Most fairy tales end with the princess rewarded with a kiss from her prince and they all live happily ever after. It’s a narrative that all too often gets indoctrinated into women from an early age – be a good girl and soon you’ll find your Prince Charming.
Maybe Princess Charlene bought into the happy ending but instead she was imprisoned in her ivory tower, longing to be set free.
Barely a week after returning from South Africa, the princess was promptly shipped off to a treatment facility outside Monaco, far from the media’s glare so she could recover in peace after her loyal husband Prince Albert announced that his wife was suffering with “profound exhaustion, both emotional and physical”.
Refusing the palace’s explanation that Charlene had been advised by doctors to stay in South Africa for several months due to a serious ear, nose and throat infection, the European press went to work by dredging up past reports that the couple’s marriage was in trouble. They had lots of ammunition, including Prince Albert’s past indiscretions.
One story in particular that piqued their interest was a report that Charlene had tried to escape the palace days before their three-day wedding celebrations in 2011.
Marie Claire has now reported that the princess had tried to escape Monaco three times – and on all three occasions was stopped.
The first attempt reportedly took place after news broke that Prince Albert had a love child conceived during his relationship with Charlene, Marie Claire reported.
According to European publication, Le Journal du Dimanche, she had been in Paris at the time for a dress fitting when she heard of the news, and took “refuge” in the South African embassy.
With the second alleged attempt, Charlene had tried to leave during the 2010 Grand Prix, resulting in her passport being confiscated by Prince Albert’s entourage.
The third and final attempted escape happened two days before her July wedding. Charlene booked a one-way flight to SA but was intercepted on her way to Nice and persuaded to stay, Le Journal du Dimanche also reported.
The curse of the Grimaldis is something legends are made of. The royal family has seen much tragedy in their life time, from Princess Grace’s car accident in 1982 to Princess Caroline’s second husband dying in a speedboat crash.
Could it be that Princess Charlene too has fallen under the curse of the Grimaldis?