Princess Charlene and Prince Albert of Monaco might not make as many headlines as other royals like Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, but they’ve got one of the most adorable families around.
The Prince and Princess of Monaco, who have been married for eight years and have two gorgeous twins – Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques, both four, recently rung in a very special milestone.
Princess Charlene, 41, regularly shares intimate snaps of her cute kids on her official public Instagram account and now she’s given us a glimpse inside her family’s very low-celebrations for Prince Albert II’s 61st birthday this week.
She shared this adorable snap of the twins Gabriella and Jacques balanced on their father’s knee, helping him blow out his birthday cake candles.
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“Happy Birthday 🎂 ❤️” Princess Charlene captioned this gorgeous photo. (Image: @hshprincesscharlene Instagram)
Too cute! Helping Dad blow out his candles. (Image: @hshprincesscharlene Instagram)
Charlene, who was a talented professional swimmer but retired in 2007, met Albert II in 2000 at a swimming meet in Monaco.
The couple were engaged in 2010 and married in 2011, despite reports that Charlene got cold feet and tried to flee the country, after rumours surfaced that Albert had fathered a third illegitimate child.
Charlene reportedly had her passport confiscated and it took “intense convincing” to get her to stay. The palace has denied the reports as “ugly rumours.”
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Albert, Charlene and their adorable twins. (Image: Getty)
These two are just insanely cute! (Image: Instagram)
But Gabrielle and Jacques aren’t Prince Albert’s only children.
He has another daughter, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, 25, whose mother is Tamara Rotolo. Tamara had a three week fling with the Prince during a holiday to the French Riviera in 1991.
Albert’s first-born son is Alexandre Coste, 15, who he welcomed in 2003 after a secret six year relationship with flight attendant Nicole Coste.
But both children have not been raised as royals, instead living a life of commoners. That’s because they were born out of wedlock and as Article 10 of the Constitution of Monaco dictates, they cannot be royal nor inherit the throne.
Jazmin was 14 when her father publicly acknowledged her as his daughter.
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In 2015, Jazmin spoke about her unique situation for the first time.
“I was 14, getting ready to go to high school, when it hit the media that my father had a daughter, and it was me,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.
“It’s a difficult time for any young adult, and it was an adjustment to have that attention. But I knew it was going to come someday,” she said.
“I wanted that moment to connect with my father, to get to know him, and to have him get to know me.
“I can’t wait to be a sister to them and watch them grow up. They have these beautiful, big blue eyes – and they are both already so well behaved.”
