Is Prince Albert so needy he pays his wife to stay with him?

Sure, Prince Albert is mega rich, and his mother was former actress, Grace Kelly, one of the most glamorous and beloved Hollywood stars of the 20th century, but the ruler of the tiny, casino-rich principality of Monaco continues to be an embarrassing, scandal-plagued figure on the world stage.

Consider the latest report in a French gossip magazine alleging that Albert pays his often miserable-looking wife, Princess Charlene, $12.5 million a year to stay with him.

The report from the French magazine Voici is the latest twist in Albert and Charlene’s rollercoaster marriage and in Albert’s beleaguered reputation, the Mirror reported.

Friends of the 64-year-old prince deny the report, which suggests that his wife, former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, from South Africa, is being paid to return to her royal duties and appear in public with him and their 7-year-old twins, Jacques and Gabriella.

Charlene, 44, was absent from Monaco for much of 2021 and early 2022, staying first in South Africa and then at a clinic in Switzerland, recovering from what Page Six reported was a long illness and exhaustion,

“After being away for so long during her illness, Charlene is so happy to be back with Albert and the kids,” a source told Page Six. “They spend every weekend at their country place.”

In any case, Charlene wouldn’t need more money from Albert, the source said. “Of course she has a generous prenup, but Albert doesn’t have to pay her to stay,” the source said.

True or not, the report was avidly picked up by outlets in Europe and the United States, probably because it sounded plausible, and because Albert is so easy to pick on.

The prince, who once competed on Monaco’s Olympics bobsled team, offers a good argument for anti-monarchists because he comes across as the pampered and privileged beneficiary of immense inherited wealth.

Albert also holds one of those lesser European royal titles that still exist in the 21st century. Moreover, he governs a picturesque speck of land along the Mediterranean that has long fought the reputation as being a refuge for wealthy tax dodgers and money launderers — “a sunny place for shady people,” as the writer W. Somerset Maugham once said, the New York Times reported.

Supposedly, Albert is known as a “nice” guy, according to a New York Times report published in April 2005, after “the bachelor prince” ascended to the throne upon the death of his father, Prince Rainier. At least, Albert showed more dignity in his position than his “bad girl” younger sister, Stephanie, “an archetypal aristocratic wild child” who is best known for her love affairs with “the most unsuitable of men,” the Times said.

But Albert also developed a playboy reputation, fueled by his scandalous affairs with a flight attendant, a German topless model and multiple other women. At least two of those affairs resulted in children, but they couldn’t join the line of succession because Albert refused to marry their mothers. A third woman also came forward in 2020 to claim that he fathered her child during his marriage to Charlene, but that case is unresolved.

As for Charlene, she and Albert first met at a swimming meet in Monaco in 2000 when she was 22. They began dating, went public as a couple in 2006, became engaged in 2010 and married in 2011 in a lavish $100 million celebration that was considered Monaco’s “biggest party in 55 years,” the Daily Mirror also reported.

The unhappiness in their relationship has long been the subject of fascination, the Daily Beast reported. Charlene allegedly tried to flee Monaco three times before the wedding, at one point seeking sanctuary in South Africa’s embassy in Paris. She also wept openly on her wedding day.

It’s never been entirely clear what Charlene’s long illness involved. She fell ill while visiting South Africa in May 2021 and reportedly suffered from severe ear, nose and throat infections, lost a “worrying” amount of weight and underwent multiple surgeries, Page Six said. She was reported to have “almost died” in South Africa in November.

Charlene briefly returned to Monaco in November but departed for what turned out to be a four-month stay at a facility in Switzerland, suffering from “profound” emotional and physical “exhaustion,” Albert revealed in an interview with People in November.

“She was overwhelmed and couldn’t face official duties, life in general or even family life,” Albert also said.

Beyond that, the prince wouldn’t say much more about his wife’s condition, but he vehemently dismissed reports that her physical or emotional problems had anything to do with their relationship.

“I’m probably going to say this several times, but this has nothing to do with our relationship,” Albert told People. “I want to make that very clear. These are not problems within our relationship; not with the relationship between a husband and wife. It’s of a different nature.”

For now, Charlene appears ready to return to royal duties in Monaco, whether she’s being paid to do so or not, Page Six reported. She attended the Monaco E-Prix car race championship with Albert and their children earlier this month, and the couple plan to show a “united front” at a series of events that benefit her children’s sports foundation and which take during the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix over the weekend of May 28 and 29, Page Six added.

Sure, Prince Albert is mega rich, and his mother was former actress, Grace Kelly, one of the most glamorous and beloved Hollywood stars of the 20th century, but the ruler of the tiny, casino-rich principality of Monaco continues to be an embarrassing, scandal-plagued figure on the world stage.

Consider the latest report in a French gossip magazine alleging that Albert pays his often miserable-looking wife, Princess Charlene, $12.5 million a year to stay with him.

The report from the French magazine Voici is the latest twist in Albert and Charlene’s rollercoaster marriage and in Albert’s beleaguered reputation, the Mirror reported.

Friends of the 64-year-old prince deny the report, which suggests that his wife, former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, from South Africa, is being paid to return to her royal duties and appear in public with him and their 7-year-old twins, Jacques and Gabriella.

Charlene, 44, was absent from Monaco for much of 2021 and early 2022, staying first in South Africa and then at a clinic in Switzerland, recovering from what Page Six reported was a long illness and exhaustion,

“After being away for so long during her illness, Charlene is so happy to be back with Albert and the kids,” a source told Page Six. “They spend every weekend at their country place.”

In any case, Charlene wouldn’t need more money from Albert, the source said. “Of course she has a generous prenup, but Albert doesn’t have to pay her to stay,” the source said.

True or not, the report was avidly picked up by outlets in Europe and the United States, probably because it sounded plausible, and because Albert is so easy to pick on.

The prince, who once competed on Monaco’s Olympics bobsled team, offers a good argument for anti-monarchists because he comes across as the pampered and privileged beneficiary of immense inherited wealth.

Albert also holds one of those lesser European royal titles that still exist in the 21st century. Moreover, he governs a picturesque speck of land along the Mediterranean that has long fought the reputation as being a refuge for wealthy tax dodgers and money launderers — “a sunny place for shady people,” as the writer W. Somerset Maugham once said, the New York Times reported.

Supposedly, Albert is known as a “nice” guy, according to a New York Times report published in April 2005, after “the bachelor prince” ascended to the throne upon the death of his father, Prince Rainier. At least, Albert showed more dignity in his position than his “bad girl” younger sister, Stephanie, “an archetypal aristocratic wild child” who is best known for her love affairs with “the most unsuitable of men,” the Times said.

But Albert also developed a playboy reputation, fueled by his scandalous affairs with a flight attendant, a German topless model and multiple other women. At least two of those affairs resulted in children, but they couldn’t join the line of succession because Albert refused to marry their mothers. A third woman also came forward in 2020 to claim that he fathered her child during his marriage to Charlene, but that case is unresolved.

As for Charlene, she and Albert first met at a swimming meet in Monaco in 2000 when she was 22. They began dating, went public as a couple in 2006, became engaged in 2010 and married in 2011 in a lavish $100 million celebration that was considered Monaco’s “biggest party in 55 years,” the Daily Mirror also reported.

The unhappiness in their relationship has long been the subject of fascination, the Daily Beast reported. Charlene allegedly tried to flee Monaco three times before the wedding, at one point seeking sanctuary in South Africa’s embassy in Paris. She also wept openly on her wedding day.

It’s never been entirely clear what Charlene’s long illness involved. She fell ill while visiting South Africa in May 2021 and reportedly suffered from severe ear, nose and throat infections, lost a “worrying” amount of weight and underwent multiple surgeries, Page Six said. She was reported to have “almost died” in South Africa in November.

Charlene briefly returned to Monaco in November but departed for what turned out to be a four-month stay at a facility in Switzerland, suffering from “profound” emotional and physical “exhaustion,” Albert revealed in an interview with People in November.

“She was overwhelmed and couldn’t face official duties, life in general or even family life,” Albert also said.

Beyond that, the prince wouldn’t say much more about his wife’s condition, but he vehemently dismissed reports that her physical or emotional problems had anything to do with their relationship.

“I’m probably going to say this several times, but this has nothing to do with our relationship,” Albert told People. “I want to make that very clear. These are not problems within our relationship; not with the relationship between a husband and wife. It’s of a different nature.”

For now, Charlene appears ready to return to royal duties in Monaco, whether she’s being paid to do so or not, Page Six reported. She attended the Monaco E-Prix car race championship with Albert and their children earlier this month, and the couple plan to show a “united front” at a series of events that benefit her children’s sports foundation and which take during the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix over the weekend of May 28 and 29, Page Six added.