Back in May, I had a very weird feeling about Princess Charlene. The Prince’s Palace released some information, seemingly out of sorts, that Charlene would not be in attendance at the Monaco Grand Prix because of some health issues. We quickly learned that Charlene was in South Africa and she had been in her home country for God knows how long at that point. Then the drama began: the shifting timelines of Charlene’s recovery, the multiple surgeries related to her ENT infection, the awkward social media photos, Prince Albert’s rosy statements about how well Charlene was doing and how she would return to Monaco before the end of October. I even noted on Saturday that Charlene was still not back in Monaco. Well, she took a flight back Sunday night. She arrived in Nice and Monte Carlo Monday morning.
Monaco’s Princess Charlene is back home! Sources tell PEOPLE, the 43-year old arrived early Monday morning after an overnight flight from Durban, South Africa.
The mother-of-two landed in the south of France at 8.30 a.m. local time. Charlene’s return ends months of speculation concerning her sudden and prolonged disappearance from the principality. She stepped off her husband Prince Albert’s private plane in Nice, dressed in black, wearing a mask.
According to Nice Matin, she reunited with husband Prince Albert and their their 6-year-old twins, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella — who greeted her with a large bouquet of flowers — before they all helicoptered on to Monaco, according to eyewitnesses.
The princess had been “grounded,” as she put it, in South Africa since early May due to an ENT infection which necessitated a number of corrective surgeries over her six-month absence. The prolonged stay-away was subject to numerous tabloid allegations concerning troubles in the couple’s marriage.
It was nice of Albert to go to Nice to meet her flight, and it was nice that he brought the kids. At this point, I don’t doubt that she had genuine health issues and all of that. But I still believe there was other stuff going on – the real estate purchases, the weird visits from Albert and the kids, the gossip about how miserable she is in Monaco and in her marriage. It’s a lot. What a terrible marriage they have. Anyway, she’s back now. I expect we won’t see her again for a while. She’ll go to one of the hideaway properties to “recover” further and Albert will have her guarded 24-7 so she never tries to escape again. And she will probably have to say goodbye to her South African passport forever.
Family reunion or proof of life photo?
La princesse Charlène est de retour à Monaco https://t.co/G30ETP2hq9 pic.twitter.com/qOvnuF9Nu9
— Nice-Matin (@Nice_Matin) November 8, 2021
Oh, here are photos of Charlene arriving in Nice this morning. She got a dog in South Africa??
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Charlene’s IG.
