Fit To Reign

Athlete, Olympian, Princess. Hsh Princess Charlene Of Monaco Has Led An Extraordinary Existence. She Gives Us A Glimpse Into Life As A Royal – And The Fitness Routine That Keeps A 40-year-old Mom Of Twins Looking This Good

- Wanita Nicol

 

“Hi, I’m Charlene.” It’s not a sentence I ever expected to hear from Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco. Just moments before, the crew had been debating appropriate ways to address her. There was a brief mention of curtsying. But as the princess warmly shakes hands with every member of the crew, laughing and cracking jokes, her South African accent 100 percent intact, it's evident that she’s still one of us – just with a whole lot more responsibility.

Life in the spotlight

Charlene arrives at our makeshift photography studio in a ballroom at Emperors Palace wearing a simple button-down shirt, skinny jeans and boots, almost no make-up. “I’m sorry about this,” she says, waving one hand to display dark, vampy nail polish. “I was at the Laureus World Sports Awards last night.” As if we hadn’t all been scrolling through tabloid images of the princess in her one-shouldered Stella McCartney evening gown and, yes, wondering how on earth she was going to make it to a cover shoot halfway around the world just hours later.

“At some point in the evening, you may have noticed you didn’t see me anymore,” she says. “That’s when I left, got straight into a car, onto the plane and woke up here in South Africa.”

That’s one helluva juggling act. But, for Charlene, it’s not unusual. “This is my life,” she says. “I have five or six events in three countries to go to in the space of five days. I have to pack for all kinds of conditions – rain, snow, sport... I never just go to one place, it’s always one and then the other and the other. And if it’s an official event, the protocols are different, so I have to be prepared for everything.”