.jpg?fit=900%2C507)
When Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II announced they were expecting a baby earlier this year, many royalists thought the rumours of an unhappy marriage might come to an end.
But the Daily Beast reports that Charlene is depressed and unpopular and is keen to return to her home country, South Africa, following the birth of the child, which is due in December.
“She does not expect to be suddenly warmly welcomed into Monaco society, but she does think that after giving birth – especially if it’s a son – she will be more free to go off and do her own thing,” one source said. “She has made little secret of the fact she would rather be back in South Africa, or London, or Paris, or anywhere but Monaco.”
The baby, which will be Albert’s third child, will be the first in line to the throne of Monaco because his other children, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi and Alexandre Coste, were born out of wedlock.
Over the weekend, the royal couple appeared at The Evian Championship at the Evian Resort Golf Club in France. Showing off her small baby bump, Charlene smiled as she posed for the cameras with her husband.
To the outside world, it would appear the glowing mum-to-be has it all. Yet, there have been reports that Her Serene Highness has never been liked by her husband’s family, the Monegasques, because she is seen as being not aristocratic enough.
“A woman wants to be accepted by her husband’s family and I’m no exception,” Charlene said in an interview published in The Australian Women’s Weekly earlier this year. “We’ve spent many pleasant moments together. We get together at Christmas, over the Easter holidays and we support each other in our benefit commitments. Albert is also close with my family.”
Relocating to the small, affluent principality of Monaco was definitely a big change for the former Olympic swimmer. But she said Prince Albert helped her make the transition into the Monaco royal family.
“The decision to move to Monte Carlo and end my career resulted in a huge change,” she said in The Weekly’s July interview. “For 20 years, I had purpose, a program, goals [and] a coach who guided me every day. If I overcame that difficult time, I owe it to the presence, attention and the love of the man who then was my boyfriend and is now my husband.”
Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene of Monaco at the Evian Championship village during the final round of The Evian Championship at the Evian Resort Golf Club on September 14.
.jpg?fit=650%2C488&resize=650%2C488)
Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene of Monaco attend the new Monaco Yacht Club opening on June 20, 2014.
Charlene and Albert on their honeymoon.
The couple at the London Olympics.
Albert and Charlene watch the Olympic swimming.
The couple shortly after their wedding in July 2011.
Albert and Charlene in May 2012.
At the Academy Awards.
The couple in October 2011.
Albert and Charlene in 2012.
The royal couple at an event in August 2011.
Charlene and Albert on their wedding day.
Albert and Charlene’s body language raised questions at the ATP Masters in April last year.
Related stories
Native ad body.
.png?resize=380%2C285)
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
