Princess Charlene gave an exclusive interview to a South African outlet, which is paywalled for some reason. Thankfully, Hello Magazine had coverage so at least I know what the hell is going on this week with Charlene and her situation. As we know, Charlene has been in South Africa since early May. She went there, allegedly, to do conservation work with her foundation. After about a week there, she contracted an ENT infection, and she’s apparently been in and out of the hospital ever since, unable to fly back to Monaco. Or… all of that is just one big cover story for whatever is really going on in Charlene and Albert’s marriage. Who knows. Well, in this week’s exclusive interview, Charlene describes in detail why her health issues have prevented her from flying back to Monaco. Mm.
Princess Charlene has spent the past few months in South Africa, after she came down with an ear, nose throat (ENT) infection that left her unable to travel. In a new interview with South African channel News24, the Monaco royal has revealed that the infection started after she underwent a sinus lift and bone graft before the trip.
A sinus lift is an operation that can be recommended by dentists if you require a dental implant, but don’t have the jaw space to accommodate it. She admitted that she didn’t realise she had the infection until she saw a specialist after her ears became incredibly sore. Charlene also revealed that the reason she can’t return home to Monaco is because her ear pressure won’t “equalise”, meaning that she’s unable to fly above 20,000 feet.
She also spoke about missing “[her] husband, [her] babies, and [her] doggies,” but thankfully the family are planning to fly out and visit her, but the trip requires careful planning because of COVD restrictions.
So… her story is that (just?) before she left Monaco, she had a sinus lift. Which then got infected, which she only realized when she was in South Africa. And now her ear pressure won’t equalize. Granted, I’m not a doctor, but this story still sounds fishy to me! I have been wondering if all of this is a cover story for a different kind of conspiracy though: more plastic surgery, perhaps complications from plastic surgery gone wrong. But yeah… no one knows. I guess we’ll just have to believe the cover story!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Charlene’s IG.
*sigh*
You don’t wanna go home, just say it already. Everybody and their Gramma knows about your situation so nobody here is judging you
There are non flying ways of returning to Monaco, no? That could’ve gotten her home already?
There’s a chance this is hiding serious plastic surgery gone wrong, but…
seems more like Charlene and Albert struck some sort of deal for her freedom.
At this point she could have walked up the continent and swam across the Mediterranean.
I thought that too, but if she is “in and out of the hospital” frequently, a long trip home without quick access to a hospital would definitely be out!
Yeah, I tend to believe her story. Sinus stuff is very tricky. I thought maybe she can take a yacht home or something but if she needs to go to the hospital frequently, then, yeah I agree, then traveling via a boat would be out of the question. Or maybe she is waiting for her awful haircut to grow out?🤷🏻♀️
Isn’t Albert some kind of boater? And isn’t there a Royal Yacht?
Yeah… I think she is there because she *wants* to be at this point. Maybe she’s trying to wait out this latest round of “I Had Albert’s BABY!”
Others have commented in past posts that boating up the African coast is very dangerous due to pirates. It’s a huge problem.
Pirates are a problem, but I’m guessing the prince’s yacht has heavy security.
Piracy is mostly a problem in the Gulf of Guinea (west Africa) and along the east African coast. The Somali ‘I’m the captain now’ piracy has drastically diminished in recent years. Not to say would be impossible to think of something like that happening in South Africa because it can be a dangerous place. But let’s be specific about what we mean by ‘African piracy’ and avoid thinking about the continent of Africa as a monolith.
The ICC has a live and interactive map showing piracy attacks, if anyone wants to find out more
That’s what I’m thinking – trains, boats, cars all exist – if I couldn’t fly and was stuck thousands of miles from my home and kids, I think I’d be working out other options.
Perhaps Princess Charlene is taking a break, visiting family and friends, has a sinus infection and is good with her husband and children in Monaco?
Why must we always think the worst of people?
I guess Albert’s big ass yacht isn’t an option. And if the yacht is an option, I guess her children flying in to visit her once a month is preferable to walking that gangplank. Does she have medical issues, affecting her flying? Probably, but There’s just way too much explaining around this whole story. Why do she and Albert’s PR managers feel we need to know when she calls home (with photos of the call) and the medical minutia of why she’s there. Seems like a lot of smoke around a supposedly small, self-contained fire. I could care less why she is in Africa, but it just seems strange that both she and Albert can’t stop running to the media about it. If it’s private, keep it private.
My thoughts EXACTLY on this subject. We have put men on the moon, and I am a princess and can’t get back to my loving husband and children I adore by any other means than air travel? Yeah, something is fishy – pun intended.
Her face looks fine in the photos though. I would think it would be more obvious if she had had botched plastic surgery. Don’t know if that could be photoshopped away.
I don’t think she is having plastic surgery, as she is beautiful! I think that she is trying to figure out how to divorce that awful wicked man, that’s why they are putting all of these stories out!! And if she is having these serious infections, she must stay close to the hospital as there is a lack of good medical care in SA.
Her face looks fine, but it’s kind of a weird angle: butt up/hand on face/elbows on table – wtf is that, and a far away shot thats seems unclear when phone are just super camera performant. The more i look at it the more suspicious it gets.
My understanding is piracy is a big issue on the African cost. Perhaps going by boat is not an option given that danger.
It would be quite easy to take a boat from Egypt or Morocco to Monaco. The issue with that means of transit is going up through the continent by car or rail (IDK if such a long, safe rail route exists) could be extremely dodgy.
There are on-going armed conflicts in about 9 different African nations currently. She’d have to pass through at least 1 warring country no matter the route.
That’s not even factoring in any individual COVID border restrictions complicating matters.
If she is experiencing inner ear issues, going by boat is not an alternative. Pirate risk aside, your inner ear is what helps you maintain equilibrium while on a boat, so she’d likely experience severe motion sickness even on a large boat.
Does she sew?!? If she sews, I’m following her on IG to see her projects. 😃😂 I don’t have any idea what she’s like as a person, but it’s clear the Monaco RF thought they could get a Grace 2.0 from her (ew) and that she’s been miserable. When she was in Canada years ago, there were jokes about helping her defect.
One of the prior stories said she was sewing blankets or linens for a charity in SA.
I get that she may not want to disclose her medical issues to the public but this is about the third explanation as to why she’s still in South Africa. What’s even more interesting is she never says when she’s expected to return to Monaco. Her doctors should have an idea as to when they think she could travel. She might want to keep exact date private but she could give a time period.
Having been told by physicians not to fly when I blew out my ear from having flown with an ear infection, there is nothing fishy about her being told she cannot fly. I was stuck (poor me!) in a foreign country for six weeks until things had equalized sufficiently for me to fly again. She also may be experiencing vertigo from the infection, which would make flying very uncomfortable not just for her but for anyone in the plane with her.
I once flew when I was at the tail end of a very basic sinus infection, and OMG the pain! I can’t imagine doing it if I had a serious infection or complications, so I can believe that she was told not to fly home.
That said, as others have pointed out if she really was *desperate* to get back there are other ways. Okay sure a yacht would take a lot more time (and probably be quite expensive), but it’s a safe alernative. I have no doubt she misses her kids, ofc, but Albert…? Maybe not so much?
According to comments in past posts, going by boat up the African coast would be very dangerous because of pirates. It’s a huge problem along the African coast line.
I was on a plane once with a simple head cold and I was sobbing by the time we landed, it’s no joke!
Yeah, I don’t understand why people think this seems so fishy. It all makes perfect sense to me. I guess you have to have had some experience with flights and ENT issues to believe it. I wish people would lay off her. People just want the drama to be true.
right? I am about to get two dental implants and there was lots of talk about sinus lifting which I really didn’t want to do because I have bad allergies and I was so worried that things would get worse if they fiddled with my sinuses! not sure why ‘sinus lift’ is in quotes as if it is code for plastic surgery or divorce.
But that still doesn’t explain why Albert can’t sail the royal yacht down to South Africa, pick her up, and then take her back to Monaco. Does an ear infection prevent travel by boat?
As others have said, pirates along the African coast are a huge issue. And I doubt sailing from Monaco to South Africa is “easy” even with the best crew money can buy.
Have you ever been on a boat while experiencing an ear infection?
My husband is an ENT and yes this could all be completely true. They’re adults though and are probably fine apart. Separation from the kids is probably the harder issue.
man I cut my own hair at 10 pm last night because I couldn’t stand the raggedy ends one second longer. I even trimmed my fringe (a bit too short) and was feeling so annoyed at having to flat iron it now…but looking at these photos, I feel immense relief that I did not voluntarily do to my hair what Charlene has done to hers. My God.
Right? I’ve completely lost the thread with these hairstyles at this point. I hope she likes it. Seems a bit kooky to me.
I just looked up what a sinus lift it and holy crap, I’m surprised she was allowed to fly afterwards in the first place, it’s an intense looking surgery!
Thanks for pointing that out. Because for all the folks yelling you wouldn’t travel with sinus issues, here Charlene is admitting that she had a sinus lift and then traveled.
two months and counting since she has been in SA. Six months and counting since she was on a public engagement in Monaco.
I still think the fact they keep saying Albert and the kids flew out to see her earlier in the year, means she was already out there and that’s where she had her sinus lift. I think the real cover story is her trip “in May”. Someone can be in a place for months before making a public appearance that makes people think they just arrived there. But I still don’t judge her for wanting to stay away from her husband. 🙂
I actually believe this story. The fact she left the children behind always made me doubt it was an escape.
Hope she get better and get to see her kids soon.
I can actually believe she can’t fly. Sure she may appreciate the time away from Albert but I do believe she has genuine health issues. And I doubt she’ll leave him legally now while leaving the kids behind. Taking that man to court for financial payments and custody is going to be hell for her (even if she is living in hell now) and may take years to sort out. She may decided that sticking around until the kids are of age or forever in a separate lives way is better for her financially and the kids too.
I believe her medical issues completely and that it’s unsafe to fly. I do think it’s weird that she’s not taking another option other than flying to get home though.
@ Case, I can understand not traveling. When I was pregnant with my second, my mother passed away and I came home for the funeral. Given my medical history with my first pregnancy, not only could I not fly back but I couldn’t drive back from Texas to S. Florida. Not unless I wanted to have my baby on the side of the road!! So I believe her in that she can’t be too far from medical care.
If she’s truly staying in South Africa because she can’t fly, there’s no reason why Albert can’t put the kids on the plane with a nanny or two and send them to stay with her.
The fact that the kids are still in Monaco and not with their mother gives me pause.
it is possible because the children are not yet vaccinated they may not be comfortable with them flying. but I doubt it. The wealthy have been traveling covid or no covid.
For those who keep bringing up a yacht, I’m not sure they understand how complicated it would be to have a yacht sail for that long and that far. Not to mention oh I don’t know, fuel, weather, ocean currents etc. Not to mention pirates (which I didn’t even think of!). Have you looked to see how far South Africa is from Monaco on Google Maps? The boat would have to go all the way out of the Mediterranean and then ALL the way down the East Coast of Africa. I guess there’s the Suez Canal too but I thought it was used mostly for trade, not luxury boats? It would still require going across the entire Mediterranean and the West Coast of Africa. And it would have to do that twice. Have any of you been across the Strait of Gibraltar? I have on a ferry going from Spain to Morocco. That is one of the roughest bodies of water I’ve had to go across in a boat since it’s where the Mediterranean and Atlantic meet. It was not a pleasant experience at all, luckily it was just about 30-40 minutes. My grandfather was a sailor on big container ships—boats that actually are equipped to cross half the world. He would be gone for months at a time—he crossed the Atlantic several times, went down to Africa and South America from France (he even did a trip from Japan once I believe). To mobilize one boat just to bring back Charlene from South Africa—not going to happen lol. Whether it’s health related or not, I think I burst some blood vessels reading the “she can just use the yacht to get back” comments 😂
Yeah, my sister used to work on container ships and a trip from the Med to SA along either the east or west african coastline is long. Then add piracy, which is a big problem – even for big container ships. A luxury yacht would be an easy victim.
I kept thinking why doesn’t she drive by car to somewhere in North Africa and then sail across to Monaco? It is a 143 hour drive from Johannesburg to Tunisia!! And I’m not sure if some of the countries she would have to travel through are safe. This story seem hinky, but the travel logistics do seem impossible if she truly cannot fly.
I have to think most people suggesting this have not spent much time on a boat, or they would understand why an extended boat trip while experiencing an inner ear infection is a no-go.
No wonder she doesn’t feel good. In that picture in front of a fireplace it looks like the entire wall is infected with some terrible disease!
Train north? Or Low flying helicopter with several stops to area where train would be safe then yacht picks her up in Spain?
It would be more than 100 hours of continuous travel, probably closer to 150 hours, some of which would be through active war zones. Avoiding the war zones would probably double the travel time.
We are talking traveling from the bottom of Africa to the top, here.
A sinus infection post-sinus surgery? Yeah, I believe it. I flew with a sinus infection and damn near overdose taking ibuprofen to get through the flight. No ma’am. Never again. Hope she heals soon and is able to return to her babies.
The more they leak nonsensical explanations like this the more obvious it is that something is wrong. I doubt she’s sick because we already got video footage of her in which she looks fine. I hope her family in SA don’t presure her into going back especially after the ongoing unrest. I hope she gets some hot shot lawyer n writes down her demands before making any move
Whoever is suggesting that Charlene should just road trip it up the entirety of the continent of Africa and then take the ferry to Spain, it just does not seem realistic to me at all. It’s not like taking the freeway from LA to Seattle. Who knows the real story here, I mean anything could be going on from she escaped, to she was banished, to anything in-between. But if you are reading this Charlene all I can say to you is run away from that gilded prison known as Monaco and stay in South Africa where you are beloved and far far away from your alleged tormentors which now sadly seem to include her own immediate family members. It’s just so sad how luxury and proximity to power corrupt people. We’re rooting for you Charlene!
Hmmm. At least the Monaco royals are interesting (unlike the crusty Windsors who are boring AF other than H and M). I’m really invested in this story and want to know what happens next. I hope she gets to see her kids soon regardless.
Hmm. We are currently in the midst of an insane third covid wave here in SA so most hospitals, including private hospitals, are very full and not places you would want to be “in and out of” at the moment.
We have also just had a really scary week of anarchy, violence, looting and burning at a scale not seen since apartheid days and it is being said it was an attempted insurrection by those who want this govt out. I’m surprised she’s sticking around for this!
For everyone saying she should take a car, train and ferry – I URGE you to consult a map. Two minutes of googling should refresh your memories from Geography class. South Africa to Monaco is literally the other side of the world. Source: I am South African and have travelled extensively. ‘Africa’ isn’t Europe. ‘She’s a princess’ doesn’t mean shit.
The hole in the story for me is: if she got a sinus lift and bone graft recently, how was she permitted to fly to South Africa in the first place. Especially in covid times when she’d be weakened and prone to respiratory tract infection to begin with.
The rest of it is plausible to me. The beginning piece of it isn’t.
Also no way is anyone traveling the length of Africa by train or car when they’re sick (assuming that’s true ). I just to get how she could be allowed to go in that condition at all.
I’m still skeptical about this story .
Definitely join you on the skeptics list train! While it’s all plausible and with anybody else I just think, sure, that sounds logical. But Princess Charlene and Albert’s relationship has been a pile of coverups and public relation maintained diversions. How many side girlfriends had Albert had, like how bout this newest paternity suit was five years into their marriage with a (then) 19/20year old Brazilian woman.
The iffy story about how Albert got covid but because he was living at the palace and they were living at the Monaco farm house he hadn’t seen them in two weeks anyway. But I googled it and it’s only halfish hour drive between the farm & palace, so yeah, maybe they just chose not to see each other regularly!
Charlene shaved her head with no explanation after the latest bombshell paternity lawsuit. Now this latest version of the getting stuck in South Africa story, there’s a lot more here than what is being released.
How many outside children does Albert have? So hurtful to Charlene. He can’t just wrap it up? So trashy.
I think she’s trying to escape, and he’s trying to keep her in line by using the kids to get her back home. The visit with him and the kids was to remind her how much she loves the kids, and for him to personally deliver an ultimatum to get her back to Monaco.
She married him and gave him two children. She has done everything that was expected of her and now she should be free to do as she please.
I hope she has secret sexy boyfriend in SA who takes her of her while recovering.