Though Princess Charlene of Monaco, is married to the principality’s current leader, Prince Albert II, she has spent the last six months living in South Africa, where she was raised. In May, she boarded a flight for a planned short trip to promote wildlife conservation, before falling ill. Though her absence initially caused speculation about potential unhappiness between the couple, over the last few months, Charlene has revealed that a series of surgical complications have left her in pain and unable to fly.
After a handful of surgeries, Charlene is due to return to Monaco soon. On Friday, a palace spokesperson told People that Charlene had surgery under general anaesthesia, but it would be her last operation before her return to the small territory on the coast of France. In a radio interview earlier this week, Albert said she was excited to return to Europe and explained why her return was taking such a long time. “She is better,” he said. “It was also complicated for her because different problems affected her.”
In a July interview with South African outlet News24, Charlene went into detail about the complications that were continuing to keep her away from home. In early May, while still in Europe, she had a sinus lift and bone graft to prepare for dental implants, and began suffering from an infection when she arrived in South Africa in mid-May. By June, she was experiencing pain in her ears, and she said she no longer had the ability to “equalize” inner ear pressure, which prohibits a patient from flying. She had corrective surgeries for the issue in June and August, and was hospitalized for further complications in September.
Charlene and Albert are the parents of six-year-old twins Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques, and in August, the family was reunited in South Africa. While Albert, Gabriella, and Jacques were visiting, Charlene posted photos of the family at a safari resort in the Kwa-Zulu Natal region.
Still, Prince Albert’s history of scandal has meant that tabloids have speculated about her extended absence. In a report earlier this month, Town & Country laid out the case that her absence from Monaco might be more complicated than it seems. In the midst of a legal battle with a woman who claims to have had a child with Albert before he was married, Charlene appeared at a charity dinner in December 2020 with a surprising new haircut. But in January 2021, Charlene said that everything was fine in her marriage.
This June, Charlene told People that the support of her family was helping her get through the ordeal, though she was sad to miss her 10th wedding anniversary on July 1. “My daily conversations with Albert and my children help me keep my spirits up a lot, but I miss their presence very much,” she said in a statement. “I can’t wait for us to be together.”
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