Today HSH Prince Albert II married Ms. Charlene Wittstock in a civil ceremony in Monaco. Here are the photos from the day. Tomorrow the religious ceremony will be held in the Main Courtyard of the Palace of Monaco, where Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Bernard Barsi.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
For a live broadcast of the wedding, the Prince’s Palace has provided live streaming at their special wedding website: Mariage Princier.
The Prince’s Palace website itself is showing live streaming at Palais.mc.
For the rest of the wedding schedule, see this post. Cheers!
Monaco-Ville: Image via Wikipedia
The program:
THURSDAY June 30th
7.00pm : Journalists accredited by the Press Centre are invited to attend a special press event on the Hotel Méridien beach in Monaco.
10.00pm : The couple will offer a special concert by the Eagles for Monegasque citizens, residents, persons working in the Principality and people from neighbouring communities. This concert will take place in the Louis II Stadium, before an audience of 15,000 people expected to attend.
FRIDAY July 1st
5.00pm : The civil wedding will take place in the Throne Room of the Prince’s Palace.
The Monegasques will be able to follow the ceremony on giant screens located on Palace Square. The Square will be accessible to Monegasques and their families from 4pm onwards.
5.50pm : After the ceremony, the newly-wedded couple will appear on the balcony of the Salon des Glaces in order to salute the Monegasques.
6.00pm : The couple will then join them on Palace Square for a buffet prepared by the Fairmont Monte-Carlo, with Mediterranean and South African dishes by Chefs from South Africa and Monaco. The Mayor of Monaco will present the gift of the Monegasques to the couple.
8.00pm : The residents of the Principality will be invited to a reception on the Port.
10.00pm : A large concert will be offered by the newly-wedded couple on the Port. Jean Michel Jarre will present a unique show.
A very large audience is expected.
SATURDAY July 2nd
5.00pm : The religious wedding will take place in the Main Courtyard of the Prince’s Palace.
The gates of the Palace will remain open in order to allow around 3500 seated persons to follow the ceremony, which will be broadcast on giant screens on the Palace Square.
6.30pm : The couple will leave the Palace for the Sainte Dévote church in order for the Princess to leave her bouquet.
The public will be able to gather all along the procession route in order to congratulate the couple.
9.00pm : The official dinner will be served on the Opéra terraces, followed by fireworks and the opening of the Ball in the Opéra.
Image by Globovisión via Flickr
Prince Albert of Monaco has proposed to his girlfriend Charlene Wittstock.
The Palace of Monaco officially announced the engagement of HSH Prince Albert II with Ms Charlene Wittstock on June 23rd. This is the first marriage for the 52-year-old prince and for Charlene, 32.
His Highness is the son of the late Prince Rainier III and the American actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly. Albert succeeded to the throne upon Rainier’s death in July 2005.
Charlene Lynette Wittstock is of South African nationality. Born on January 25th, 1978 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, she is a former Olympic swimmer and described by the Palace’s official statement as ‘a youth worker’.
Charlene’s engagement ring is as stunning and large as that of Albert’s mother, Princess Grace:
Stylelist.com says:
Her pear-shaped engagement ring, set in unique gray gold, is the “Tethys” design created by Parisian jeweler Maison Repossi. The sparkler’s huge center stone is embellished with round diamond brilliants.
Many congratulations to them both!
The Institut de Francais has a new student: Charlene Wittstock.
The world’s most exclusive French language school – and the most intense – is training Ms. Wittstock for what many say is her future role as a Princess of Monaco. Nestled in Villefranche-sur-Mer, she has been studying the language for eight hours a day, five days a week. The course will last for one month and can be repeated if necessary.
Ms. Wittstock’s engagement to Monaco’s Sovereign Prince Albert II is said to be imminent, and the announcement is awaited with baited breath by royal watchers everywhere.
Prince Albert, along with his sisters Caroline and Stephanie, speak French flawlessly along with a number of other languages. Any potential Princess consort would have to know French fluently to truly be on par with the rest of the royals and to be a representative of the principality.
The instructors have praised Ms. Wittstock for her ear and say it is “only a matter of time” before she masters French completely.
