Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco celebrate 12th wedding anniversary with ‘adorable’ photo

Monaco royals Prince Albert and Princess Charlene tied the knot on 2 July 2011 and on Sunday, they marked the occasion with a sweet social media appearance. 

The couple’s official Instagram account shared a photo of the couple talking and gazing lovingly at each other, taken at the Sainte Devote Rugby Tournament in April. 

It was captioned: “Happy Wedding Anniversary to Their Highnesses Prince Albert and Princess Charlene. © Photo: Eric Mathon/Prince’s Palace #princealbert @hshprincesscharlene”. 

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Fans rushed to share their good wishes, with one commenting: “Happy Wedding Anniversary to Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco.

“Wish you many, many happy returns of the day. 12 years ago I watched with happiness the magnificent ceremony of your wedding, it was sublime. Princess Charlene I’ve never seen a bride as beautiful as you.” 

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Others kindly added: “Happy anniversary, @ adorable royal couple,” “Joyeux anniversaire,” and: “That look though [red love heart emoji]”. The couple will likely be spending the day together with their twin children, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, who will turn nine later this year.

The couple’s official account posted in honour of their anniversary

Earlier in the week, though, Charlene enjoyed a night out alone as she made a solo appearance at the Golden Nymph Awards at the Monte Carlo TV Festival on Tuesday. 

The 45-year-old royal looked stunning in a floor-length navy silk gown from one of her go-to labels, Akris, which she accessorised with statement diamond jewellery. 

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While Prince Albert wasn’t in attendance, the Princess was joined by Albert’s nephew, Louis Ducruet, and his wife, Marie, who welcomed a baby girl called Victoire in April. 

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During the glittering ceremony, Charlene appeared on stage to present writer and producer Howard Gordon, whose credits include The X Files, 24, Homeland and Accused, with the Honorary Golden Nymph Award. 

Meanwhile, Prince Albert attended the opening party of the festival last Friday. The previous week, Albert and Charlene welcomed basketball athletes to the Prince’s Palace of Monaco after they won the French Elite Basketball Championship. 

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The couple were joined by their eldest child, Prince Jacques, as they posed for photographs in the palace courtyard. 

As well as the couple’s two children, the Prince has also fathered two other children from two previous romances – Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, born in 1992, and Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, born in 2003. Neither Jazmin nor Alexandre are in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, however, as their parents never married. 

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Where and how did Prince Albert and Princess Charlene meet?

Albert and South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock met at the Mare Nostrum swimming meet in Monaco in 2000 but they made their public debut as a couple at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics. 

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The Prince proposed to Charlene with a pear-shaped three-carat diamond in June 2010, and the couple tied the knot during three days of lavish celebrations in July 2011, with the bride wowing in an off-the-shoulder Armani Privé silk gown. 

LOOK: Prince Albert and Princess Charlene’s twins make adorable public appearance

In 2021, Albert and Charlene Sedley spent their tenth wedding anniversary apart due to the princess’ ear, nose and throat infection and subsequent operations, which left her grounded in South Africa.