Princess Charlene Reflects on the Wedding

In a recent interview with the Times HSH Princess Charlene of Monaco talked about married life and even addressed the unpleasantness caused by the slanderous gossip rags on the day of her wedding to the Sovereign Prince. She made clear that all the rumors were "categorical lies" which anyone with half a brain should have known from the start, however, the media being as it is, the Princess had to comment on it. Still, she says her wedding was the best three days of her life and seems rather like a dream when looked back on. She said she still sometimes marvels that the Eagles played at her wedding, one of many indications of how far she has come from the simple, girl-next-door in South Africa where she grew up. However, she admitted that the rumors made things difficult and put extra strain on what was already an immense undertaking -as any royal wedding is bound to be. It must have been extremely difficult for her and the Princess related how, at the end of the ceremony, all the worry, all the joy and all the mixed emotions finally came out and tears started to run down her face, which she immediately realized would be seen by everyone and possibly taken the wrong way. Bless her.

The newest Princess of Monaco also talked about how royal life has been treating her since the big day. She talked about her Princess Charlene Foundation, part of which is devoted to teaching Monegasque and French children how to swim, combining her lifelong passion for swimming with her love of children. It really is a perfect fit and she also talked about the fashion show she organized and her goal of bringing the children of all classes together in various ways such as a recent project to have the youngsters design their own school uniforms. In the world of royalty, the Princess of Monaco related that she is very fond of the new Queen Maxima of The Netherlands. Also coming from outside of Europe and marrying into an old royal house, the two have some things in common and Princess Charlene said that the Dutch Queen has been "unbelievably supportive if I need anything". When asked, the Princess also had nothing but kind words for the Duchess of Cambridge and praise for how well she has handled herself since becoming part of the British Royal Family. Since the Duchess is due to give birth shortly this, of course, prompted a question about future children for the Prince and Princess of Monaco. She said that because the two travel so much it is something that will take time, that she is not putting any pressure on herself (good to hear) but that "it will happen". We will be waiting eagerly.

Princess Charlene Interview By the Sun Herald

What is it really like to be in the presence of royalty? John Elder spends a weekend with Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco.

When a bus drops a swarm of children at the front steps of the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, they are quietly sent around to the back entrance. Their chatter drops to a hush, and one little lad in outsize green-framed specs looks back nervously … perhaps as Lot’s wife did just before she turned into a pillar of salt. Standing in front of the main doors is a ferrety man with wrap-around sunglasses, a cheerless slit of a mouth and Terminator posture. He reeks of one thing: “Don’t even think about it.” Waiting off to the side are swimmer Sophie Edington and former Olympian Craig Jackson, a squad of diplomats, and a nuggety fellow named Lotfi Maktouf.

We’re all waiting for Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco to arrive, but the mood isn’t entirely serene. I’m on the other side of the entrance, under strict instructions to keep my distance, hold my tongue and otherwise act “humbly”. I will get my interview with Her Serene Highness later in the day. For the moment though, I’m not to even say, “Hello, how are you doing?” because it hasn’t been scheduled. Maktouf, a businessman and royal confidant, begs me, “Don’t give me a hard time today … Earn your afternoon interview.” In his eagerness for everything to go smoothly, he is generating a weird kind of anxiety.

Meanwhile, I look at the security guard’s stone features and wonder if the princess herself might be similarly forbidding. Since her marriage to Prince Albert of Monaco in July last year, she’s been routinely dubbed “the runaway bride” because of reports that she got cold feet in the lead-up to the wedding, and was stopped by police at the airport while attempting to “flee the country” and return to her family in South Africa.

Maktouf has told me he was having lunch with Charlene “on the prince’s instructions” on the very day she was said to be hot-footing it elsewhere, but it’s a banned topic for discussion with the princess. And yet it seems to have clung to her public image. It’s a story from which she can make no easy escape, in part because she can come across as aloof and even charmless in television interviews, suggesting she’s very much on the defensive. In one interview, following a charity swim, she looks off to the side as she talks, doesn’t smile and her tone remains flat. In another, in a palace-like living room, she holds herself in a mild hunch as if physically hurt. She verges on a smile, but it could as easily be the ambivalent expression one presents to an intrusive stranger on a train.

Last December, however, a more ebullient and emotional princess was revealed when Charlene was the recipient of the Golden Heart award at the Ein Herz fur Kinder (A Heart for Children) ceremony in Berlin. The award was in recognition of her long commitment to teaching disadvantaged South African children to swim. Even so, in smiling footage and photographs from the ceremony, her eyes look startled, even pained. And so one question hangs over the princess, in a media-ruled world where princesses are eaten alive: “What’s she really like?”

This is what I’m thinking when a luxury Holden appears and there is Her Serene Highness on the back seat. She emerges with the beautiful and vulnerable gait of a giraffe, almost casual in a pale-pink pants suit (or is it that fashionable but tricky colour, “nude”?), with a blonde ponytail and the face of an excited schoolgirl who must remind herself to be a little solemn, as if she is in fact one of those children elected to present flowers to princesses.

She’s clearly excited to see Craig Jackson, a childhood hero and coach, and Sophie Edington, a competitor from her days on the international swimming circuit and, more importantly, a friend. Edington attended the wedding in Monaco and seems to be the most relaxed person present. There is, however, a moment of formality, when various members of the party bob their heads while shaking Charlene’s hand. I’ve been told that when I meet theprincess, I need to give a little bow. This has been stressing me out; I’ve never bowed to anyone before. I’d been hoping to get some instruction, but this head bobbing seems insufficiently deferential.

The party then wanders through the doors and into the pool area. A group of children are standing in two lines, shyly agog. Later, when I ask Charlene if little girls treat her like a rock star, she says: “I don’t know. Do they treat me like a rock star? For me …I don’t know myself any differently. I’ve always been surrounded by children during my swimming career. Giving them advice. I don’t feel any different among children.” Her Serene Highness was an Olympic swimmer, a Commonwealth Games medallist, and her visit to the aquatic centre is a nostalgic one: she took out a gold medal for backstroke in the 2002 World Cup here. In South Africa, as in Australia, sporting champions are a kind of royalty, anyway. Kids have always looked up to her.

When the children dive into the pool and perform a series of drills, Her Serene Highness stands close to the edge – not noticing or caring that the bottoms of her trousers are getting damp – her hands behind her back, chatting and at ease with her friends, but her eyes are often fixed on what the swimmers are doing. When they start kicking off the side and doing tumble turns over the lane rope, she cranes forward and seems to be making mental notes. Later she tells me, “I was learning something. I’m always looking at form and technique [for coaching] and I hadn’t seen that before. I think I’ll copy it.”

After the demonstration, and a brisk walking tour, the princess heads to the centre’s modest café, settles onto one of the plastic chairs and sips at a cappuccino while swapping stories with Jackson and Edington. When others are speaking, Charlene tends to rub at the cuticles of her thumbs with her fingertips – or at least she does when there’s a giant journalist sitting nearby noting down her every gesture. I have long thought how rotten it would be to have people constantly noting your every move and gesture, but here I am doing it. Is it any wonder if she freezes in the relentless glare of media curiosity? But here, in this cafe where little kids are running around with half-eaten sausage rolls in their hands, when Charlene speaks to her mates, she forgets who is watching and her hands paint wild pictures in the air.

Because she has such long, elegant arms, she takes up a lot of space with this gesticulation. Her face is equally expressive. Her eyes almost pop when she’s telling a yarn; her mouth draws wide with amazement at what she’s recounting. She is, in short, a live wire.

An hour later I talk to John Kelly by phone. John is Prince Albert’s cousin, and Grace Kelly’s nephew. Like Charlene, John Kelly was in Australia for the opening of the fabulous Grace Kelly: Style Icon exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery. He told me about Grace at the annual Kelly family gatherings at their beach house in Ocean City, New Jersey. “I’d be hanging around as the youngster, and Grace would be sitting at the table playing cards and gossiping and laughing and telling stories. Just having a good time with her family.”

The more he talked, the more I thought about Charlene unselfconsciously hamming it up with her mates. I’d been asked by Lotfi Maktouf not to “push Charlene into a corner with comparisons between her and Princess Grace”, but I couldn’t help but think of the old notion that men end up marrying their mothers. The story goes that Grace was the family’s light and soul. When John visited his cousin in Monaco, he recalled the family playing exuberantly “in the rec room” as happy families do. After Princess Grace died in 1982, the rec room was closed down. Prince Albert told his cousin that Prince Rainier could no longer bear to go in there. The light had gone out. So perhaps there’s something restorative at play in Albert’s marriage to Charlene. For as John Kelly says: “She is just too lovely and a lot of fun. A really good gal. I just know that she and Albert have a great time together. They are fun to hang out with. She makes him laugh and have fun.”

He also mentions that Charlene, like Grace, is a person of great thoughtfulness and compassion. During the lead up to Charlene’s wedding, John’s sister Maura died. He says Charlene took the time to call and let him know she had commissioned a special rose for the palace garden in Maura’s name. “It was a wonderful gesture, very touching … that in the midst of getting ready for the wedding, she took the time to think of that and think of Albert’s cousin and include us in her thoughts. I just find her to be a pretty special person.”

I’d meant to go home and change into a good suit for the exclusive interview with Her Serene Highness. But the day had passed talking to Charlene’s friends and family and I realised I had run out of time and would have to attend the interview in a sports coat, chinos, a blue shirt and riding boots. I looked like an old farmer who’d come to town for the royal show. As I walked up the hill to the Grand Hyatt hotel, my shirt soaked through with sweat. I’d been told so many things not to ask the Princess - even about her love of South African ethnic poetry and contemporary art – that I was freaking out. Maktouf said he’d be sitting in on the conversation “and would be interrupting, making corrections … I will stop you from asking the wrong thing.” He said one thing that was crucial for me to understand was that Charlene was under permanent scrutiny, and that every word she says is “carefully weighed”. Meanwhile, I’d tried out various ways of bowing in front of a mirror – and looked like a goose.

As I walked into Charlene’s suite, she turned and threw out a warm and enchanting hand. For some reason, I clicked my heels together like a German count, dropped my head in salute, and in a voice better suited to a late-night telephone call said, “Your Serene Highness, hello.” She laughed easily at the fool that I was, and continued to laugh throughout the interview. And what did we talk about in those 15 minutes? Somehow it all came back to swimming.

She told stories of “stalking” the South African Olympic swimming team when she was 12, keen to watch their every move, lying on the bottom of the pool and looking up as they trained above. When on holidays, she says, people came up and asked if she’d teach their kids to swim. While not everybody can be a champion, she believes that “when you teach a child to swim, to help them further themselves, they then have the self-esteem to go even further”.

These days she loves ocean swimming. I suggested this must be more meditative than training for races. “Yes, I just love to get in and swim … When I retired [in 2007] it was a bit difficult because I was always contemplating whether I should come back or not. But watching all the times now, it’s like, ‘Whoa, I’m definitely not coming back.’ So now I can just swim for fun.”

I asked if the discipline of swim training had helped her adjust to a public life as an ambassadorial princess where there is always the demand to be on. “We do have a demanding schedule. When we do have to time to relax with friends, that’s great … but really, I’ve never known anything different. That’s just the way it is.”

The following day, Charlene and party drove to Bendigo, where she was opening the Grace Kelly exhibition. The word of her visit was kept so quiet that, outside the official party that included the Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu and his wife, and dozens of schoolchildren waving flags, there was only a small scrum of regular folk who gathered over the hour beforehand to see what was happening. It was an almost nostalgically country setting, and a weirdly magical one in which Charlene appeared out of nowhere after the drumming pageant of Chinese dragons was done parading back and forth.

She emerged with her hair down and behind her ears. Her dress (she insisted on a local designer, in this case Johanna Johnson) featured jewel-like borders along the neckline, shoulders and waist. She paid no heed to the media gathering but stopped to pose for children with their digital cameras and phones, accepting flowers and cards and asking, “What’s your name?”

Her speech was a modest affair, paying tribute to Grace Kelly as an artist and style icon, and to Princess Grace as a mother. She started out with a sweet “g’day” and then struggled with nerves momentarily. I couldn’t help thinking of my question to her, as she relaxed in her hotel room the night before: did you dress up as a princess when you were a little girl?

“No. Never. I liked to dress up as Zorro.”

Facts about Charlene:

Born in Zimbabwe in 1978, Charlene Lynette Wittstock is the first of three children. Her swimming-coach mum sparked her interest in the sport at a young age.

Charlene and her family relocated to South Africa when she was 11.

By 15, she was a South African junior swimming champion.

At 22, Charlene was a member of the women’s 4 x 100m medley South African team, which finished fifth at the 2000 Olympics.

After fracturing her ankle, Charlene retired from competitive swimming aged 29.

At 33, Princess Charlene married Prince Albert II of Monaco. While the ceremony itself was small, more than 5000 Monégasques followed the proceedings from the palace square.

Prince Albert II Looks Back

In this recent radio interview, HSH Prince Albert II answers questions and takes a look back at 2011, a very eventful year for the Principality of Monaco and the House of Grimaldi.

Princely Couple Interviewed on "Today"

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Princess Charlene Speaks to Press at Paris Fashion Week

Professionial-attention-seekers are drawn to Paris Fashion Week like insecure moths to a paparazzi-flash flame; rap stars (Kanye West launched an atrocious fashion "collection" here on Saturday), film stars (Julianne Moore kept her sunglasses on at Lanvin), and those - like Lindsay Lohan at the West event - who defy all job description, all stew together on the pret-a-porter front row. Celebrities are ten-a-penny here.


The arrival of a bona fide princess, however, is a rare event. And that the surprise royal attendee at the Swiss label Akris's Spring 2012 show was Princess Charlene of Monaco yesterday meant it was an unmanufactured buzz that zinged down the sweltering benches in the Palais de Chaillot.

For Charlene, Princess of Monaco - who wore a pretty, light bronze Akris dress as she quietly took her place two seats down from Anna Wintour, the editor of American Vogue, then endured those camera flashes - is both Europe's most recently minted princess and its most enigmatic.

Before her wedding to Prince Albert II in July, there were reports that she had been suffering nerves. Since her marriage, she has been glimpsed in public only rarely.

Yesterday the princess was here because of her close relationship with the label: she wore an Akris gown to the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton, and often consults Albert Kriemler, its owner and designer. As the models emerged to a catwalk split by racing track road markings and the tannoyed roar of Formula One engines revving and roaring, it became clear that this collection was an homage to Monaco's most famous sporting event: its Grand Prix.

The princess smiled at models in sporty parkas and print dresses that showed a glamorous woman watching the race from Monaco's Hotel de l'Hermitage, or were striped with an elongated photograph of a speeding vintage race car. The princess's applause, and that of the rest of the audience too, was very well deserved.

Princess Charlene said that she had been wearing Akris since well before she and Albert were guests at the royal wedding in April. She laughed off rumours that she would like to design clothes herself, and added: "No, but I do know what I like. And if I speak to Albert (Kriemler) about certain things he adapts them for me."

Her South African accent is as broad as her swimmer's shoulders.

Are there things she could not wear, I and Telegraph Fashion Editor Lisa Armstrong wondered - for certain dresses in the Akris collection were extremely revealing: "There are certain protocols, and obviously I wouldn't show too much - it [Monaco] is a Catholic country."

Would she ever go high street shopping like the Duchess of Cambridge, only recently spotted browsing through Topshop? "I wouldn't want to compare myself to her."

Far from being dismissive, this was said with great caution - the new princess has become quickly wise to the press. She went on to praise Akris and this Monaco-themed collection, so we asked whether being its princess is something she anticipates will be a full-time job.

"Of course," she replied. "I think that would be expected of me in the near future. But I have just taken a bit of a break. I think, like [anyone], I need time to adjust. I just got married." And for the first time she laughed.

She conceded that learning French is a struggle, but that she's working at it. "Step by step: it's coming along but it takes time."

And then, just as our time was coming to its end, Princess Charlene's shoulders relaxed, and she seemed to ask us to excuse her nerves. "Honestly I don't want to be too cut-off. But obviously the press haven't been really good for us in the past. And that started before the wedding and the sources had come from British [newspapers]. And I was like 'Why?' So I'm speaking to the enemy now."

Princess Charlene, we assured her, you most certainly are not: The Daily Telegraph does not stitch up royalty.

"I'm just learning," she said, looking around her for the first time at the hoverers around us. We're surprised, we responded, that she doesn't have a much larger security detachment. A steely glint entered her eye: "I don't like that. I'm quite independent."

Yet how could you ever live a fairly normal life now you are a Grimaldi princess? "I will," she said with slow and deliberate emphasis, then paused and added: "Do it my way. I think for anyone living in a new country and adapting to a new lifestyle, it's a different role. I was an Olympic swimmer, I lived in a swimsuit, I lived on tour."

And she still swims a lot. She loves to watch the Grand Prix too - she added that she loves all sport and can't wait for London 2012 - and got a thrill in the pit of her stomach the first time she heard those engines revving outside her palace window.

She has been spending a lot of time in the family house, Roc Agel, on the French side of the Monaco border, she said. It was from here that Princess Grace, Charlene's late grandmother-in-law, was driving when she perished in a road accident 29 years ago. But Princess Charlene's introduction into the Grimaldi family long postdates that tragedy, and mentioning Roc Agel seemed to lift her spirits a notch higher. By now, in fact, she was indisputably chipper. And it was time to go.

As we got to our feet, she said one more thing. "I think, in general, that it's all good."

(From The Telegraph)

Interview with Prince Albert and Charlene

The French newspaper Journal du Dimanche recently interviewed the Princely couple attending the Mere Nostrum International Swimming Competition in Monaco and of course the subject of the wedding came up:

How do you feel? There are only three weeks until your marriage?

Albert II: We cannot wait to get married, but we have so many things to do before. My work continues despite our upcoming marriage. I don’t feel any particular stress upon the approach to our marriage. We are very relaxed.

Charlene: I’m in the same state of mind that any woman feels upon her marriage. We’re committed to life, it is not something to take lightly. Some brides stress. Others, do not. I feel calm…

But you are not marrying just anyone, you will soon become a princess …

Charlene: Yes, but I won’t let that pressure take a hold of me.

What will be your role?

Charlene: My role will be defined once I am married. Although I have learned, during five years in Monaco, the proper palace protocol, the habits as well as the customs of the principality. Today, I feel ready.

Albert: I let Charlene find herself and find identity here in the principality. She was already very involved in humanitarian causes for the youth. Moreover, she already has an established role in the sports world. Recently, she was appointed the Ambassador for Special Olympics, a foundation dedicated athletes with disabilities worldwide.

You are both great athletes, are you talking about sport together?

Charlene: All the time! This is one of the many things we have in common. It is sports that has truly united us.

Miss Wittstock do you feel apart of Monaco?

Charlene: I’m starting to get to know people from the principality. Now, I truly feel that I have found my where I have bearings here. Much more than in the early years. Today, I feel apart of the family here in the principality.

You are from South Africa. Do you miss your native country?

Charlene: South Africa is a part of me and will always be. In my heart I’ll always be South African, although today, Monaco is my new country and home.

This marriage is a way for you to give another image of Monaco?

Albert: Although this is not its primary purpose, this marriage will help correct the image of Monaco, a country that has always suffered from stereotypes. To better know the identity of Monaco and its values, its economic, social, cultural, humanitarian, sports, environmental. The power of attraction of Monaco will be strengthened.

Your Serene Highness, you’re close to your sisters. What is the relationship between Caroline, Stephanie and your future wife, Charlene?

Albert: We’re really lucky. I not only get along very well with the Charlene’s family, but Charlene works perfectly with mine. In the end, it all came naturally. In my family we have a great team spirit. Charlene is apart of this team has all the support from my sisters.

Charlene: I’m very comfortable with the prince’s sisters, Princesses Caroline and Stephanie. We get along well and they are strong women, great mothers.

A happy event promises to be there?

Albert: Well when you say children and you look at me, I’m not the one carrying them.

Charlene: I love children. We definitely want children and we hope to have a children soon.

Albert & Charlene German TV Interview

Some highlights for those who don't sprechen die deutsch so well, they'd prefer a small wedding but prefer to include the people, Charlene admires Caroline and Stephanie and she can't wait to have a family. Yes! The Grimaldi-Polignac line might just go on. Somewhere up above Prince Pierre has his fingers crossed...

Was Princess Stephanie a Police Officer?

"Pure People" caught up with HSH Princess Stephanie of Monaco for a few words about the Monte Carlo Circus Festival early this year and the goings-on in her life. Princess Steph said she shared her big brother's concern for the environment but that her number one "cause" was her children. Glad to have Pauline at her side for the gala, Louis, she said, was more discreet, tending only to show himself when there will not be a horde of photographers present and in any event mostly keeping his mind on his studies at university (good man Louis). Her children are her "pride and joy" and always top priority. Also, even though the Princess herself has not had the best of luck in the romance department, Steph said she is very much looking forward to Prince Albert and Charlene's upcoming wedding and that she will be just as happy as everyone else in Monaco when that special day comes. "I look forward to this wedding! This will be a big family celebration with the people of Monaco, who are so happy for my brother".

When asked how Charlene will cope with the position of Princess of Monaco, Stephanie, who has had some experience with the title herself of course, said that it will not always be easy, but life is difficult for everyone at times. Her late mother, Princess Grace, made it work, and she seems confident that Charlene can too. Princess Grace taught her that love was the key, "it works miracles". Finally, on a more trivial subject, Monaco's rebel princess and chief AIDS crusader was asked about her favorite television shows. What does Princess Stephanie like to watch when it's time to veg-out in front of the TV? Steph admits she has little time for television but, when she does, her American side comes through as her favorite show is "CSI". Stephanie said, "Perhaps I was a policeman in a previous life". In the past, I would have said I could never picture such a thing as "Officer Stephanie" but, seeing what a protective mother she is, perhaps it is not that great a leap after all.

Talking to Princess Stephanie

Regular readers will know I have a soft spot for Princess Stephanie, always have, and since her last interview with Paris Match I have wanted to relate some of that. Other things came up but, better late than never. The interview noted the appearance of Stephanie’s office and that she seemed to be existing on Diet Coke but that was due to Camille having the flu and, as Princess Stephanie said, her “first job is mom”. On the subject of the Princess’ rather varied resume; singer, model, fashion designer, humanitarian etc Stephanie confessed that she has had a rather hectic life. This was not exactly what she would have intended. “I built my life as a woman alone because I had lost my mother, my reference, my guide”, Stephanie said, “I tried to learn everything from everyone and everywhere, by myself, because I had no guide”. She realized how life could be cut short and was determined to live it to the fullest, try everything and enjoy it while she could. However, Stephanie was adamant that she has no regrets. All of her life experiences made her the woman that she is and she is content with how she turned out. So, no regrets but, mistakes, she’s had a few. However, even there she says they made her stronger.

The PM interviewer asked her a lot about her love for the Circus which, Stephanie said, came from her father taking her growing up. He had dreamed of being a circus manager as a boy (something I never knew) and passed on his love for the spectacle to Stephanie. She has always been impressed by it. Today Stephanie is very involved in the ‘nuts and bolts’ of being President of the International Circus of Monte-Carlo. As Stephanie said, it would be useless to be president and only attend performances. When asked what she likes about both sides of the Circus, public and behind the scenes, Stephanie said, on the inside, it is the solidarity. There is a family atmosphere, even when there is competition, that causes performers to help each other, stay honest and because the people involved work so hard to bring a little happiness to others. When asked about the criticism Stephanie has received from animal rights activist over her love of the Circus, the Princess would not budge. She admitted some small circuses might mistreat their animals but the activists generally ignore those and go after the wealthier, bigger circuses where the animals are actually treated extremely well. She said she could not understand the extremists who seem to want to release every animal even though many in the Circus have been raised and lived there for six or seven generations and could not survive in the wild.

Princess Stephanie said she had something of the same mentality as the Circus performers when it came to her work for Fight AIDS Monaco, giving of herself to bring a little happiness to others. As can easily be seen, Stephanie remarked that, “Life has taught me compassion”. She shrugs off those who think helping the victims of AIDS creates a “bad image”. She also spoke about her children, how she takes them to the circus like her father took her and that they have inherited her love for it as well and she remarked on Pauline and her commitment to competitive diving. In fact, Pauline spent so much time taking care of the animals (the elephants especially) at the circus that she even wanted to spend the night with them. The Princess, however, said she exercised her “veto” when it came to that extreme. However she said the performers in the circus were like athletes, something that Pauline would have in common with them. She takes her diving very seriously but has told her coach she has to make time for the circus too. As the Princess laughingly said, “The succession is assured!”

On the larger subject of motherhood Stephanie admitted that the children are growing up and will some day go their own way, just not too soon. She gives them her advice based on her life experiences but wants to allow them to have their own experiences. She has tried to impart some moderation on them, urging them to wait until they are older before trying certain things (drinking, partying) and to know that some things are fun once and a while but should not be made a habit. She has never exposed them to the high life and parties of the jet-set crowd and as such they have no temptation in that direction and, she says, are happy to live more anonymously than some others. She stressed again that she learned nothing lasts forever and wants her children to be skilled and educated so that, come what may, they will always be able to adapt and do for themselves.

When it comes to being a princess, Stephanie has a very unromantic view of the position. When asked what it means to her, she said simply being the daughter of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace, nothing more. When asked about those girls who dream of being a princess, Stephanie said, “If people lived the life of a princess for even a week, they would dream a lot less”. No, there are no Cinderella’s or Sleeping Beauties for Stephanie. “We are human beings like any other, with our sorrows, our joys, our laughter, our tears … We suffer the same way, except that we still suffer in public” she said. On the fairy tale that befell Charlene, as we have mentioned before, Stephanie was very supportive, saying she had all of the qualities necessary to be a princess consort. She is sensitive, she is strong and Stephanie is willing to help in any way she can to support her brother whom she has always been very attached to. On the part she has to play in Monaco it is, according to the Princess, also one of supporting her brother. She prefers the less glamorous style, slightly off stage, with the people. As Stephanie said, “Monegasques see me pushing my trolley when I go shopping, they approach me, ask me for advice, I try to refer them to appropriate services to solve their problem”. She remarked on how busy and hard working Prince Albert is and that, for the sisters, they each try to cover a certain segment to help out. Princess Stephanie deals with the people at home, Princess Caroline covers the international issues and the glamorous events Stephanie would rather avoid and between them they keep all bases covered.

Interview, Albert and Charlene

Oh, Charlene, You Were Doing So Well

Charlene Wittstock, set to become Princess of Monaco next summer, has made some eyebrows go up and made me slap my head in an interview given to the UK’s Tatler. Oh, where to begin? In the first place, I have to wonder what Charlene was thinking giving such an interview to Tatler of all people, but that is a minor issue compared to what she talked about. One would be tempted to ask Charlene if she would like some cheese with her whine. She complained about being “subject to jealousy” since coming to Monaco, which she admitted “comes with the territory” but seems like an odd thing to say. If you knew it came with the territory, why even mention it? Charlene, you are a young Olympian who looks great in a swimsuit who lives in a palace and is about to marry the Prince of Monaco -the last thing anyone wants is to hear you complain. However, she went on.

“The people I mixed with in Monaco didn’t relate to my South African mentality or humor.” Well, again, that is to be expected Charlene, Monaco is a completely different country from South Africa on a completely different continent. You are moving on to their turf and it is your duty to adapt to the Monegasque, not for the Monegasque to adapt to you. She also said, “Although I have met some wonderful people since I’ve been living in Monaco, I regard them all as acquaintances. I only have two people I consider friends here.” And would one of those two select people be the Prince himself? This really blew my mind and I cannot help but wonder how many of those “acquaintances” thought they were friends of Charlene before she said such a thing. She comes off in this as having an attitude that a great many people are not ‘good enough’ for her friendship. Of course, many princesses of Monaco have come to the country and struggled to gain acceptance but talking like this a year before the wedding is certainly not going to help that situation. I also cannot help but point out, after the years she has spent with Albert and the considerable time she has been a common feature in Monaco, well, Charlene, dear, if you have only two friends at this point that might say more about you than it does about them.

Some may think I am being too harsh here, but I cannot help being astounded by this. I have never had anything against Charlene, I have always given her the benefit of the doubt and sincerely hoped that she be given a fair chance and not be constantly judged by the impossible standards set by Princess Grace. However, I cannot imagine any Princess of Monaco saying these sort of things, especially at such a time as this. As I recently pointed out here things were far from easy for Princess Grace when she first arrived in Monaco but she never publicly complained about it or even mentioned it. Charlene also said that, as Princess of Monaco, she wants to modernize the principality and even named names saying she wants to see a Starbucks and a Manolo Blahnik shoe store installed in the country. Again, Charlene dear, I am trying to be as generous as I can but saying you want to “modernize” the country by means of a coffee shop and a shoe store just makes you look shallow.

There was more talk about adjustment problems adapting to high society life but, as you can tell, I was very disappointed by the interview and as someone who wants the best for Charlene who will be the next Princess of Monaco, I don’t think she did herself any favors here. From what I have seen, regardless of her intentions, she seems to come off as critical and a bit condescending; not exactly the ideal for a woman about to marry into the Princely Family of Monaco especially when she has already been a familiar face for several years. I’m sure it will also annoy some people that her first ‘revealing’ interview was given to a British magazine instead of a French-language publication. This really seems to me to make Charlene look bad and I cannot imagine what she could have been thinking going on record in this way.

Nice-Matin Interviews Charlene Wittstock

Your engagement was officially announced June 23, 2010, how do you feel?
I feel great joy and emotion as you can imagine. I know it is an important moment for the people of Monaco. I’ll do anything to be worthy of its expectations.
You imagine yourself already in your role as Princess?
For over four years, I learned about Monaco, its different populations – there are over 124 nationalities – and I really love this country. I’m still better appreciate its specificities, its traditions, its history. But deep in my heart, it is my country already.
What struck you most arriving in Monaco?
I think I was very fortunate to discover in Monaco alongside the person who knows best (smile). But above all his incredible openness to the world and its incomparable generosity. I know that the country in Europe which gives the most per capita for humanitarian causes. This spirit of generosity is the first characteristic of the population and the many actions that are taken can only give pride to residents.
Do you intend to invest in a humanitarian cause, a foundation?
Since my teens, I have been busy sharing what I could do. In South Africa, when I was very young, I used to help disadvantaged children learn to swim. I really got from them. At this point I realized that giving was the most beautiful gesture that we can do. In Monaco, I want to get involved in defending a cause dedicated to children and in which sport has its place.
We saw you next to Nelson Mandela and more recently you have supported Mandela Day. What does this mean to you?
I remember back in 1995 during the Rugby World Cup in South Africa, Nelson Mandela was on the ground with a polo Springbok representing unity and freedom within our country. The same year, he launched the Children Foundation. I was then 17 years old. I admire Nelson Mandela for his courage, he changed the course of history. The suffering he has borne makes him a unique person. This is why I am so proud of my contribution to the Fund of Nelson Mandela. However, the work is just beginning and he has many things to do.
What is the importance of organizing the World Cup Soccer in South Africa?
This is the first time in history that Africa receives a global event as important and I am very happy.
What relationships do you have with your family?
We are a very united family. Gareth, Sean [her brothers] and myself have been educated with the same values, those that sport has given us. This gave us a lot of balance. Sport is a family heirloom: my uncle led the Springboks team and my mother was a high level sport. It was a simple family life, healthy, with strong links between us. This is very structured.
What are the passions that you share with Prince Albert?
Priority, that of sport is that it allowed us to know ourselves. But we’re both philanthropists, we like to go to meet others, we have the same interest in understanding what is happening in the world and the same willingness to help others. But we also have subjects on which we do not agree!
Which?
Let me protect my secret garden …
You now have an official status, what is different for you today?
I am aware of the responsibilities imposed on me that my official status. I will continue to familiarize myself with the daily habits and customs of the Principality, the protocol and rules of the Palace to prepare myself to best accomplish the mission confided to me that the prince is at my side.


Vos fiançailles ont été officiellement annoncées le 23 juin 2010, que ressentez-vous ?
Je ressens beaucoup de joie et d’émotion comme vous pouvez l’imaginer. Je sais aussi que c’est un moment important pour la population monégasque . Je ferai tout pour être digne de ses attentes.
Vous imaginez-vous déjà dans votre rôle de Princesse ?
Depuis plus de quatre ans, j’ai appris à connaître Monaco, ses différentes populations – il y a plus de 124 nationalités – et j’aime vraiment ce pays. Je dois encore mieux apprécier ses spécificités, ses traditions, son histoire. Mais au fond de mon cœur, c’est déjà mon pays.
Qu’est-ce qui vous a le plus frappé en arrivant en Principauté ?
Je crois que j’ai eu la grande chance de découvrir Monaco aux côtés de la personne qui le connaît le mieux (sourire). Mais c’est avant tout son incroyable ouverture sur le monde et son incomparable générosité. Je sais que c’est le pays en Europe qui donne le plus par habitant pour les causes humanitaires. Cet esprit de générosité est la première caractéristique de la population et les nombreuses actions qui sont menées ne peuvent que donner de la fierté aux habitants.
Avez-vous l’intention de vous investir dans une cause humanitaire, une fondation ?
Depuis mon adolescence, je n’ai eu de cesse de partager ce que je savais faire. En Afrique du Sud, très jeune, j’aidais les enfants déshérités à apprendre à nager. J’ai beaucoup reçu de leur part. C’est à ce moment-là que j’ai compris que donner était le plus beau geste que l’on puisse faire. À Monaco, je souhaite m’investir dans la défense d’une cause dédiée aux enfants et dans laquelle le sport aura toute sa place.
On vous a vu à côté de Nelson Mandela et plus récemment vous avez soutenu la Mandela Day. Qu’est-ce que cela représente pour vous ?
Je me rappelle qu’en 1995, pendant la Coupe du Monde de Rugby, en Afrique du Sud, Nelson Mandela était sur le terrain avec un polo des Springboks représentant l’unité et la liberté à l’intérieur de notre pays. La même année, il a lancé la Children Foundation. J’avais alors 17 ans. J’admire Nelson Mandela pour son courage, il a changé le cours de l’histoire. La souffrance qu’il a supportée fait de lui une personne unique. C’est pourquoi je suis si fière d’apporter ma contribution au Fonds de Nelson Mandela. Cependant, le travail ne fait que commencer et il reste tant de choses à faire.
Quelle est l’importance de l’organisation de la Coupe du Monde de Football en Afrique du Sud ?
C’est la première fois dans l’histoire que l’Afrique reçoit un événement mondial aussi important et j’en suis très heureuse.
Quels rapports entretenez-vous avec votre famille ?
Nous sommes une famille très unie. Gareth, Sean et moi-même avons été éduqués avec les mêmes valeurs, celles que le sport nous a données. Cela nous a apporté beaucoup d’équilibre. Le sport est un héritage familial : mon oncle entraînait l’équipe des Springboks et ma mère était une sportive de haut niveau. C’était une vie familiale simple, saine, avec entre nous des liens forts. Ce qui est très structurant.
Quelles sont les passions que vous partagez avec le prince Albert ?
Prioritairement, celle du sport, c’est elle qui nous a permis de nous connaître. Mais nous sommes tous les deux des personnes philanthropes, nous aimons aller à la rencontre des autres, nous avons le même intérêt pour comprendre ce qui se passe dans le monde et la même volonté à aider les autres. Mais nous avons aussi des sujets sur lesquels nous ne sommes pas d’accord !
Lesquels?
Laissez-moi protéger mon jardin secret…
Vous avez désormais un statut officiel, qu’est-ce qui est différent pour vous aujourd’hui ?
J’ai conscience des responsabilités que mon statut officiel m’impose. Je vais continuer à me familiariser chaque jour avec les us et coutumes de la Principauté, le protocole et les règles du Palais afin de me préparer au mieux à accomplir la mission que le Prince me confiera à ses côtés.

Andrea Casiraghi in Hola!

Andrea Casiraghi, eldest son of Princess Caroline and second-in-line to the Monegasque throne as things stand now, was recently interviewed in Hola! Magazine and gave some interesting and important information on his current status. The occasion of the interview was Andrea becoming patron of the Motrice Foundation which is dedicated to the assistance of people suffering from cerebral palsy. The photos were taken from a party for the foundation in Paris attended by his mother and a number of other celebrities.

When asked about his charity work Andrea said it was his mother, Princess Caroline, who instilled in him the drive to help others by her own example of devoting so much of her time to the less fortunate. Since he was a small child Andrea said he had watched his mother working for charitable causes on behalf of people all over the world and it was this that inspired him to become involved himself. The (possible) future Prince of Monaco also said that he no longer lives in the USA, having finished his studies there in political science and that he now resides in Paris where he is working in an internship with the embassy of the Emirate of Qatar. Such a job might at first seem unusual but learning the political and diplomatic ropes of a very small, wealthy monarchy might prove quite useful for a potential Prince of Monaco.

Also on hand for the party and included in the photographs was Andrea’s current girlfriend Tatiana Santo Domingo whom Andrea referred to as ‘an exceptional young woman’. He said despite his elite princely background he feels as normal as anyone with the same sort of family life anyone might have. He also said he enjoys painting and dabbling in art and greatly enjoys the opportunities offered by the considerable artistic community in Paris. Perhaps most importantly though was the respect Andrea voiced for his uncle Prince Albert II and that he is kept well informed of all current events in the Principality of Monaco. So, it seems he is not neglecting the possibility that he could, hopefully a considerable time off in the future, be called upon to take up princely duties in his native country.

Interview with Princess Caroline, 1985

Prince Albert Olympic Wrap-Up

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco with the members of the Monaco bobsled team (above). The Olympics are over and the Sovereign Prince of Monaco is "very impressed" with how everything was handled. Photographed with long-time girlfriend Charlene Wittstock (below) the Prince gave an interview to Reuters on that occasion.