Here’s something I truly wasn’t worried about before now: do you think Princess Charlene is even being allowed to post messages on her Instagram? She clearly was allowed to post whatever she wanted when she was in South Africa for over six months this year. She was posting photos and messages, some of them with her husband’s approval and some of them not. Now I’m worried that as soon as she went back to Monaco, they changed her password and the palace is posting stuff in her name.
Friday was Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella’s seventh birthday. Charlene (or “Charlene”) posted photos of her kids celebrating and I do not believe Charlene took these photos, nor do I believe she was in Monaco for her kids’ birthday. She wrote: “Happy birthday my babies/Thank you God for blessing me with such wonderful children./I’m truly blessed/Love mom.” Sheesh this gave me such a bad feeling. Meanwhile, Prince Albert is still acting like he’s the Bachelor Father of the Year, solely organizing birthday parties and taking pains to home-school.
Given Charlene’s absence and concerns over COVID, the twins’ party will have a more homespun feel, Albert says. (He did offer up a hint of a possible theme: Spongebob Squarepants!) And while Charlene may not be home for the twins’ birthday, a visit for the children to see their mom — even before the holidays — remains the family’s priority, Albert tells PEOPLE.
“It’s what we most hope for, but there is no definite date at this time,” he says.
In line with existing pandemic precautions, Prince Albert says the twins have been homeschooled at the palace since October. “Given the uncertainty of the pandemic, Princess Charlene and I preferred to protect them,” Prince Albert tells PEOPLE. “So we set up a classroom with the same teachers, classmates, they would have had if they had stayed in their school.”
The classroom in the palace’s private apartments “is actually in our old childhood nursery. It had since been turned into a home gym, but now it’s set up like a normal classroom,” he adds. “The kids attend classes with four others.”
Supplementing palace lessons are occasional outside gym classes and pool lessons with other children. Going to school at the palace sometimes means crossing the courtyard, which is currently being decorated for the principality’s annual Christmas party on December 15. The Christmas event, which was started by Albert’s late mother Princess Grace in 1958, allows every Monagasque child to come to the palace and receive a bespoke gift in person from the prince and members of the royal family.
In keeping with Grace’s original theme, which featured Disney cartoons as entertainment, the courtyard has been decorated with giant cartoon figures and tableaux, including Spongebob!
The twins’ birthday party will be held on Saturday and will also be attended by their four schoolmates and several cousins, according to the prince. And while the kids may suspect a Spongebob party, there will still be lots of surprises in store. “They’ll have seen the Spongebob decorations in one courtyard entrance, so they may have suspicions. But they haven’t seen the party room yet,” he says.
A notorious last-minute shopper, Prince Albert conceded earlier this week that he hadn’t quite finished wrapping their presents. “I have a few things in mind,” he admits. “To be truthful, I’m working more on their Christmas gifts.”
I have a September birthday, so my birthday always coincided with the start of school and that’s my birthday cross to bear. But December babies definitely have it harder – it feels like they get fewer gifts because people tend to believe that they can get ONE gift for birthday AND Christmas. It sucks and I’m sorry, December babies. Still, I would not have expected the Prince’s Palace to approve of a Spongebob-themed birthday party for the boy who will one day be sovereign of the principality.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.
My hubby’s birthday is Dec 20th and while we get him separate gifts because of his work schedule the opening of them frequently takes place while he’s opening his Christmas gifts.
I’ve often thought about throwing him a birthday party in like June so that he could have a special day. Can other December babies let me know if that’s something you might enjoy.
My mom’s birthday is a few days before Christmas and one year we threw her a surprise party in June and she loved it! Do it!
One of my nieces used to celebrate her half birthday.
My birthday is also on December 20th and one of my brothers was born on Christmas Day. He never got to have birthday parties with friends. Occasionally I would get to have a party but have never had an extravagant bash not even for those sentinel birthdays such as my 50th. I’ve considered having a mid-year b-day celebrations instead.
I’m a week before Christmas, and a June party would have been great! Another idea – a friend of mine was born on Christmas Eve, so she celebrates on Dec 1
My birthday is Dec 28. One year we decided to skip the same old winter bday party that was hard to schedule anyway and wait until summer. And then we forgot. So no bday party that year
My birthday was last week and I love having my birthday in December. I will have it no other way. It was always far away from Christmas that I could have a party, and still in the season so I get the full festive menus, decorations and atmosphere. That is something we won’t get in June. If he is really busy for work reasons and you can’t have a full birthday party for him the week before Christmas, what about the week after Christmas? If that doesn’t work, I think it’s great if you choose to celebrate it another time too. The important part is do you think it’s something he would like?
My birthday is the 19th and I have never minded or felt like I didn’t get “enough” presents. As a kid, my parents always gave me separate birthday and Christmas presents. They’re about a week apart. As an adult, I really don’t care. It actually makes December more fun to have lots of little events.
I’m sure he has people who take care of these things. It just doesn’t ring true that he’s rushing out to last-minute shop.
I’m getting Britney under conservatorship vibes with this IG post.
He’s lining things up for the divorce proceedings, and doing his damndest to represent her as an unfit mother.
exactly. and i do believe he lured her back to monaco to have her locked up.
My birthday is a few days before Christmas and I love it! I get presents and cake on my birthday, more presents and cake on Christmas, and then it’s New Years Eve. Plus there are so many public holidays that week so I don’t have to work. It’s like the best week ever,
My sons birthday is the 19th., and we would intentionally hold a birthday party early as most students are out for the holidays. Mine is in July and everyone was gone for the summer so I really didn’t have birthday parties until I was older! So summer babies birthdays also fall within that period of no one being around.
SpongeBob isn’t a Disney character. He’s Nickelodeon.
I’m just thankful these days to get to my next late December birthday.
She didn’t have to take the photo in order to make a post about it, right? I mean, somebody could have sent her the photo and then she posted the birthday greetings.
If a kid wants a SpongeBob party, he should have one – future sovereign or not. There’s a lot of stuff about Albert, but the one consistent thing I’ve heard/read is that he’s very devoted to Jacques and Gabrielle. So while SpongeBob may or may not be his first choice of a party for his heir, if Jacques really wants one, I’m not surprised Albert complied.
It doesn’t sound like Charlene was there and is still in treatment. I doubt she posted it but maybe told staff what to write.
That sounds likely. She is very much a devoted mother to her twins, as I see her being a loving mother. As for Albert, I will side eye him for the rest of one of our lives, including her family members that spoke last week.
I just feel bad fir her all the way around. She didn’t want to marry Albert, she tried to escape twice. He has dictated that should there be a divorce, he will have full custody, and she can’t do anything about it as he is the ruler of his country. Albert has a heat seeking “missile” that has a mind of its own, and Big Albert refuses to control Little Albert. She is despised by his subjects. Now she is struggling with these health issues. I feel bad for her all around.
Also, it was in the low ‘30’s in Texas where I am. I am thankful that I turned on the heating pads on our teak sofa outside! It has cushions and a cover, but we have several stray cats in the area. I peeked outside this morning, and a stray tortoise Kittykitty came out from under it! I am glad I paid attention to the weather!!
A giant mille feuille as a birthday cake is brilliant. Lucky kids.
And one for each kid! I like it!
Prince Albert is Bluebeard.
That said, I had a terrible ENT that came out of nowhere, wasn’t COVID, and caused reverse swallowing—where I couldn’t swallow without a drink or something and it kept me up at night. Plus ear pain, ringing, clogs, the feeling of fluid in the head, nasal congestion and sometimes completely swollen turbinates so the nasal passage was completely blocked. It’s terrible! And nothing seems to help. Seeing Charlene’s struggles is convincing me NOT to have surgery and just suffer through it until they can pinpoint a cause and address the underlying issue, not the symptoms. (Allergy meds don’t work—but oral steroids actually do something, but also lower your immune response during a pandemic. It’s nuts!) And a trip on an airplane made everything exponentially worse. All that to say, I believe Charlene got a terrible ENT and no one knew how to cure it, they did some surgeries on her that made everything worse (which is a noted complication), and it’s driven her mad and maybe even close to death’s door. But I also believe she and Albert are on the outs, she does not want to be in Monaco nor does she’s want to be with him, her mental health is suffering, and princes and prince culture are so damaging that no girl or woman should ever be permitted or permit herself to marry one so the whole archaic monarchy system can die out and princes can realize they’re no better and no more deserving of anything than anyone else.
I’ve gradually come around to settling on your explanation for this whole mess. I now agree that she did probably have a devastating ENT infection that wasn’t handled properly and she got worse and worse. She couldn’t eat, got dizzy and weak, couldn’t travel and was at wit’s end. It affected everything, both her physical and mental health. I also agree that her marriage has tanked. She needs lots of rest, no outside stresses. I think she’s just exhausted and can’t be a hands-on parent or “royal” at this point.
I cosign this. she looks so frail. she needs to recover.
(which doesn’t mean she can’t make a post on insta.)
hopefully the public pressure will ease up. it can’t help.
My birthday was just last week. Growing up (and even now) I always insisted that there were two weeks in between my birthday and Christmas….no excuse to combine gifts lol. The worst part though….while I was in school my birthday would often coincide with finals. So I was either studying for or taking tests. That was the worst.
I’m not getting any vibes from this though. Something in me believes Albert’s words on Charlene’s health overall. Right now, I’ll believe that she actually wrote this message. BUT, this whole situation with her is utterly confusing.
Albert is not picking out or wrapping either birthday or Christmas presents. The nannies, grandparents and aunties are probably doing that.
And how lucky for them that he can pick up the school and have it in the palace. what am I missing and why couldn’t the school have stayed where it was? what in the living privilege is this.
I know, let’s just move the classroom to the palace. The other students can attend class here and the teachers can instruct them here as well. No point in placing the health of my children in jeopardy when I have a palace!!!
How out of touch and utterly mind blowing!! Albert is a man that doesn’t take anyone into consideration, just his own needs!! My god Albert is a selfish pig!! And I can assure his children that he is not wrapping a f*ing thing!
I didn’t quite figure out how that was better–same teachers, same classmates, but different location? How is that better?
I could be wrong but I was assuming that the schools were closed in Monaco for an extended period. So they just hired the teachers, invited a few friends, and created a learning pod in the palace. Privileged, yes, but I’d do the same if I could and if the alternative was no school at all. Probably helped the teachers out too. (Zoom school doesn’t really work for 6 year olds, as I learned thru painful experience in 2020!)
So Lionel, all the schools are closed, but he kept his children’s class open so they didn’t suffer. One rule for them and another for us. Selfish. Not a good look at all, and how terrible to boast about it.
It seems clear that Charlene is still recovering in a treatment center somewhere & likely will be for some time (my guess would be 90 days at minimum). There’s no reason why she would be restricted from posting to Instagram by her treatment team & honestly, had Albert wanted to stop her posting anything when she was in South Africa, I suspect he could have managed that. He may not be a good husband, but I think he’s been managing ok as a dad during Charlene’s ordeal.
He has an army of nannies and governesses too!! It’s not like he is cooking them breakfast and getting them dressed and off to school.
Well, yes. I didn’t figure Albert was packing lunches before a busy work day or picking the kids up from swim lessons lol. And I doubt the man ever changed a diaper. But I do think he’s a caring father to the twins, especially by royal standards.
@ Lizzie Bathory But what makes you think that aside from PR put out by his people?
@equality I mean, I don’t know the man. It’s entirely possible that he’s cold, neglectful & distant. The vibe I get is just that he is caring, appears engaged when he appears in public with the children & they seem comfortable in his presence, which suggests to me that they have a parent/child relationship that is more “normal” than some other royal families. For all of their messiness, the Grimaldis have always seemed to me to be closer than some other royal families, though lord knows I have no desire to be an apologist for them.
So Albert just took the teachers from whatever school the kids were attending? What about any other children who might need to keep attending classes in person or virtually? Unless there are only six 7-year-olds attending that school and he’s moved the whole school to the Palace. What am I missing?
You are missing nothing. He setup their classmates and teacher in his home so his children would not be left behind. To hell with the children in the rest of the school…and country for that matter.
It would have been better if he said they had a tutor or even were remoting in like the rest of country. But these royals are blind to their privilege.
My youngest cousin “moved” his December birthday to June, too! He told his parents he wanted to have a pool party like his two older brothers, so they made it happen. Eventually he decided that getting double presents around Christmas was more exciting than swimming with his friends, so he switched it back. But he loved it for a few years!
Friday was my birthday, too. I didn’t know I shared a birthday with these tikes!
I never minded having a December birthday so much because growing up, we were still in school at that time and it was two weeks before the holiday so there was time for a party. In college it did tend to fall around finals, but at that age I didn’t care about my birthday as much I guess.
My sister-in-law’s birthday is Christmas Day. She grew up in Latvia where they use the Eastern Orthodox calendar so that only became a thing for her when she moved here as a teen. I just give her one, really good present and she’s fine with that.
As for Charlene, I feel so badly for her. All I want for her is to be able to see her kids as much as possible going forward, even if they do divorce. The kids need their mother too. And I think a Sponge Bob party is a great idea! My nephew is a teen and he’s still obsessed with Sponge Bob.
My cousin was born on the 4th of July. When she was little, she thought all the fireworks were for her. Even now, she says it’s the best birthday, because everyone is ready to have fun!
Also, SpongeBob is a good BD party theme. I hope Charlene is where she wants to be and recovering.
My birthday is December 7. My parents always had a family party for me growing up and my family gave me birthday gifts as well as Christmas gifts on Christmas. I can’t speak for folks who are born on Christmas but being a December baby is actually awesome. Lots of gifts all in one month.
They are very cute kids and it’s sad they can’t be shielded from this drama, even on their birthday. This whole mystery surrounding Charlene and her health and the Monaco marriage is starting to get Princess in the tower mystery vibes.
I was under the impression that she was sent the photos of the kids and then decided to share it on Instagram. I don’t think anyone was supposed to believe that she was actually there for their birthday.
They are super-cute kids, and they always look happy and well-taken care of. I honestly do think Albert is being a good dad (with lots of paid help) during this time when Charlene can’t parent due to her health issues.
The children should be off limits to the media but instead looks like they’re more exposed now more than ever. Albert and Charlene need to put their weird saga aside and make the kids their first priority. The speculation on what’s wrong with Charlene has become almost a sport for some people, especially in media.