- Princess Charlene has gone back to South Africa, where she grew up
- She was seen supporting a ‘Learn to Swim’ charity event
- Meanwhile, her husband Prince Albert was seen swanning about his palace
Princess Charlene of Monaco has returned to South Africa alone for the first time since she suffered a horror illness and had to abandon her family.
It was back in 2021 that the 45-year-old became seriously unwell in the country where she was brought up, and which she represented as an Olympic swimmer.
This led to Charlene, whose non-royal family moved her to South Africa in 1989, undergoing a series of medical operations while her husband Prince Albert, 65, remained in Monte Carlo with their young twins.
The couple had been expected to put all that behind them this weekend, and to travel to South Africa together to attend a ‘Learn to Swim’ charity event that included a Waterbike Challenge race.
But photos published on the Monaco Palace Instagram account on Sunday showed Charlene was again by herself in the Sun City resort, near Johannesburg, while her husband was seen swanning around a Prince Palace’s gallery.
Princess Charlene, pictured, was seen supporting a swimming event in South Africa
She was seen supporting a ‘Learn to Swim’ charity event
Meanwhile, Prince Albert (pictured) was seen swanning about his palace in Monaco
Charlene is wearing a green Springbok rugby shirt, while surrounded by the smiling youngsters.
She is a big fan of the South Africa team, the World Champions who are currently defending their title in France.
Meanwhile, Prince Albert wore a navy suit and tie as he was taken around a Pablo Picasso exhibit currently being hosted at his palace, the Prince’s Palace of Monaco.
A Palace spokesman said: ‘Charlene was in Sun City on a Learn to Swim activities programme organised for around a hundred children from schools in the region’.
A source in Sun City told MailOnline: ‘It was certainly expected that Prince Albert would be here – everyone wanted to see the Royal couple together.
‘Sadly, the Prince seems to have stayed away for the moment but – who knows – he might turn up later.’
He was touring a Pablo Picasso exhibit being hosted at his palace
The new snaps come just says after the 45-year-old royal insisted that she is still ‘serene and happy’ amid rumours of deep tension with her husband
Princess Charlene challenged rumours claiming that she was living in Switzerland and only saw her husband by appointment
The new snaps come just says after the 45-year-old royal insisted that she is still ‘serene and happy’ amid rumours of deep tension with her husband.
She challenged rumours claiming that she was living in Switzerland and only saw her husband by appointment, and said she no longer wanted to address unfavourable rumours.
The rumour mill went into overdrive when Charlene spent most of 2021 away from her husband after returning to her native South Africa for what was supposed to be a month-long trip.
She wasn’t pictured in Monaco from January 2021 until March 2022, citing a sinus issue which stopped her from flying.
She missed the seventh birthday of her twins Gabriella and Jacques and her tenth wedding anniversary with Albert.
In interviews at the time, Albert explained he had stepped up to play a bigger role in his children’s lives as the family coped with Charlene’s ongoing health issues.
Upon her return to the principality, Albert claimed she was ‘overwhelmed’ and ‘unwell’.
Speaking to People magazine at the time, Albert said the family reunion in Monaco last week initially went ‘pretty well’ in the first few hours, but it then became ‘pretty evident’ that Charlene was ‘unwell.’
He said the former Olympian ‘realised she needed help’, adding: ‘She was overwhelmed and couldn’t face official duties, life in general or even family life.’
Claims she will stay in Switzerland were backed up by a source who knows the couple well, who said: ‘The South of France is too close, but Switzerland has superb private medical facilities, and Charlene will be well looked after there.’
The couple have been at the centre of split rumours for years, but have always denied there’s an issue with their marriage.
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