They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so what do these photos of Princess Charlene
of Monaco really say about her feelings? When Princess Charlene and Prince
Albert tied the knot in 2011, their wedding should have seemed like stuff
of fairy tales. In true royal fashion, the couple planned a four-day blow-out event,
complete with concerts, fireworks, and an enormous cake sporting 110 pounds of strawberries. And,
rather than keep the festivities totally private, the bride and groom invited the people
of Monaco to celebrate with them. During the event, Monegasque locals were treated to a
complementary performance by The Eagles. Later, they were invited to attend a romantic harbor show
featuring the French musician Jean-Michel Jarre. Of course, not all portions of the
royal wedding were open to the public. Only a select number of important guests were
allowed to attend the actual ceremonies — yes, plural. It was not enough for Albert and
Charlene to get married once. Instead, the couple enjoyed a civil wedding on July 1,
followed by a religious ceremony on July 2. In the midst of all the merrymaking
and celebration, however, one person seemed distinctly unhappy. At the civil ceremony,
Charlene's body language seemed extremely tense, leading some royal fans to question
whether or not she wanted to get married. As royal journalist Karen Kissane
observed in The Sydney Morning Herald, "Princess Charlene of Monaco looked
dazed. A weak smile struggled to turn up the corners of her mouth. She managed a
real one only when the ceremony was over." If Princess Charlene seemed uncomfortable
during her civil wedding ceremony, she did not look any more at ease at the religious
service the following day. Dressed to the nines in a gorgeous white Armani gown, Charlene
looked stunning, although somber. The press noted that the princess-to-be displayed
a distinctive lack of physical affection towards her groom throughout the ceremony, even
trying to dodge one of Prince Albert's kisses. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Australian
columnist Miranda Devine recalled, "They clunked their heads together in a
parody of a kiss that was only marginally less awkward than the smooch he bestowed on
her at the altar. It was simply excruciating. We make judgments from body language —
and hers was miserable and his angry. " Indeed, Charlene's body language indicated that
she was less-than-thrilled to be at her wedding. As if the awkward kiss that she shared with
Albert were not odd enough, the bride burst into tears at the end of the ceremony. Fans
speculated that Charlene cried out of misery, and the hashtag "Run away Charlene" began trending
on Facebook and Twitter. The princess, however, would go on to attribute her tears to the
stress of the royal event, telling The Times, "Everything was just so overwhelming and there were all the mixed emotions
because of the rumors." As the years went on, Princess Charlene's
body language continued to hint that all was not well between her and Prince Albert.
This was particularly evident at the 2017 Meeting Herculis Monaco, a track meet,
which was attended by the Monegasque royal family. At this exciting athletic
event, Albert and Charlene — both former Olympians — seemed excited about cheering
the competitors on. However, when it came to actually interacting with each other, the
couple appeared to be way less enthusiastic. In an interview with the Express, body language
analyst Judi James said that she noticed "signs of possible high levels of tension" between Albert
and Charlene at the event. This was especially apparent on Charlene's side of things. Pointing
to a photograph where Albert snakes his arm around Charlene's bare shoulders, James claimed that the
gesture was purely performative, noting that the princess looked distinctly unhappy in the embrace.
The nonverbal communication specialist explained, "His arm around her seems to
be aimed at pulling her into pose and he grimaces while she performs a
very rigid smile and a tense hand clasp." To make matters worse, James found that
Charlene's body language indicated some misgivings about appearing in yet another
photo with Albert — a potential sign that the princess is unhappy in the limelight.
Per James, Charlene "appears to be more reluctant at posing with him again and
he seems to watch her with anxious eyes." It is no secret that royal life has not always
been easy for Princess Charlene — and perhaps no event made that more evident than
the 2019 Monte Carlo TV Festival. At this exciting VIP gathering, actors from across
the globe drank cocktails, signed autographs, and even mingled with Monegasque citizens. In
the midst of all the glitz and glam, though, Charlene seemed withdrawn. Throughout the four-day
event, the princess was photographed several times with an overly serious expression on her face.
And, as Prince Albert escorted her to the grand event, Charlene appeared impassive, as
if she were about to attend a funeral. According to body language expert Judi
James, the reason for the princess' stone-faced expression might have actually
been loneliness. As James told the Express, Charlene "looked slightly isolated" when
she stepped out among the Monegasque elite. Interestingly, there is some reason to
believe that Charlene has not always felt great when surrounded by the principality's
upper crust. In an interview with Tatler, the princess once admitted to struggling
socially in royal circles. She confessed, "Although I have met some wonderful
people since I've been living in Monaco, I regard them all as acquaintances. I only
have two people I consider friends here." Perhaps, then, Charlene's tense
body language could be a sign that she — like many royal brides before her
— feels lonesome behind the palace walls. "I've been here for four years and I've obviously been on a couple of head of
state jobs with you. Yeah." It is not easy marrying into any European
royal family, and over the years plenty of princesses have struggled in the initial
years of this transition. Princess Diana, for example, was famously awkward in front of the
cameras during the first years of her marriage to King Charles III. With time, however, she
grew more confident in her public persona, even earning the affectionate
nickname, the "People's Princess." Unfortunately, though, things have not
gone so smoothly for Princess Charlene. Even eleven years after she walked
down the aisle with Prince Albert, the Monegasque royal has been characterized
as uncomfortable at official events. At the 2022 Grand Prix, Charlene's body language
was withdrawn and occasionally gloomy. Although she did muster the energy to greet
some of the race car drivers with a smile, the princess was photographed time
and time again looking like her mind was somewhere else. As Judi James told the
Daily Mail, Charlene's facial expressions can be "incongruent" — with forced smiles
that never quite make it to her eyes. As if this aura of sadness
was not concerning enough, James noted that Charlene seemed evasive
about touching Albert. According to the nonverbal communication specialist, the
princess was spotted with a clutch in her hand — which stood as a barrier to any
kind of hand-holding. James explained, "Any touch rituals seem to have been blocked
by the carrying of her bag between them." Although Princess Charlene never managed
to become as popular as Princess Diana, the Zimbabwe-born bombshell has a lot more in
common with the British icon than what initially meets the eye. Indeed, Charlene and Diana are
said to share similar traits in terms of their body language. Apparently, both women have been
encouraged to put on a display of happiness and royal warmth for the public — even as they were
struggling tremendously in their personal lives. Body language expert Judi James noted this
similarity when speaking to the Express about Charlene's expressions during the 2022
Grand Prix. As James told the outlet, "A problem with Charlene's body language, though, [...] is an ability to use fluctuating
facial expressions. Diana generally looked happy, but she could suddenly fall into a facial
expression that was incredibly sad and reflective, even during her engagement interview. Charlene
has shown a similar trait since her wedding." These forlorn facial expressions seem to contrast
greatly with the way that Charlene lights up in front of her twins, Princess Gabriella
and Prince Jacques. As James relayed, "Her smiles with her children
look warm and loving." In May 2021, Princess Charlene was traveling
in South Africa when she fell ill with an ear, nose, and throat infection. Unfortunately,
as the princess' condition disintegrated, she was forced to seek a series of surgeries that
prevented her from heading to Monaco. During this trying time, Charlene was separated from her
husband and children for months. In fact, it wasn't until August that Prince Albert
and the royal twins headed down to the Rainbow Nation and the Grimaldi
family was once again reunited. Naturally, Charlene posed for a
number of pictures when she was finally able to see her husband and two
kids after this long separation. Oddly, though, these photos hint at the
princess' overall unhappiness, especially in her marriage. As Judi James
revealed in a conversation with the Daily Mail, "There are no signs here of any direct
connection between Albert and Charlene." Indeed, the pictures show very little chemistry between the princess and her
royal beau. James explained, "There is no physical touch, closeness or even eye contact between them in the photos
she has chosen for social media." Interestingly, these family photographs also seem to signal Charlene's independence
from her husband. As James relayed, "Charlene's body language here defines
her as a free spirit and she seems to be making no compromises to signal emotional or even
empathetic bonds with her husband via her poses." "She really cares about other people." "That is extremely appealing" Perhaps as a way of compensating for the
lack of chemistry in their family photos, Princess Charlene and Prince Albert also posed
in a number of pictures after reuniting in 2021. These photographs, which were
also posted on Charlene's Instagram, featured the prince and princess in a close
embrace. In one shot, Charlene was practically hanging off of Albert's body. In another, the
princess leaned toward her husband's shoulders. Although these pictures certainly
tried to project intimacy, critics said that Charlene and
Albert did not seem close at all, alleging that the photos were staged.
As Judi James told the Daily Mail, "The couple could barely be closer,
posing torso to torso and face to face, with Charlene's arm around
Albert's neck in a clinging and rather possessive-looking hug that could
almost be described as an overkill gesture." James also hinted that these
pictures could have been an attempt to cover up the couple's
lack of closeness, explaining, "Their eyes are fixed on what
looks like another camera, making this a posed shot rather than
anything more genuinely intimate, but the message of affection and physical
closeness is there all the same." According to the specialist, Charlene seemed
particularly unhappy in these shots. James shared, "Charlene's eye expression suggests sadness in
both of these poses though and although she is smiling, the corners of her mouth are pulled
slightly downward, suggesting mixed emotions." "It has been obviously a very
challenging time to be here." Even after Princess Charlene recuperated
from her ear, nose, and throat infection, royal fans continued to worry that there
was something wrong with her. Obviously, you don't have to be a full-blown
body language expert to see that the princess appears unhappy. As reported by The
South African, Charlene's admirers took to social media to share their opinions on the
Monegasque royal and her facial expressions. "It's not all been plain sailing behind
the scenes and there have been issues." Commenting on Charlene's nonverbal communication
at the 2022 Grand Prix, one Twitter user shared, "Nice to see Princess Charlene
looking better health-wise, but she's noticeably still unhappy.
I hope she can break away from this nasty institution one day. She
clearly adores her children." Another Twitter user shared
that same sentiment, declaring, "Not sure how well that treatment
[or] rehab that she had went, but Princess Charlene still looks so
sad and miserable. I feel for her." Ultimately, these comments reflect the overall
feeling of concern that many royal fans have harbored on Charlene's behalf. Much of the
world says that the princess is unhappy, although the palace has long insisted
that she is fine. Speaking to People, Prince Albert condemned the widespread
speculation about his relationship with his wife, insinuating that
it was pure gossip, stating, "We're an easy target, easily hit,
because we're in the public eye a lot." Of course, it remains to be seen
whether there is more to the story.
