Princess Charlene (Monaco)

[Sunnyhorse]

Now Prince Albert's thread can languish. Have at it.

[chonies]

Aww, thanks Sunnyhorse! I hope the previous post didn't sound too passive aggressive. In the meantime, I will gaze longingly out the window, with a single perfect tear glistening on my cheek.

[Sunnyhorse]

Oh, heavens, no! It's crazy that we didn't have a thread for her ages ago. She's way more interesting than her husband.

[Witchie]

Thanks chonies & Sunny!

[Auroranorth]

Here's hoping she gets away from him soon!

[Ninja Bunny]

I never thought about her getting her own thread. She's such a non-entity, like she is in her own marriage.

[mmmkrimpets]

Marriage has aged her. The 30's can be unkind to some women, but in two years she looks like she's aged 10. I don't have a whole lotta sympathy cuz it's not like they had a whirlwind courtship. She knew Albert for a good decade before saying I do. She knew about his all his children, his previouslies and I'd bet the bank she knows about his currentlies. She may or may not have tried to bolt right before the wedding, but I get this Grace Kelly legacy/ eyes on the crown / waity Katie vibe from her and now that she's gotten it she does mask her misery well.

[chonies]

it's not like they had a whirlwind courtship. She knew Albert for a good decade before saying I do... She may or may not have tried to bolt right before the wedding, but I get this Grace Kelly legacy/ eyes on the crown / waity Katie vibe from her and now that she's gotten it she does mask her misery well.

This is what I find mysterious and baffling: I don't think she's nearly as ambitious as Catherine (or the Middleton family, according to some accounts). Her family doesn't seem to have the ambitions or the resources, and Charlene seems to have stumbled into meeting Albert--competitive swimming has brought lasting fame to perhaps two people in the history of time. She isn't nearly as educated, or groomed or polished as Catherine; I would also speculate that if she were as into the Grace Kelly thing, she would have produced an heir to secure her power, although that's a gross phrase, and setting aside the possibility that they might not be able to and have been trying.

Obviously, since she knew Albert for five years before moving in with him, or even to Europe, it seems like she had all the facts on the table and made a series of rational decisions, even though several other people might have bolted the moment introductions were wrapped up.

My hypotheses are

• she thought she got lucky and talked herself into staying
• she has permanent misery face, similar to bitchy resting face, and is actually fairly content
• she's painfully dim and/or sheltered and somehow never heard about anything that seems to be common knowledge
• she bought into the Cinderella thing (plucked from semi-obscurity and everything), and all of Albert's issues aside, it's kind of a fairy-tale deal
• there's something completely unknowable going on behind the scenes, possibly involving Illuminati, the DaVinci code, or curiously shaped genitalia

I really don't know what to think. According to some accounts, they went out once in 2001, then were not in touch again until Albert called her in 2005 or so. If Charlene's career was winding down and she didn't have any real professional prospects, it might have seemed like an amazing opportunity, at least in the short term. Another possibility is that Albert decided that she would be a perfect wife candidate, and just made that happen.

I hope she does something somewhat ridiculous or outrageous soon. Watching Charlene is like watching a play where the motivations of the main character are completely inscrutable. And she's definitely dull--she has reasonably good taste in fashion, but the only really going for her is the possible mystery of why she's even a princess in the first place.

ETA: And I'm kind of embarrassed I wrote a dissertation on the topic.

[iClaudia]

I think her family may have pressured her. During the runaway bride scandal, they seemed to be on the side of wanting her to go through with it rather than trying to rescue their obviously miserable daughter. I suppose if she had nothing much going on in her life, no luck in love, no money coming in from her swimming career, her family possibly having some minor hardship then "why not?" date Albert again and "why not?" get married. She just decided too late that it wasn't worth it.

[chonies]

I can get on board with that, too. She doesn't seem like she pursued the idea of a royal life, but instead sort of fell into it, and it was probably difficult to get claw her way out, if that's what she wanted.

I keep thinking about the whole passport confiscation story and it seems so simple yet so outlandish that it is either entirely true, or the perfect rumor planted by someone who has it in for Albert.