriously doubt that Charlene lets Albert into her bed at all. Something sketchy is definitely going on, but I really feel like their reality is probably a lot more bizarre than I can come up with.

Photos courtesy of WENN.