Princess Charlene might be fooling around! MAYBE. Hopefully? There is new speculation that when Charlene visited South Africa a few weeks ago, she ended up fooling around with her “friend” Byron Kelleher, a New Zealander rugby player. When Charlene was in South Africa (to open her foundation which supports local athletes), she gave an interview declaring that she was finally ready (maybe) to think about trying for a baby. Charlene always seems pretty over her marriage, but would she really fool around and not keep it locked down?

Media speculation is rife that former All Black Byron Kelleher may be romantically involved with Princess Charlene of Monaco.

Spanish newspaper ABC ignited the flame at the weekend with a report that the wife of Prince Albert II did not accompany her husband to the coronation of the new Dutch King Willem-Alexander two weeks ago because she was in her native South Africa with Kelleher.

A former Olympic swimmer, Princess Charlene, 35, was in South Africa working with her sports-focused charitable foundation, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.

Dunedin-born Kelleher, 36, is in charge of the foundation’s rugby projects.

“Rumours about a relationship between the two have erupted,” ABC reported.

Other European publications have picked up on the rumours. Under a headline “Charlene with a rugby player?”, Vogue says today : “According to rumours Charlene Wittstock cheated on Albert of Monaco with rugby player Byron Kelleher.”

Vogue continues: “New rumors from the Principality of Monaco. According to some sources Charlene Wittstock is cheating on Albert of Monaco. According to rumors, the Princess has had an affair with rugby player Byron Kelleher, from Paris Rugby Club.”

Kelleher attended the Monaco royal couple’s wedding on July 2, 2011 and reportedly spent time with them on Italy’s Amalfi coast last year. Scrum-half Kelleher plays for Stade Francais in the French Top 14, and has played 57 tests for the All Blacks.

The Monaco royal family has not commented on the speculation.

[From TVNZ]

If you remember, just before Charlene and Albert were married, she tried to physically escape Monaco three different times. And just days after the wedding (in which she looked miserable), Charlene had to deal with the public revelation that Albert had fathered yet another child out of wedlock (but while he was with Charlene). So, it’s not like Albert is some angel and Charlene is just a crazy, wanton woman. There have been quiet rumors about Albert throughout this marriage too – when he attends low-key events, Charlene will stay at home (or wherever) and Albert will bring some female “date” with him, and he always seems friendlier with his date than with his wife. I think their marriage is miserable and it’s always been miserable. But I think it’s weird that Charlene hasn’t popped out an heir and then moved on to a separate life (full of athletic lovers) or just divorced him already. Will this marriage end before there’s an heir?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Here are some new photos of Prince Albert and poor Princess Charlene in Monaco on Tuesday. They were attending the ‘Femme de L’annee’ Awards 2013 at Sporting d’Hiver in Monte-Carlo. Charlene looks especially slender to me. Which is weird because I recently had a dream that she announced her pregnancy and everyone was freaking out about it. I wonder if that will happen if and when she does announce a pregnancy? I’m a little bit surprised it hasn’t already happened.

Charlene and Albert will celebrate their second wedding anniversary in a few weeks, which isn’t a big deal for a normal couple, but Charlene’s lack of pregnancies/babies is a big deal when it’s a royal woman, particularly a royal woman already in her 30s (Charlene is 35). Not helping matters is the fact that whenever Albert goes anywhere alone (like the coronation for the new king of the Netherlands), everyone freaks out and assumes that he and Charlene are over. Charlene didn’t go to the Netherlands because she had a charity event scheduled in South Africa, her home country. But Charlene did do some PR work on behalf of Grimaldi throne – she says that she’s finally ready to have babies!

MONACO’S Princess Charlene says she is looking forward to having children once her foundation is up and running. The former South African swimmer was in Durban this week on business for her Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, as well as to perform matron-of-honour duties at her best friend’s wedding yesterday.

The foundation is sponsoring an upgrade of the municipal Lahee Park swimming pool in Pinetown, her old training base and now home to Olympic champion Chad le Clos. In an interview, the princess said children had not been on the radar immediately after her marriage to Prince Albert in 2011.

“I think I needed a bit of time to settle in and adjust. I don’t put any pressure on myself. It’ll happen. If it happens, it happens,” she says.

But the 35-year-old princess stressed she was looking forward to becoming a mother.

“I wanted to get my foundation launched. I wanted to get the next couple of months sorted out and I can really take a rest. We had a big wedding. It was a big adjustment after that. Now I’m settled and I think kids will come.”

A large focus for her foundation is a “learn to swim” programme. “I started my foundation based on the fact that there are so many drownings and it’s really not spoken about,” the princess says. “It’s the number two killer in the world.”

The princess is adamant she does not want to make the aquatics complex too luxurious.

“It was kind of tough [when I trained here] because we didn’t have heaters and it was very cold. And sometimes the pumps were broken and the pool was green. It was pretty rough,” she says. “I don’t want to change very much. I like the roughness. It’s the place where all the hard work happens. We’re not trying to do a huge institute or anything over the top.”

As a swimmer she won Commonwealth Games and All-Africa Games medals, but the standout moment of her sporting career was the 2000 Sydney Games, the only Olympics where she competed.

“The highlight of my career was the Olympics . walking into that stadium and knowing I’d achieved a dream I’d had since I was eight years old,” she says. “I’ve still got my friends and we still keep in contact. That’s what sport gives you – lifetime friendships. That’s more valuable than anything else.”

The princes met her future husband, whom she calls the “love of my life”, at a gala in Monaco.

[From Sunday World]

Is it just me or is Charlene hedging like a champ? “I don’t put any pressure on myself. It’ll happen. If it happens, it happens.” How quickly “It WILL happen” turns to “IF it happens.” The qualifiers are heavy with this one. “Now I’m settled and I think kids will come…” Ha, it just occurred to me – it’s like Charlene is the royal version of Jennifer Aniston. This is the same stuff Aniston is always saying about babies too!

Anyway, what is Charlene not telling us? What is she not comfortable saying about the “love of her life” (snort)? If Charlene was just being honest with us, maybe she would say, “The heir is going to be made in a laboratory and then when Albert transfers $100 million into my private account, I will allow the baster into my sanctuary.”

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Duchess Kate wasn’t the only royal woman out and about this weekend. Poor Princess Charlene was also photographed extensively during the ATP Monte Carlo Masters. Charlene and Prince Albert watched tennis all weekend and they were photographed in the royal box looking miserable as Novak Djokovic beat Rafa Nadal. My guess is that Charlene hasn’t let Albert even look at her royal box in more than a year. Yes, this summer they will have been married for two years. Two years and no pregnancy announcement. Which is no big deal with a normal couple, but when it’s this couple? When Charlene looks so miserable and she tried to escape just before the wedding and she looks kind of drugged out? The whole “she hasn’t gotten pregnant” thing is a much bigger deal.

Meanwhile, I never got around to verifying this – Albert’s nephew (and son of Princess Caroline) Andrea Casiraghi is a new father. Andrea and Tatiana Santo Domingo announced their engagement last year, along with the announcement that they were expecting their first child together. Tatiana gave birth to a boy in March, but Tatiana and Andrea still aren’t married. According to People Magazine, that doesn’t matter though? People says that the little boy is now the third in line to the throne, but if Monaco is accepting children born out of wedlock, then how are Albert’s “illegitimate” children not heirs to the throne as well?

You can read more about the tennis event in Monte Carlo here – The Mail points out that Albert has gained a lot of weight over the past year. Yeah. That should totally help! Charlene must be like, “That man will never, ever see my royal box again.” PS… gotta love the shot where Albert attempts to high-five his wife. She’s looking at him like, “Really?”

Photos courtesy of WENN.com.

Here are some newish photos of Princess Charlene of Monaco in Paris over the weekend. She attended the Versace show, which is notable because most modern princesses avoid Versace like the plague. Princess Diana loved Versace – specifically Gianni Versace, and Diana was one of the main guests at Gianni’s funeral just a month before her own. In the era of Donatella Versace’s reign, the clothes have gotten tighter, showier and more rock ‘n roll, and thus, you’d be hard-pressed to find Duchess Kate or Princess Victoria (of Sweden) or Queen Rania (of Jordan) wearing Versace. But if Princess Charlene goes that way? I would be fascinated. And yes, Kevin Costner was at the show and Charlene posed with him because her life doesn’t suck enough, I suppose. God, he’s annoying. But Charlene was probably just happy to be away from her insemination dungeon. Poor Charlene.

In other Charlene/Monaco news, I think I might know why Albert allowed Charlene to leave the dungeon for Paris Fashion Week – it’s because Albert was victorious in his lawsuit against The London Times. Memorably, The London Times was one of the many publications who questioned the authenticity of Albert and Charlene’s wedding and marriage – the allegations at the time were along the lines of “Charlene was forced to marry Albert, she tried to escape and he confiscated her passport,” etc. Anyway, Albert won unspecified damages. AND he’s gone to war with that new film in which Nicole Kidman is playing a very Botoxed version of his mother:

Princess Charlene and Prince Albert of Monaco fought for the reputation of the principality’s royal family this week, slamming a movie on Grace Kelly starring Nicole Kidman and winning damages from a British paper for saying Charlene had tried to flee Monaco ahead of her marriage.

Monaco’s Prince Albert and his sisters, Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie, dismissed the screenplay for a film starring Nicole Kidman about their mother and former Hollywood actress Grace Kelly as glamourised fiction and said the film project Grace of Monaco contained “historical untruths” and that some parts were “purely fictional”.

The statement was intended to shoot down a story in a French magazine Paris Match, which said the Monaco royals had been reassured by producers about the credibility of director Olivier Dahan’s film project.

“Having in no way been associated with this project, Their Highnesses were quite surprised when they received the script,” said an e-mailed statement sent on Thursday. “The palace had submitted many requests for changes to the producers of the film, not all of which were taken into consideration.” Hollywood star Grace Kelly married Albert’s father Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956.

The palace said it would not tolerate the suggestion in Paris Match that Albert and his family supported the film. Albert’s own glamour bride, former SA Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, has often been compared to Princess Grace.

On Monday the royal couple received an apology and substantial damages from the London broadsheet, The Sunday Times over a story which suggested his marriage was a sham. The High Court in London heard that the article – published two days after the Prince’s wedding to Charlene Wittstock – claimed that the bride-to-be was forced to hand over her passport at Nice airport to prevent her fleeing Monaco.

The Sunday Times also claimed that Princess Charlene had been reluctant to marry after discovering the existence of a love child but agreed to the wedding in return for a payment with a view to obtaining an annulment after a seemly interval. Lawyers for the paper admitted none of the allegations was true and apologised. The Prince sued for damages of £300 000, although the exact amount of the settlement was not disclosed.

[From IOL]

What’s bizarre about the London Times settlement thing is that I feel pretty confident that they were just re-reporting and re-appropriating stories that originally appeared in the French tabloids (and the legit French media outlets). Just before Albert and Charlene’s wedding, there were MANY stories that appeared in French outlets, and the American and UK papers picked the story up from the French reporting. So… did Albert really “win” a legal victory or did he just choose the right newspaper to sue? Because I’d like to see if any of the French newspapers care enough to say that their reporting was wrong.

As for the Grace of Monaco/Nicole Kidman film – didn’t I say that the damn thing looked like a hot mess? It doesn’t surprise me at all that Albert isn’t happy with the film.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Poor, poor Princess Charlene. Did you forget about her in the wake of Baby Wales: The Baby To End All Babies? I did not forget about her. I imagine that as soon as Princess Charlene was informed of Duchess Kate’s pregnancy, poor Charlene popped a few pills and closed her eyes, quietly awaiting Prince Albert’s order. She knew she would be sent to the Insemination Dungeon, where The Baster of Doom awaits.

Anyway, here are some new pics of Princess Charlene and Prince Albert yesterday at the Christmas Celebration for Monaco Children. I really like her coat, although I would have gotten it another color. Maybe navy. Maybe black. Maybe red. This beige-y camel is just kind… eh. I do like she’s youth-ing it up with some hot boots and she’s showing off her legs. You know what? I was talking about all of the girls who chopped off their hair over the past few years, and I completely forgot about Charlene’s Diana-esque chop. I still love it. The short hair really suits her.

As for the Baster of Doom, I really do think that Duchess Kate’s gestation will probably force Albert and Charlene to really “try” for that heir. Vanity Fair published this funny and completely satirical piece about what went down after Kate’s pregnancy was announced:

The scene: a drawing room in the home of Princess Charlene and Prince Albert of Monaco. Princess Charlene has just returned from one of her daily 13-hour swims to find Albert sitting in a chair, strumming his fingertips on the table.

Princess Charlene: [pretends not to notice Albert a few feet directly in front of her]

Prince Albert: [coughs, calling her bluff]

Princess Charlene: [looks over at Albert, purses lips into tight smile]

Prince Albert: Charlene.

Princess Charlene: Albert, hi. Um.

Prince Albert: Did you happen to catch today’s news?

Princess Charlene: Uh. Yes. Uh, you mean. . . Syria. Terrible.

Prince Albert: [clears throat] Ah, I, uh, no. I mean, yes, an immense tragedy.

Princess Charlene: [looks at Albert, as if daring him to continue]

Prince Albert: No, I uh, was referring to Princess Kate. Pregnant, you know.

Princess Charlene: Yes, it’s just awful about Syria.

Prince Albert: Indeed.

[From Vanity Fair]

I kind of think my scenario is more realistic, what with the pill-popping and the Insemination Dungeon. Right? I really believe that situation is much more likely. Especially since Albert’s nephew (and presumptive heir to the Monaco throne) recently knocked up his fiancée too. Poor Charlene. The Baster is upon us.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.

Here are some photos of Princess Charlene and Prince Albert at last night’s Princess Grace Awards in NYC. Charlene and Albert were on hand to present awards to various people who are associated with the foundation, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year (the 30th anniversary of Princess Grace’s death). You can read more about the awards here.

Shall we talk about Charlene? She doesn’t seem quite so… miserable? Of course, she doesn’t look outright happy either. I actually love this dress on her. I’ve been looking for the designer ID for too long, and I still can’t find it, so God knows. Maybe Akris? She wears a lot of Akris. It could also be Ralph Lauren, maybe. Although the satin is wrinkled a bit and that’s never a good look for a princess, I like everything else about the dress and Charlene’s styling. I love the ivory color. I love the high, halter neckline. I love Charlene’s slicked-back hair and her dangly earrings. I think this might be one of her best looks ever.

A lot of people have been discussing whether or not Charlene has lost a lot of weight recently. Is it weird that I can’t see it? She’s always been broad-shouldered and athletic, and I guess she looks slimmer now than she did a year ago. But it’s not some epic weight loss, I don’t think. She just looks like a former athlete who has lost some muscle weight…?

And Albert looks like a toad. As always.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Poor Princess Charlene. Pity her and her S-O-S blinking at formal events. These are new photos of Charlene and Albert in Florence, Italy yesterday. They were there on some kind of formal royal visit , part of which was some kind of gala called the 2012 Ballo del Giglio (“Ball of the Gigolos”? My Italian is awful!). Charlene wore this beautiful black Gucci (from the Fall 2012 line) gown for the gala – this is one of the prettiest dresses I’ve ever seen on Charlene. She has that strong swimmer’s body with those broad shoulders… and her body doesn’t always look very good in dainty couture. But I like this gown on her a great deal. She should do halter-dresses more often. Something negative: the ruffles are getting on my nerves.

Monaco’s Prince Albert and his glamorous wife Charlene are enjoying La Dolce Vita in Italy.

The royal couple were the jewel in the crown of the Ballo de Giglio gala in Florence on Wednesday night – a charity ball which donates proceeds to the Mongasque ruler’s foundation.

Embracing her husband for a slow waltz on the dance floor, Charlene looked every inch the princess under the shimmering lights of the grand hall.

The South African-born blonde had slipped into a cascading black evening gown. The simple halter neck style showed off her toned, athletic figure to perfection. Smokey make-up and slicked back hair completed the look.

Throughout their date night, the royals exchanged loving glances between dances and sips of champagne – clearly still savouring the first stage of married life.

Earlier, Albert and Charlene had taken in the sights of the beautiful European city, arriving in the historic Palazzo Vecchio to a passionate Italian welcome.

Local people filled the streets to watch their Mayor Matteo Rienzi welcome the special guests and guide them around Florence’s most famous sites.

[From Hello Magazine]

Yeah… I love the way Hello Magazine – and all of the ass-kissy publications – tries to make it seem like Charlene wasn’t looking and acting miserable the whole time. Seriously, she looks like she’s going to throw up. Maybe she’s pregnant? Ugh. I’m so tired of Bump Watch-ing her. I just want her to escape!

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Here are some photos of Princess Charlene and Prince Albert in Monte Carlo on Saturday night for the new Monaco event, “South Africa Night Gala” or something. It’s basically an event to celebrate Charlene’s home country, South Africa, and a fundraiser to raise money for Charlene’s foundation. Apparently, the gala was also a “culinary voyage” of South African cuisine as well – you can read more about the event here. I can’t find the designer ID on her dress, but many theorized that it was probably done by a South African designer. Whoever did it, it’s not bad at all. I really like it from the back and in the profile, but the front view makes her look kind of boxy. Still, it’s a lovely dress and it suits her much better than so much of the crap she wears. I especially like her hair.

I don’t really have much to say other than “Look at Charlene!” She wasn’t as ever-present as, say, Duchess Kate over the summer, but we did get to see Charlene a few times during the Olympics and at a handful of Monaco events. Charlene is a former Olympian, so I’m sure she was sad when the Olympics were over as well. Of course, it didn’t help matters at all when CBS aired their exclusive interview with Charlene and Albert back in late July – Charlene seemed drugged and trapped, Albert seemed dictatorial… it was a mess.

Does anyone else find it interesting that she hasn’t gotten pregnant yet? I find it fascinating. Even though I understand how she probably doesn’t want to bring a baby into her mess of a marriage, I also kind of think she just needs to get it over with, you know?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Princess Charlene has been so much perkier lately. “Perkier” being a relative term, I suppose. Considering two weeks ago she seemed awkward, depressed, druggy and unhappy during an interview with CBS News, Charlene has greatly improved. These are photos of Charlene and Albert back in Monaco, at Monaco’s annual Red Cross Ball, one of the biggest events of the year for the tiny principality. I still can’t find the designer ID on Charlene’s gold-sequined and white-skirted dress. My top guess is Akris. Just because Charlene wears a lot of Akris, and while this is giving me some Chanel vibes, I don’t think it is. Anyway, I really dislike the dress. Charlene’s proportions are difficult, I think, for most eveningwear. She has swimmer’s shoulders and slender hips. Designers should make sure that she doesn’t look so top heavy – which is exactly the problem here. There’s too much going on up top. Too much sparkle, too many sequins. But look… she’s actually touching Albert! Without needing to excuse herself to throw up! They’re showing affection to each other. Amazing.

I tend to think Charlene is probably pretty happy right now. It probably helped that she was at the Olympics – she loves the Olympics. And I think it was kind of nice of Prince Albert to really “let” Charlene stay for a week to attend so many of the swimming events. Remember, Charlene was an Olympic swimmer. And she’s from South Africa, and South African swimmer (and HOTTIE) Chad Le Cleos had a really great Olympics, scoring a Gold Medal and a Silver Medal in head-to-head matches against Michael Phelps. Chad and Charlene are friends – and Charlene had invited the South African swim team to Monaco to prepare for the Olympics too. I think Albert gave his wife what she wanted and needed: some time to enjoy one of her greatest pleasures. The Olympics, spending time with her countrymen, hanging out with swimmers. It was Charlene’s Best Week Ever. Sigh… she has to wait another four years to have that much fun again.

And much like Duchess Kate and Prince William, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Charlene and Albert were able to produce an Olympic baby.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Poor, pitiful Princess Charlene. You guys always yell at me when I talk about how rough Charlene’s life is, and how I don’t envy it, but for real. I would not want to switch places with her. Charlene and her husband have a new interview with CBS, and it’s… amazing. I have a different interpretation than Lainey, who thinks it was so awful, the interview shouldn’t have even taken place. I mean, obviously, Charlene and Albert seem to kind of hate each other (hilarious) and they are not any kind of “fairy tale” or aspirational royal marriage or anything. But I laughed several times during the video, so it totally works if that was their goal. Wait, that wasn’t their goal? LOL. Watch the interview and then we’ll discuss it:

My first thoughts were “OMG, what is Charlene doing to her face?” Many of you have claimed that Charlene has gotten a boatload of plastic surgery over the years, and while we can dispute “boatload,” she’s definitely getting something done. Her lips look so weird, especially when she’s speaking. The whole thing reminds me of Nicole Kidman trying to speak normally through HER lip augmentation.

After I got past Charlene’s funky lips and actually began listening to what she’s saying and her body language throughout the interview… she just seems over it. Maybe she was never really into it in the first place. But it feels like she’s not even putting in any effort to convince us that she’s in a good marriage. But then – OMG!!!!! – Charlene gets “stumped” by the question, “What’s it like to be a princess?” and Albert SHUTS DOWN the interview? For real, y’all? And then when Albert and Charlene get the question about his mother (Grace Kelly), Charlene looks like she’s going to projectile vom. Classic!!

Around the 5-minute mark, Albert and Charlene start responding to questions about whether Charlene tried to pull a runner before the wedding and whether Albert’s goons took away her passport and stuff. Charlene offers a meek denial, then Albert begins his denial, and Charlene just looks like she’s going to throw up again, and I swear, she actually rolled her eyes at him. Amazing!

Oh, and it looks like Albert is still trying to get the Ol’ Baster in her. Poor Charlene. He just sees her as a broodmare, and he really doesn’t seem to give a crap about her beyond that.

Some photos of Charlene and Albert in London today:

Photos courtesy of WENN.