Hello Monaco #09 Spring–Summer 2020 | Page 52

PORTRAIT
PRINCESS CHARLÈNE OF MONACO:
A SHINING STAR IN THE PRINCELY
MONEGASQUE SKY
ЕЕ ВЫСОЧЕСТВО ШАРЛЕН УИТТСТОК,
ПЕРВАЯ ЛЕДИ МОНАКО
«SPORT HAS GIVEN ME DRIVE AND DISCIPLINE AND IT ALSO TAUGHT ME TO REMAIN HUMBLE», SHINING WORDS
OF H.S.H. PRINCESS CHARLÈNE OF MONACO. THESE WORDS REPRESENT WELL THE PURE ESSENCE OF A FIRST
LADY WHO IS ILLUSTRATING THE BEST SIDE OF THE PRINCIPALITY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
«СПОРТ ДАЛ МНЕ ДРАЙВ И ПРИУЧИЛ К ДИСЦИПЛИНЕ И СКРОМНОСТИ», — ГОВОРИТ ПРИНЦЕССА ШАРЛЕН.
ЭТИ СЛОВА ПРЕКРАСНО ДЕМОНСТРИРУЮТ ХАРАКТЕР ПЕРВОЙ ЛЕДИ КНЯЖЕСТВА.
FAMILY
Everything began on the 25th January 1978 when
Lynette Wittstock, acrobatic swimmer and instructor,
gave birth to her first beloved daughter Charlène
Lynette Wittstock in Bulawayo, currently part of
Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), where she was living
at that time with her husband, Michael Kenneth,
printer and then IT service provider. Their daughter
had begun to show a great interest in swimming
since the age of three. In 1989, the Wittstock family,
with German-Irish origins, moved to South Africa, in-
© Palais Princier
cluding Gareth and Sean, two further
sons, recently born. Charlène grew up
surrounded by her family’s warmth
in the industrial district of Benoni,
South-East side of Johannesburg, just
as had the actress and model Charlize
Theron. «We are a very close family;
my brothers, Gareth, Sean and I were
educated with the same values from
sport», she underlined as reported by
Philippe Delorme, journalist and historian,
— «that brought us a great deal
of balance; sport is a family legacy»,
she added.
SPORTS CAREER
In 1996, at the age of 18, Charlène
reached the podium at the South African
Championship. Her great passion
was becoming something primary in
her life with the full support of her father.
Therefore, she decided to de-emphasize
her studies and devote herself
entirely to swimming. Soon after her
family moved to Durban where she
started being guided by the internationally
renowned coach, Graham Hill.
She had been following an iron discipline
for a long time, training six hours
a day. «Outside the swimming pool,
I didn’t have a personal life: eating,
sleeping, swimming, doing gymnastics;
that was more or less my timetable», she
revealed to Sports Illustrated magazine.
Furthermore, what little spare time she
had was spent supporting deprived kids
in the techniques of swimming. Later, in
2011, Charlène got a «God’s Love We Deliver»
Golden Heart award at the Golden
Heart Awards ceremony in New York for
her charitable activity.
In 2000, she represented South Africa
at the Sydney Olympic Games achieving
promising results within her 4 ×
100 m team, placing fifth. Her sacrifices
bore early fruit. That same year,
at the Monegasque ‘Mare Nostrum’
international swimming competition
she was awarded a gold medal for the
200m backstroke by H.S.H. Prince Albert
II of Monaco, with whom she exchanged
a few words. In 2002, she received
three other gold medals at the
World Cup and a silver medal at the
Manchester Commonwealth Games.
In 2007, just after qualifying at the Beijing
Olympics, she ceased swimming
professionally but she never stopped
practicing it nor stopped surfing and
mountain hiking, being deeply inspired
by the highest sporting values.
Not by chance, on May the 27th 2011,
she was acknowledged as Global Ambassador
of the Special Olympics while
in June 2012 she was nominated patron
of AS Rugby Monaco, considered
as one of the best sporting activities to
convey sound values.
MARRIAGE AND THE NEW
STATUS OF PRINCESS
In 2006, Charlène began to accompany
the Sovereign Prince officially
at the Olympic Games at Sestrière
(famous ski resort not far from Turin),
and in further relevant missions.
Shortly afterwards, she was invited
by the Sovereign Prince in Monaco
when the Prince revealed to her his
passionate interest in sport and swimming.
A period of mutual friendship
ensued with frequent visits to Mona-
50 / Hello Monaco Spring–Summer 2020
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