Princess Charlene seems pensive a Paris Olympic opening ceremony
Princess Charlene was snapped looking serious while attending the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games last night.
The 46-year-old royal accompanied her husband Prince Albert of Monaco, 66, as they attended the event held at the city’s Trocadero Stadium.
Mother-of-two Charlene looked chic in a dusky pastel jumpsuit, teamed with a silver clutch and heels. She styled her short blonde tresses into a chic up do.
However, at times during the event, the royal was photographed appearing to look slightly glum as she took in the action.
Some images from the event show the royal appearing pensive while watching from the stands, meanwhile another snap shows Charlene speaking with her husband, with a serious expression on her face.
Princess Charlene of Monaco (pictured, right) speaks with her husband Prince Albert (pictured, left) speak ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
At times during the opening ceremony, Princess Charlene (pictured) appeared to look a little glum
The former Olympian (pictured) competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, representing South Africa, with her team finishing fifth in the 4 × 100-metre medley relay
The royal couple’s appearance came after they attended joined a host of European royals at Élysée Palace for a state banquet held by French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife.
Charlene’s appearance at the opening ceremony marks 24 years since taking part in the games as an athlete.
The Princess began her swimming career in 1996 and represented South Africa at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, with her team finishing fifth in the 4 × 100-metre medley relay.
She retired from professional swimming in 2007.
Charlene met Prince Albert at the Mare Nostrum swimming competition in Monte Carlo in 2000 and the pair married 11 years later.
Their appearance comes weeks after the couple shared a sweet snap to mark their 13th wedding anniversary.
Charlene and Albert tied the knot on 1 July, 2011, in a religious ceremony at the Prince’s Palace among other royal guests such as the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Naomi Campbell.
In the newly shared photograph, the couple look over the palace balcony with their two children standing in front of them.
Earlier that day, Prince Albert of Monaco (pictured, left) and Princess Charlene (pictured, right) attended an event at the Elysee Palace in Paris
France’s President Emmanuel Macron (pictured, left) and his wife Brigitte Macron (pictured, right) pose with Prince Albert II (pictured seconf to the left) and his wife Princess Charlene (pictured second to the rigth) at a reception for heads of state and governments ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Princess Charlene (pictured, left) looked elegant as she attended the event with her husband Prince Albert (pictured, right)
Prince Albert of Monaco (pictured, left) and Princess Charlene (pictured, right) are photographed as they arrive at the reception
Former Olympian Charlene looked stunning a dusky pink jumpsuit as she arrived at the Elysee Palace in Paris yesterday, although at times her expression appeared somewhat downcast
Princess Charlene, who has endured some well-publicised health set backs in recent years, looked radiant during her appearances yesterday
Charlene opted for a soft grey jumper with a V-cut at the back and Prince Albert donned a navy suit with a crisp white shirt in the picture.
The caption simply said: ‘Happy wedding anniversary to Their Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene.’
The post racked up thousands of likes, with people congratulating the couple on reaching another milestone.
One wrote: ‘The union of two people is precious, take time to look back on all the sweet moments together.’
Another penned: ‘Happy wedding anniversary to Princess Charlene and Prince Albert.’
A third said: ‘I came especially from Corsica, it was a lovely day.’
A fourth commented: ‘Congratulations and many happy years to come.’
When the couple met, few expected romance to blossom – Charlene was after all a sports-mad Olympian 20 years his junior.
Yet the couple fell in love and made their first public appearance at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
To marry into the family, Charlene was required to learn French and Monegasque and she had to convert to Catholicism. The couple then became engaged in June 2010.
The similarities between their love story and that of his father, Prince Rainier III, and his Hollywood actress mother Grace Kelly did not go unnoticed.
French journalist Philippe Delorme went as far as to tell the Daily Mail in 2011: ‘If the Princess Grace story was a movie, then Princess Charlene is the remake.’
When they tied the knot, she walked down the aisle in a bespoke Armani dress that had taken the Italian atelier an astonishing 2,500 hours to create.
Princess Charlene and Prince Albert of Monaco (both seen) joined a host of European royals at Élysée Palace ahead of yesterday’s Olympics opening ceremony in Paris
Charlene and Albert grinned as they posed with the Macrons – and chatted with the French president and his wife
However, as she exchanged vows with the principality’s ruler, she looked anything but the happy bride.
Many may remember when the Princess shed tears in front of a global audience of millions, leading to questions about her wellbeing.
Rumours swirled around days before the big day that Charlene had tried to flee the country on three occasions with a one-way ticket to Johannesburg.
A Parisian news magazine claimed Charlene had been stopped at Nice airport clutching a one-way ticket to South Africa the week before her wedding day after allegedly learning a ‘distressing’ revelation about her future husband’s private life.
A senior Monaco detective told MailOnline at the time: ‘Charlene had her passport confiscated so that the Prince’s entourage could persuade her to stay.’
But she denied that the tears at her wedding were of sadness and instead insisted that she was simply emotional because she was overjoyed at the ceremony.
In a rare interview, the South African former swimmer revealed in July 2013 that they were tears of happiness and has described the speculation as ‘categorical lies’.
‘Everything was just so overwhelming and there were all the mixed emotions because of the rumours, and obviously the tension built up and I burst into tears [immediately after the ceremony],’ she said.
Princess Charlene began her swimming career in 1996 and represented South Africa at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
‘And then I burst into tears some more because I was thinking ‘Oh no, now the whole world has seen me cry”.’
Three years later, Charlene gave birth to twins Jacques and Gabriella, who were the first legitimate heirs to the throne after Albert’s children out of wedlock.
In 2021, the princess took a prolonged medical hiatus in South Africa which saw her spend most of the year away from her husband and children.
She missed both the seventh birthday of her twins and her tenth wedding anniversary.
In April 2022 the couple were seen together for the first time in more than 12 months. Charlene then returned to full-time public duty in May of that year.
