The wedding of Prince Albert of Monaco to Charlene Wittstock has been all over the news since the 1st July 2011 ceremony. The bride is generally described as South African but she was actually born in the city of Bulawayo in the southern part of Zimbabwe, in the Mater Dei hospital. The hospital was one of the main maternity units at the time and is run by Catholic nuns.
She was born on the 25th January 1978 and has two younger brothers. Her mother Lynette Wittstock was a former competitive diver and swimming coach which is from where Charlene got her love of swimming. The family moved to Benoni, near Johannesburg, South Africa in 1989 when Charlene was 12. Her love of swimming led to her moving to Durban in South Africa for further training. She swam for South Africa in the Commonwealth Games and also in the 2002 Olympic games.
Rumours of Charlene's Unhappiness
She met Prince Albert of Monaco at the Commonwealth Games in Sydney where he was also competing as part of a bobsleigh team. The relationship has been turbulent, with revelations about Albert's previous loves and illegitimate children causing the couple problems. Rumours throughout the European press, especially in the French newspaper, le Monde suggest that she actually tried to run back to South Africa three times before the wedding and that her passport was taken from her to prevent her from ducking out of the second big Royal Wedding of the year. The Le Monde article says that she was stopped at Nice airport and that her passport was then taken away from her. The newspaper has stood by its claims, and its sources, which have been repeated in other papers and magazines across Europe.
Second Royal Wedding of 2011
The 33 year old wore a simple blue dress for the civil ceremony which took place on 1st July 2011 and then a beautiful white Giorgio Armani creation for the official church service on Saturday 2nd July 2011. The bride, who is twenty years younger than her husband was seen to cry through the ceremony, which led to yet more rumours that some kind of ‘deal’ had been formed between the couple to get her through the ceremony.
The couple are expected to go on honeymoon to South Africa on Monday 4th July 2011. However, when they return, Prince Albert will have to undergo DNA tests to prove if yet another child is part of his increasing brood of illegitimate children. This latest child is said to be only 18 months old and is the child of an Italian woman. Prince Albert and the new Princess of Monaco have been together ten years.
Amanda Payne - By Amanda Payne: Topic Editor for European Affairs. Amanda is a freelance writer with a special interest in Spain and all things ...
