At the start of the Olympic Games, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene appeared unusually exuberant in the audience. There is a good reason for their enthusiasm.
The joy was written all over their faces: Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife Princess Charlène attended the Olympic opening ceremony in Paris with their twins Jacques and Gabriella. The wet weather did not affect the family that evening; they watched the ceremony wearing rain ponchos and cheered on the boat carrying Monaco’s athletes. Albert and Charlène appeared unusually radiant and relaxed, as they both have a special connection to sport and the Olympics in particular.
Prince Albert’s maternal grandfather won the gold medal in rowing for the USA several times at the Olympic Games. Before his accession to the throne, Albert himself represented the principality as a bobsledder at the Winter Games five times: in 1988 in Calgary, 1992 in Albertville, 1994 in Lillehammer, 1998 in Nagano and most recently in 2002 in Salt Lake City. However, he never won a medal.
Prince Albert and Princess Charlène have both participated in the Olympics
His wife, Princess Charlene, née Charlene Wittstock, was a professional swimmer before their marriage and is also a former Olympian. The South African took part in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and finished fifth in the 4 x 100 meter relay. Albert has also been a member of the IOC since 1985 and chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Monaco since 1994.
It’s no wonder, then, that the family is making the most of the atmosphere in Paris. Before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the royal couple were invited to a reception at the Elysée Palace by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, as the royal family shows. Prince Albert and Princess Charlène wore their own looks for the opening, which were color-coordinated in red and white. In black and dark blue, they also attended a dinner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the Louvre on the eve of the opening ceremony, as pictures also show.
Scandals and glamorous appearances
Prince Albert II and Charlène of Monaco: Pictures of their love
One of their previous Olympic appearances was in mid-June. Together with Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques, both nine years old, they received the Olympic torch in front of the Prince’s Palace in Monaco and did not miss the opportunity to carry the symbolic flame for the Summer Games a little way on its long journey from Olympia in Greece to this year’s host city of Paris. In mid-July they then opened the exhibition “La Flamme Olympique au fil du temps” in Monaco about the Olympic flame over the course of time. The exhibition is also a tribute to the Olympic heritage of the Monaco royal family, which explains the royal couple’s enthusiasm for the Olympics.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
