Four years after their wedding, Princess Charlene and Prince Albert finally seem to have found some kind of peace together. For a while – including the lead up the wedding and several years into their marriage – Charlene seemed absolutely miserable, like The Prisoner of Monaco. But I think Albert did something sort of ingenious: he gave Charlene some space and time. They reportedly lived separately for a while and Charlene was always looking for an excuse to go to Paris and travel and spend time with people other than Albert. But then she got pregnant (how?) and gave birth to twins, and then suddenly Charlene and Albert seemed stronger than ever.
These photos are from two weekends ago, when Albert and Charlene celebrated the 10 year anniversary of his ascension to the throne. Albert threw a big party at the palace and he and Charlene mingled with the Monegasques. Charlene even made a speech in French – a language it has reportedly taken her years to learn – telling Albert, “Albert I was the Explorer, Rainier III was the Prince-Builder, and you are the Prince of Hearts, of my heart.”
Sweet. Following their well-received party, Charlene also sat down for an exclusive interview with Paris Match. She talked about the past four years and difficult it was for her to become a princess of Monaco:
Telling the French magazine she married “in answer to love’s call” and desire to start a family, the mom of 7-month-old twins Jacques and Gabriella explained the “challenge” of adjusting to Monaco’s rarefied environment when she began dating her future husband 10 years ago.
“I missed my family and my friends, as much as the simple style of life in which I was raised,” she said. “Happily, I quickly found new friends here who have remained very dear.”
Of her husband, 57, she said, “Everyone who knows him knows he possesses an incredible memory and a colossal capacity for work.” These qualities are matched, she added, with “a coolheaded Irish nature, no doubt inherited from his mother, Princess Grace.”
After their lavish 2011 wedding, “When I got to the palace, no one gave me a handbook describing how to become a princess,” she said. “These walls hadn’t housed a princely couple in more than 20 years.”
Prince Albert’s encouragement has been warm and unwavering, she said: “My husband continued to be my greatest support. He didn’t put me off my dreams or stop me from going to the end of my desires.”
Just prior to her wedding, Charlene converted to Roman Catholicism. “According to Grimaldi tradition, Catholicism is the state religion [in Monaco]. But for me it represents much more. The values of this religion profoundly touch me and correspond perfectly to my spirit. In January 2013, Prince Albert took me to the Vatican to present me to Pope Benoit XVI, just as Prince Rainier did with Grace Kelly and Pie XII. That experience was extremely intense and moving for me.”
The 10 years of her husband’s reign have passed quickly and left her with a number of unforgettable “souvenirs,” she said.
While Albert has crisscrossed the world supporting causes he cares about, she’s keeping her “eye on their two magnificent children, Jacques and Gabriella – our two best souvenirs.”
Oh, that sucks that Charlene only got to meet Pope Benedict who was – in my humble opinion – a total douchebag. Albert should take Charlene to meet Pope Francis, who seems like a much better person overall. As for Charlene’s journey and her ten-year courtship with Albert… that really hasn’t been dissected by anyone other than the die-hard Grimaldi-loonies. I think Charlene did real work to become a princess and fulfill her public role, but I also think she’s spent much of the past decade in utter misery. It’s nice to see her come out of it stronger than ever.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Congrats to her – she’s worked hard with her role and with the birth of the twins the pressure is off both of them hence why they are probably more relaxed with each other. They do look more comfortable in each others company so maybe the kids brought them closer which is a good thing.
Maybe she should give Princess lessons to Waity – she desperately needs them.
Babies may not be the answer to an unhappy marriage but sometimes they are. I like Charlene, we can always find something bad to say about all the princesses in the world because their lives have been turned upside down for our voyeuristic pleasure, but at the end of the day, they are human, and most importantly women. They too can use some happiness.
Wow she looks different.
The body language has improved a lot.
+1
Her face has changed a lot
Her face looks like it’s not used to smiling….which is sad.
She looks more like her pre-marriage self. She got all skinny and stuff when she was miserable. She’s a swimmer, so she was always very athletic looking before her marriage. You can see her athleticism creeping back in. Maybe she’s swimming again.
She seems much happier. The observation that Albert gave her space and time seems accurate.
Antidepressants and a good therapist?
Call me cynical, but I’m sure Albert willingly gave her space so he play around…
Just speculation, but maybe, MAYBE, there was fertility problems and that was driving her miserable.
I juste imagine what it must be when living so much in the public eyes and people asking all the time when you gonna pop a kid.
Its a possibility and IVF does tend to increase the chances of twins. Both were under pressure to produce a legitimate heir.
That’s what I think. Pure speculation, of course, but I think the pressure on her to have children was immense, as well as her own desire. Fertility drugs can make you very tearful and emotional. Four years is a long time when you are disappointed each month. I’m very happy for her.
Added to that, when my aunt was doing IVF she was a miserable wreck — the treatments she was on threw her hormones out of whack. It’s possible now that the twins are 7 months, Princess Charlene has settled down biologically as well.
Or maybe she has a hot side piece in Paris she knows she can tap as needed, and that puts her in a mental happy place. 😉
I think you’ve got it right. There was probably some sort of fertility thing going on, the IVF drugs, stress of wanting/needing to produce an heir and being a princess is probably what contributed to her “misery face.” They look happy and relaxed with one another now and I’m happy for both of them.
That’s a really genuine smile.
She looked so miserable in her first 4 yrs of the marriage.
They look happy. Living in the shadow of her MIL and having fertility issues probably made her first years of marriage horrible. But even experiencing all of that, she still fulfilled her duties as Princess of Monaco. I applaud her.
Good for her for trying out her French bur she needs to continue with the lessons. Her pronunciation is awful!
I’m glad she’s trying. It is her third language, which is not easy for some. There is Monégasque to learn too.
Albert speaks English fluently with an American accent, because his mother didn’t speak French with them. ”I guess I must have said 10 words probably in French with her in my entire life,” he admitted at some point. He also stutters a bit, more in French than English.
If her husband speaks to her more in English than French – because he’s more comfortable with English – that wouldn’t help her learn French.
From one anglo-born gal living a francophone life, I applaud Charlene for her efforts. It’s not easy learning a foreign language in general (especially to the level of fluency), even moreso when you are expected to speak in front of your kingdom. She has struggled with French from the very beginning, so I’m personally pleased to see her progress. She will likely always retain her accent and have a varied pronunciation but, who cares? She is first and foremost an anglophone, so it’s a bit expected.
@notasugarhere –
Thanks for sharing that info about Albert and his mom. They had a very close relationship. He stuttered quite a bit around his Dad and even stutters to this day in interviews where he’s a bit stressed.
I just find it awkward that she calls him “vous”. It seems like if anyone could call him “tu”, it would be her. 🙂
“Coolheaded Irish nature”??? I’ve heard the Irish described a lot of ways, but coolheaded isn’t usually one of them.
Seems like that was perhaps an attempt to interject the ghost of Grace Kelly into the conversation. That entire interview seemed very scripted.
I mean, saying things like, “in answer to love’s call” is straight out of a Harlequin Romance.
I thought the same thing. More like “hot headed irish temper” lol.
Does she really talk like they print it in her interviews: “Princely couple” “going to the end of my desires” “colossal capacity for work”? She must memorize these gems ahead of time so she can spit them out in the interview.
Don’t forget that Albert is ‘Head of State’ in Monaco he has all the responsibilities that a President or Prime Minister has. so yes I can believe he works very hard on a daily basis plus the fact that he is heavily involved in world wide environmental issues plus an official member of various international bodies such as the UN and Olympic Committee so I think he is on the job every day of the week.
She looks fabulous in that dress.
+1 And she is always dressed appropriately for her official duties plus I almost always like her fashion choices.
It’s so nice that things have worked out for these two. I’m so cynical about everything these days, so it’s really inspiring to see things turn out well for once.
@someone
It seems more likely to me that “princely couple”,”going to the end of my desires” etc are badly translated French. Same with her being “presented”to the Pope (introduced) and the unforgettable souvenirs (memories) . It’s all rather word for word .
Yeah, I don’t know what happened, but she seems really happy now. She certainly didn’t for many years.
Omg! She looks gorgeous and so happy and relaxed for a change. The twins won’t make them more popular or more likeable to the masses but there’s no denying that since the pressure of having an heir has been lifted, she is back to looking her fabulous self.
She’s stunning here and Albert…is still Albert.
Her French pronunciation isn’t great, I had a hard time understanding her. But I give her credit for trying to learn it. As a fluent speaker, I know it can be super hard!
Every picture I have seen of her after the birth of the twins shows an entirely new woman, she is obviously very happy now. Perhaps she just felt totally out of her depths and insecure in her new roll which made her look constantly unhappy previously. Now she seems to have settled in, has two beautiful children who Albert dotes on, is beginning to speak the language in public and is finally getting the hang of it, she is showing a lot more confidence in her roll, her marriage and herself.
Yep. Francis >>>>> Benedict.
Forgive me, but I don’t get the sympathy for her. Was she kidnapped? Wasn’t it common knowledge that he was a dog? She entered the marriage willingly. Let her suffer/survive in silence.
Silence and lots of money!!!
Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, Albert’s oldest child has apparently given an interview to Harper’s Bazaar. Full story is at the DM, including fashion photos.