As an Olympic swimmer, Charlene was already in the picture!
The much-discussed Princess Charlene of Monaco has had many different, sometimes somewhat remarkable, looks during her life as a royal. You would almost forget, but a lot preceded her life as a princess. This is what the beautiful South African looked like during her time as an Olympic swimmer and ‘friend of’!
Childhood
While some royals by marriage sometimes treat us to a childhood snapshot, Princess Charlene keeps the photo albums from her younger years closed to the public. There are a few photos floating around on Pinterest in which a young Charlene shows quite a few similarities with her daughter Princess Gabriella today.
Young Charlene was a real tomboy, a tomboy, her father Michael told Times Live. “She once jumped from a tree onto a horse and broke her arm in three different places. She wasn’t afraid of anything.”
Swimming career
In the late 1990s, Charlene Wittstock achieved fame as a swimmer. She won prizes at the All-Africa Games and the Commonwealth Games and competed in the 2000 Olympics. That year she also met Prince Albert at a swimming meet in Monaco. “I was 22 and goal-oriented. I wasn’t emotionally ready for a relationship. But the moment I met Albert, I experienced a deep sense of destiny. I knew he was the one,” Charlene later told Tatler about the moment.
Although the spark flew immediately, it took a while before the playboy prince introduced the swimmer as his official courtship. In the meantime, Charlene continued to swim, although the swimming competitions became increasingly scarce and the appearances in Monaco became more frequent.
Years in Monaco
In 2005, Charlene Wittstock slowly but surely appeared on screen as Prince Albert’s girlfriend. Here we see her as a 27-year-old at a gala, with her famous short, blonde locks and frugal smile.
And then this snapshot from 2006, taken at the Automobile Club Party after the Monaco Grand Prix. This was officially the first time that she attended an event together with Prince Albert.
And finally here in 2008, 30 years old. That year, repeated injuries forced her to give up her swimming career and Olympic dream and she felt quite lost, she later explained. She lived in Monaco without official status, without a career, without an engagement ring from her prince. “The people I met in Monaco didn’t understand my South African mentality and humor,” Charlene remembers. And she didn’t speak a word of French. If 2021 was a disaster year for Charlene, so was 2008.
100 percent
In 2010, a decade after their ‘love at first sight’ meeting, the engagement ring finally arrived that gave Charlene a new purpose. “I wasn’t born a Monegasque, I wasn’t born a princess. But I will do my utmost,” she told Tatler shortly before the wedding. “When I take on a responsibility, whether it’s leading the South African swimming team or becoming Prince Albert’s wife, I dedicate myself to it 100 percent. As long as I can make a difference in someone’s life, I’m doing well.”
Source: Tatler, SCMP | Image: NL Image
