Princess Charlene Of Monaco Tied The Knot In 2011 – But Her Face Was A Picture Of Misery

It should have been a fairytale. Prince Albert of Monaco, a man descended from both royalty and Hollywood, had courted a beautiful Olympic swimmer and was about to marry her. The press were all gathered, the guests were invited, at least $55 million had been spent. The only problem? The tearful, downright devastated expression on the bride’s face.

It was 2011 and it had only been a few months since the much-publicized wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. But it seemed that the royal family of Monaco were determined to upstage them. And they did, after all, have form for that sort of thing – a previous Monacan royal wedding had been one for the history books.

Because Prince Albert of Monaco happens to be the son of one of the most beloved royal princesses of all time, the late Hollywood actress Grace Kelly. When she said “I do” to Prince Rainier in 1956, it was a celebrated and extravagant affair. Celebrities filled the aisles, and TV cameras were present to broadcast the event to millions of fans.

And Prince Albert’s nuptials marked the country’s first royal marriage for 55 years. So who was his intended? Her name was Charlene Wittstock, and she certainly had all the qualifications to be a royal bride. Not only was she beautiful, she was accomplished. She’d won gold medals while swimming for her home country of South Africa.

All the stops were pulled out for the wedding. Eight hundred guests were invited, and thousands of Monacan citizens lined the streets to watch the wedding party go past. Others could watch the event on either television or the internet – it was actually the first ever royal wedding broadcast on both platforms.