He Prince Albert II He turns 65 this Tuesday, March 14. Last January I tested positive for Covid for the third time, since the pandemic began in March 2020. The head of the Grimaldi House was away at the feast of Santa Devota, one of the most notable of the year in Monaco, and it was his wife, Charlenewho assumed the reins of the celebration.
“There is no cause for concern, he is asymptomatic and continues to telework,” the Grimaldi Palace then announced on its official account after reporting Alberto’s coronavirus infection. The absence of the prince marked a turning point in Charlene, that she took the reins of the acts of the festivity of the patron saint of the Principality.
The 45-year-old former swimmer is facing a year on the institutional agenda far removed from 2022, when she was away from work and the public spotlight for more than six months. Charlene herself disappeared from official acts during her admission to an exclusive Swiss clinic where she recovered from chronic fatigue. They were almost six months of invisibility and absence. This circumstance had an impact on Alberto and the twins, Gabriela and Jaime.
The prince’s 65th birthday comes at a radically different family time than last year. The head of the Monegasque house seeks the support of his family, his wife and his children. However, the former swimmer has not just conveyed an image of happiness, neither full nor spontaneous. That gesture of Charlene’s warm and cold smile on the day of Santa Devota was one more example of her distance (photo below) from her.
On the other hand, Alberto is immersed in the preparations for the homage to his father, Rainier III, on the occasion of the centenary of his birth (May 21, 1923). His mother died at 81 on April 6, 2005. It will be a very important date that brings together all the Grimaldi.