With his wife Princess Charlene still absent from public life since her 2021 stay in a treatment facility with an ear, nose and throat infection, insiders say Prince Albert has used her disappearance to grow closer to his children and hold a family reunion.
Last week 63-year-old Prince Albert’s eldest daughter Jazmin Grimaldi, 29, shared a picture of herself with Albert and Charlene’s twins Jacques and Gabriella, seven, and her half-brother Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste.
Alexandre, 18, was the product of an affair after Albert met his mother, Nicole Coste, on a flight from Nice to Paris.
Jazmin Grimaldi, 29, shared this photo with her half-siblings last week.
(Image: Instagram)Now, palace sources have revealed that the prince is using the fact that wife Charlene, 43, is currently out of the picture to give his kids a chance to bond and provide the twins with some support while their mum is MIA – but Charlene’s not happy about it.
“Despite appearances of a playboy prince, Albert is a doting father to all four of his children and has been a rock for the twins while their mum is sorting out her health issues,” says a royal source.
“He thinks this is the perfect opportunity to allow his eldest two kids to bond with the twins and give them something to focus on.”
According to the source, Jazmin in particular absolutely dotes on Jacques and Gabriella.
“Gabby idolises her,” says the insider of the New York-based socialite, who gushes about her little siblings on social media and dubs herself their “big sis”.
While the royal insider acknowledges it’s “sad” that Charlene is struggling, they confess the upside has been Albert’s kids getting the chance to get to know each other while she’s not around.
“Albert often has the other kids come and visit, but Charlene has never truly supported it.
“She hates that he’s still in touch with their families and thinks he should focus on the children he has who are his legitimate heirs,” says the source.
Another sticking point for Charlene, according to the insider, is her feeling the need to compete with Jazmin for Albert’s affections.
“They [Albert and Jazmin] are very alike and sometimes seem more like best friends than father and daughter, and Charlene feels left out of their cosy little club,” says the insider of the royal and his eldest daughter.
A separate source says Charlene perceives the sibling photo as just the latest in a long line of snubs.
(Image: Getty)Jazmin’s mother Tamara Rotolo enjoyed a brief fling with Prince Albert after meeting him in 1991 while holidaying at celebrity destination the Cote d’Azur in France.
A separate source says Charlene perceives the sibling photo as just the latest in a long line of snubs.
“Charlene is furious that they’re releasing these photos of her children with their siblings looking like one big happy family while she’s in such personal turmoil,” says the royal insider.
“She’s incredibly sensitive at the moment and finds it incredibly hurtful.”
Want to learn more about Prince Albert’s love children? You can read all about them here.
