It's Just Not True!

No, she doesn’t flee the palace. No, her foundation is not in trouble. Princess Charlene hits back at the rumours

- Nici De Wet

She's had her fair share of criticism over the years and she’s usually okay with that – she knows it comes with the territory.

After all, when you marry a prince who presides over one of the most fascinating principalities in the world, you have to take the good with the bad.

And for the most part, her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco has managed to maintain a dignified silence.

But sometimes she feels it’s important to speak out – especially when your reputation and everything you’ve fought so long and hard for are on the line.

Which is exactly what the Benoni-bred mom-of-two is doing now. She didn’t want to – her attitude when scathing stories appear about her is to look the other way. Yet this time she felt she needed to say something, especially as her beloved foundation has been dragged into it.

Popular French magazine Paris Match recently published an article that has the princess and her camp up in arms. It paints a picture of a lonely, brittle princess who seldom smiles and had trouble settling into Monaco – a place peopled by “sharks and vipers”, as she allegedly called them.

The story also claims she disobeys royal rules and regularly flees to Corsica or Turkey and has grown suspicious of everyone, even those who have supported her for years.

What’s more, the princess believes she’s become untouchable, the story says, and often cancels appearances at the last minute – something those close to her say simply isn’t true.

“She often packs in three to four engagements a day,” a palace insider says.