The broken destiny of Charlene of Monaco, the most mysterious princess of the elite

The main courtyard of the palace was transformed into an open-air church for the occasion. In 1956, the union of Rainier III and the dazzling Grace Kelly was celebrated in Notre-Dame-Immaculée Cathedral in Monaco, but on July 2, 2011, the building was deemed too small to accommodate some 900 guests. of this new princely marriage. Albert therefore preferred an open-air ceremony: the sun and the azure sea compete in brilliance to salute this choice. Two months earlier, all the elite had found themselves in London to see Miss Catherine Middleton getting the ring on her finger. On the Rock, crowned heads from Europe and elsewhere were once again present. Among this headed crowd, we also recognize Karl Lagerfeld, Naomi Campbell, Roger Moore and President Nicolas Sarkozy. There is silence when Charlène, superb in a duchess satin dress with a five-meter train designed by Giorgio Armani, walks towards the altar, escorted by her father. Is she living the best day of her life? Not really, judging by his strained smile. Worst of all, when placing her bouquet on the altar of Sainte Dévote, as tradition dictates, the new Princess of Monaco lets a tear flow, which her husband reprimands in a low voice.

"The tension built up and I burst into tears," she explained two years later in an interview with The Times. It was all so overwhelming and there was all the mixed emotions because of the rumours. “A few days earlier, tabloids had claimed that Charlène had tried three times to flee from the Rock to join her native South Africa and escape her destiny. Vulgar gossip, she will assure, she who has had to overcome more than one since she became royal highness. Until recently, his very long absence from Monaco has fueled all the speculation. For the princess, 2021 has been a chaotic, deeply painful year away from her two children, Jacques and Gabriella.

Before uniting her destiny with that of the principality, did she imagine the abnegation that this function would require of her? “Don't get me wrong, Charlene is not Lady Di, rectifies one of her friends in the columns of Tatler. I don't think for a moment that she didn't know what she was doing by marrying him. But unlike Diana, Charlene had never dreamed of marrying a prince.

Shaved head for Christmas

At the time of their meeting, in 2000, Albert had not yet ascended the throne, but as an heir already assumed obligations. He presides over a swimming competition in Monaco where Charlène, a professional sportswoman, wins the 200 meter backstroke event. As he hands her the bouquet on the podium, he begins to tremble, stutters a few congratulations. Then a year passes before their paths cross again. Charlène Wittstock is back in the principality with swimming friends: while she is seated on the terrace of a restaurant, she sees the prince appear, who takes his courage in both hands to invite her to dinner. “You have to talk to my coach about it,” she replies shyly. "'No' wouldn't be the right answer," replies Albert. At the beginning of the evening, he had a Rolls sent to pick her up. A bond quickly forms between them: after a candlelight feast, they escape to a night club where they dance until dawn. Albert then invites Charlène to the palace: “I didn't know what to expect, but we weren't alone, she would say later. One of his assistants made a coffee and we admired the city from above. Before she leaves him, the prince slips her a note with his number. But back at her hotel, the young woman, starry-eyed, loses the piece of paper: nothing serious, it's not difficult to find one of the most famous bachelors in the world.

Of the beginnings of this romance, almost no one will know anything about it. Charlene appeared for the first time in public, alongside her prince, in February 2006, for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin. Royal commentators wonder who this blond-haired siren is, unknown to the almanac of the elite. The answer comes from sports journalists: Charlène Wittstock is a champion in her field, crowned with numerous medals. From the age of eight, she was like a fish in water, trained by her mother, a swimming teacher, then, at sixteen, she joined the South African national team. His dream ? Win Olympic gold. But a nasty injury prevents her from participating in the 2008 games. Charlène definitively gives up her career and devotes herself to learning her role as a princess.

Despite her good will, she is unable to adapt to Monegasque life. She misses Benoni, the city where she grew up. “I was not born in Monaco and I was not born a princess either. But I will do the best I can, ”she promises despite everything in an interview with Tatler, on the eve of her wedding. However, Charlène will never learn French, the official language of the principality, and will always be too discreet for the taste of her subjects.

The fairy tale cracks. The princess has to deal with revelations about Albert's past, from which she learns that he has two hidden children, and the incessant criticism of the press against him. The slightest of her audacity hits the headlines, especially her hair changes, like when she appears shaved head at a Christmas party at the palace. “The remarks “but finally, what is she doing?”, “but finally, it is not royal”, I know them only too well, she justifies herself when questioned by the magazine Point of view. And I have nothing to answer them, except that we are in 2021.