Return to royal duty CHARLENE'S SHAKY COMEBACK

The princess’ race-day outing was not the win Albert was after

After a long, mystery-enshrouded absence from royal duties, Princess Charlene of Monaco returned to public life on April 30, attending the Monaco E-Prix with her husband and children by her side. But her re-emergence has done little to quell concerns for the princess, who appeared sad and isolated from her husband.

In her first public appearance since last year, Charlene, 44, posed for photographs with Prince Albert, 64, and their ebullient seven-year-old twins, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques.

Charlene and Gabriella presented the second-place trophy at the event, and the pair had their arms around each other throughout the awards ceremony. An upbeat Albert and Jacques then presented the trophy for first place.

Despite the happy occasion, however, royal watchers were quick to point out that Charlene’s demeanour was anything but joyful.

Says body language expert Judi James, “There was very little interaction between Charlene and Albert. Her only verbal and non-verbal communication in these poses appear to be with her daughter. There are no signs of her using any eye-engage techniques with either her husband or the public.”

It’s now more than a year since Charlene first disappeared from public life. The princess, who was born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa from the age of 12, had travelled back to her homeland on a charity mission in January 2021.