Charlene Wittstock and Prince Albert II, Charlene Lynette Wittstock and Prince Albert II of Monaco were married Friday in a civil ceremony led by Philippe Narmino, president of the Council of State of Monaco.The ceremony, held in the throne room of the palace in Monte Carlo, was the first for a ruling prince since 1956, when the bridegroom’s father, Prince Rainier III, married Grace Kelly.
On Saturday, Bernard Barsi, archbishop of Monaco, performed a Roman Catholic ceremony in the main courtyard of the Prince’s Palace.
Princess Charlene, 33, wore a dress by Chanel for the ceremony on Friday. She was a swimming champion in South Africa and competed for its national team in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
She and Prince Albert met that year at an international swimming meet in Monaco over which the prince presided. She still competes occasionally, most recently in February in South Africa’s annual Midmar Mile, as a fund-raiser for her Special Olympics Charity Foundation.
The bride is the daughter of Lynette Wittstock and Mike Wittstock of Benoni, South Africa. Her father is a salesman and her mother is a former swimming coach and competitive diver.
Prince Albert, 52, became the ruler of Monaco in 2005 upon the death of his father. The prince graduated from Amherst College.
The Grimaldi family has held the throne in Monaco since 1297; the couple’s children would be in the line of succession. The prince, not previously married, has a son, Alexandre, and a daughter, Jazmin Grace, with other women, but neither child is in the line of succession.
Last December, in a cover story in Tatler, the British magazine, the bride was quoted as saying: “The moment I met Albert, I felt a profound sense of destiny. I have been quoted as saying I felt weak at the knees. That is a slightly trite way of phrasing it, but it is true. I knew he was the one.”
Upon the couple’s engagement last summer, Prince Albert told the newspaper Nice-Matin, “I know the Monagasque population was waiting for this moment.”
On Saturday, Bernard Barsi, archbishop of Monaco, performed a Roman Catholic ceremony in the main courtyard of the Prince’s Palace.
Princess Charlene, 33, wore a dress by Chanel for the ceremony on Friday. She was a swimming champion in South Africa and competed for its national team in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
She and Prince Albert met that year at an international swimming meet in Monaco over which the prince presided. She still competes occasionally, most recently in February in South Africa’s annual Midmar Mile, as a fund-raiser for her Special Olympics Charity Foundation.
The bride is the daughter of Lynette Wittstock and Mike Wittstock of Benoni, South Africa. Her father is a salesman and her mother is a former swimming coach and competitive diver.
Prince Albert, 52, became the ruler of Monaco in 2005 upon the death of his father. The prince graduated from Amherst College.
The Grimaldi family has held the throne in Monaco since 1297; the couple’s children would be in the line of succession. The prince, not previously married, has a son, Alexandre, and a daughter, Jazmin Grace, with other women, but neither child is in the line of succession.
Last December, in a cover story in Tatler, the British magazine, the bride was quoted as saying: “The moment I met Albert, I felt a profound sense of destiny. I have been quoted as saying I felt weak at the knees. That is a slightly trite way of phrasing it, but it is true. I knew he was the one.”
Upon the couple’s engagement last summer, Prince Albert told the newspaper Nice-Matin, “I know the Monagasque population was waiting for this moment.”