Princess Charlene is undergoing multiple, complicated procedures after contracting a severe ear, nose, and throat infection in May, meaning she will not be able to travel back to Monaco for her 10th wedding anniversary next week.
The royal, 43, hasn’t been seen in Monaco since January, but her husband Prince Albert and their six-year-old twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques visited her in South Africa earlier this month.
Charlene underwent her most recent operation yesterday, with her medical team advising she stays in her native South Africa while undergoing more procedures.
Princess Charlene is undergoing multiple, complicated procedures after contracting a severe ear, nose, and throat infection in May, meaning she will not be able to travel back to Monaco for her 10th wedding anniversary next week. She is pictured in South Africa
The royal shared this photo of her husband Albert, her twins, her brother and nieces and nephews on safari in South Africa earlier this month
‘This year will be the first time that I’m not with my husband on our anniversary in July, which is difficult, and it saddens me,’ Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene said in a statement.
‘However, Albert and I had no choice but to follow the medical team’s instructions even though it is extremely difficult. He has been the most incredible support to me.
‘My daily conversations with Albert and my children help immensely to keep my spirits up, but I miss being with them. It was special to have my family visit me in South Africa, and it was truly wonderful seeing them. I can’t wait to be reunited with them’.
Prince Albert was joined by the couple’s six-year-old twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques to watch the World Rugby Sevens in Monaco earlier this month
Prince Albert of Monaco has appeared without his wife Princess Charlene once again as he attended a rugby match with their children
Princess Charlene came to South Africa to do conservation and anti-poaching work, earlier this year. She was last seen in Monaco in January.
Her foundation say she was driving the causes close to her heart, pouring herself into her Foundation work in South Africa when she fell ill.
Before contracting the infection and undergoing the procedures, Princess Charlene worked with various ambassadors and partners to raise awareness and funds for the Foundation’s initiatives.
Prince Albert and their children will visit Princess Charlene in South Africa again soon to be with her and support her.
The former Olympian, who debuted a radical new hairstyle while on the trip, had been due to return to Monaco for the principality’s Grand Prix in May, where she was guest of honour.
It’s been a tumultuous start to the year for the royal, after news emerged that her husband is facing a paternity suit over a love child born in the early years of their relationship.
The 63-year-old prince, who already supports two illegitimate children, is alleged to have had a relationship with a Brazilian woman which resulted in a daughter in 2005.
The claim, which his lawyers dismissed as a ‘hoax’, is particularly painful as he was dating Charlene at the time, having met the former Olympic swimmer in 2000.
The 34-year-old claimant – who cannot be named for legal reasons – says she had a passionate affair with Albert, leading to the birth of their daughter – whose name is also classified – on July 4, 2005.
Albert received a handwritten letter from the child, who is now 15, in September last year reading: ‘I don’t understand why I grew up without a father, and now that I have found you, you don’t want to see me.’
Legal papers were also filed, as lawyers for the claimant called on Albert to undergo a DNA test – just as he did before finally being identified as the father of two illegitimate children born in the 1990s and early 2000s.
In January, Charlene spoke publicly for the first time since the allegations, telling Point de Vue: ‘When my husband has problems, he tells me about it. I often tell him, “No matter what, no matter what, I’m a thousand percent behind you. I’ll stand by you whatever you do, in good times or in bad.”
The royal, 43, put on a united front with her six-year-old twins and husband Albert, 63, as the family gathered around a birthday cake with Charlene’s brother Sean Wittstock, 37, his wife Chantell, 34, their eldest son Raigen, 7, and the birthday girl
Passionate: Charlene, who was raised in South Africa and represented the country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, travelled to Thanda Safari in KwaZulu-Natal to learn more about being done by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa to help save rhinos
Last public outing together: Charlene and Albert were last pictured together in public in January at the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco. On April 2, she shared a photograph alongside her husband Prince Albert and their children Jacques and Gabriella to mark Easter, although it is not clear where it was taken
The mother-of-two went on to say she also often tells her husband she will ‘protect him’ and will ‘always be by his side.’
Charlene, who was raised in South Africa and represented the country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, travelled to Thanda Safari in KwaZulu-Natal to learn more about being done by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa to help save rhinos from poachers.
The princess took part in conservation operations including rhino monitoring and tracking, deployment with the Anti-Poaching Unit, educational wildlife photography sessions, and a White Rhino dart and dehorning exercise.