The princess Charlène of Monaco has just turned 48, immersed in a calmer and more solid phase of her life. Happy in her role as the most enigmatic, elegant, and powerful queen consort in Europe, she is increasingly playing a more important role in the principality’s public agenda. And she maintains a solid united front with her husband Albert, despite the constant rumors of a crisis in their marriage. Just four years ago, however, the South African’s life was very different.
On March 12, 2022, Charlène ended ten long months of controversial absence from her country of adoption. An illness had forced her to extend her stay in South Africa, which had begun in the spring of 2021. Subsequently she had to be admitted to a Swiss clinic due to her “exhaustion,” as her husband confessed. A whole soap opera full of uncertainties, whose origin can be traced back to December 2020. It was then that Prince Albert of Monaco received a new paternity claim, the third after Jazmin Grace and Alexandre.
It was an unidentified Brazilian woman who claimed that Albert and she had maintained a relationship that produced a new illegitimate son of the head of the Grimaldi family. Soon after that accusation came to light, Charlène shaved half of her head in a punk style, a gesture that drew a lot of attention. And soon after she returned to South Africa. There, an ear, nose, and throat infection that required surgery, together with another condition that prevented her from flying, kept her in Johannesburg until November.
During her high-profile and controversial stay in her homeland, Charlène was heavily criticized on social media. Her detractors labeled her a bad mother for leaving her children thousands of kilometers away. Meanwhile, she shared on her networks photographs showing how she communicated with her children, the princes Jacques and Gabriella, via video calls. And she found time to dress as a warrior and pose with a combative look to support the fight against rhino poaching.
Charlène and Her Long-Awaited Return Home
“A reunion full of joy and emotion”. This is how the Monegasque royal palace described on its social media the moment when Charlène finally reunited in November with her husband and children. In the photos published of that touching moment, it was notable that the only one wearing a mask was the South African. Back in the principality, it was announced that the princess would not attend Monaco National Day, as she was still “recovering from a state of profound general fatigue.” That day, from the palace balcony, Jacques and Gabriella, who were six at the time, held signs reading: “We miss you, Mommy.”
The Grimaldi family reunion in 2021.
The joy did not last long in the Grimaldi family. Almost immediately after returning to Monaco, Charlène headed to a Swiss clinic for medical treatment. Sources close to her had told Page Six shortly before that the princess “almost died” while she was in her homeland. “It is unfair to portray her as if she had some mental problem. We do not know why the palace is downplaying the fact that she almost died in South Africa,” added this friend of Charlène.
Prince Albert of Monaco sought to address the rumors in an interview with People magazine. “She was clearly exhausted, both physically and emotionally. She felt overwhelmed and could not cope with her official duties, life in general, or even family life,” the prince stated. He also denied rumors of a crisis in their marriage: “I will probably have to repeat this several times, but this has nothing to do with our relationship. I want to make that very clear. It is not about problems within our relationship. It is of a different nature.”
“To protect the comfort and privacy essential for her recovery, the Princess’s location will remain strictly confidential,” the palace said in a statement. It was the German newspaper Bild that tracked Charlène to the luxurious Paracelsus Center in Zurich, the same clinic where Sarah Ferguson sought refuge after her links to the Epstein case were published. Finally, in March she returned to Monaco and it was announced that she would continue her convalescence in the principality. “As soon as her health permits, the princess hopes to be able to spend time again and interact with the Monegasques,” the palace stated.
Charlène’s Return to Public Life
A year after her ‘escape’, the princess made her first public appearance. It was at the end of April, during the Formula E championship, accompanied by her family. In statements to Nice-Matin in May, Charlène said: “When I returned to the principality, I focused all my energy on my children, my husband, and my health, because they are my priority. My health remains delicate and I do not want to rush. The road has been long, difficult, and very painful. Today I feel calmer.”
Shortly after, she posed with Prince Albert for a portrait to mark their eleventh wedding anniversary and was seen accompanying him to take their children to school. However, her grand return to royal duties took place in September, when she accompanied her husband to the historic funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London, alongside about two thousand other people at Westminster Abbey. Since then, there have been no more enigmatic escapes, and Charlène remains immune to criticism for her spending, with her role as First Lady increasingly consolidated.
