There's a lot of talk surrounding Prince Albert and Princess Charlene's relationship. While it's not really clear what's going on between the spouses, there are some other perspectives about Charlene's role in Albert's life and particularly with his older children that are not quite flattering.
In a 2021 interview with Paris Match, Nicole Coste opened up about what it's like co-parenting with the Prince of Monaco, with whom she shares 18-year-old son Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste. Nicole asserted that despite rumors saying otherwise, Albert has always been very involved and present in Alexandre's life.
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"Contrary to what some have written, Albert has always assumed his role as a father and no financial agreement has ever been made between us. Our relationship is built on trust."
Things are a little more complicated where Charlene is concerned, however.
"As for Charlene, this is a subject that I cannot avoid because we are often put in parallel," Nicole said.
"I don't like being compared. I never advertised myself as an enemy. I am a gentle woman."
"Given our respective ties to the prince, we should have made sure to support each other cordially," Nicole asserted.
"In our situation, diplomacy had to prevail. But during the engagement period, I experienced things that alerted and shocked me."
"For example, she changed my son's room, taking advantage of his father's absence to move him to the employee wing," she revealed.
"As a mother, I cannot find words to describe these actions."
A source close to Albert and Charlene came out to refute the notion, however, in a conversation with People.
"Charlene was really the one that was trying to pull the whole family together," the source said.
Albert even commented on the situation to People. He noted that Charlene's relationship with his older children has "evolved with time. She is more acceptant now."
"She's really been the champion for these kids in some ways," the source close to the couple added.
"I'm not going to say she wants to have them around all the time, because there is some contention on many fronts."
"Charlene has been keen on making it easy for [Alexandre] to interact with Albert and was encouraging Albert toward embracing him as his child," the source notes.
Albert's older daughter, 29-year-old Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, has never publicly commented on her relationship with her stepmother, who is 14 years her senior. Still, that note of contention leads us to believe everything isn't as rosy as the royals are leading us to believe.
