Charlene Wittstock

Charlene Lynette Wittstock (born 25 January 1978) is a South African Olympic backstroke swimmer and fiancée of Albert II, Prince of Monaco.

Born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, she is the daughter of Michael Kenneth Wittstock, a sales manager, and Lynette Humberstone, a former competitive diver and swimming coach. Charlene is of South African, German and British ancestry.

Charlene Wittstock


Charlene Wittstock - Future Princess of Monaco


Swimming career

Wittstock was a member of the women's 4×100 m medley South African team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, which finished fifth. She finished sixth at the 2002 FINA Short Course World Championships for the 200 m breaststroke. She left her Durban-based team (the Seagulls) to join the Tuks Swimming Club at the High Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria.[3] She was never enrolled for any academic courses at the University of Pretoria and therefore never graduated from the University; the Club sponsored her by providing her with free access to their pools, free coaching, accommodations, and gymnasium access.

She decided to leave Pretoria in January 2005 and returned to Durban; she then went to the north coast of KwaZulu Natal, where she joined a former Tuks Swimming coach, Brannislav Ivkovic. On 13 April 2007 Wittstock regained her title as South Africa’s 50 m women’s backstroke champion when she completed the 50 m backstroke final at the Telkom SA National Aquatic Championships in 30:16 seconds, to finish third behind Australia’s Sophie Edington and Brazil’s Fabíola Molina.

She has won several national titles over the years. She planned to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, which she said would be her swansong, but she did not qualify.[4] Previously she had been out of competitive swimming for 18 months with a shoulder injury. Wittstock said she would be swimming in Europe in the near future, hoping to better her times. "I have a year left of competitive swimming, and I just want to be the best I can be in that time. After that I want to get involved in charity work, and development work with athletes' commissions."[4] She has recently commented that her swimming days are behind her, enabling her to concentrate on her future role as Princess of Monaco.
[edit] Special Olympics

On Friday, May 27 at an Amber Lounge charity fashion show during the 2011 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Special Olympics announced that Charlene Wittstock has become a global ambassador for the movement, charged with promoting respect and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities to a worldwide audience.[5] Charlene has said that the Special Olympics movement is close to her heart because as a former athlete she values its role in "using the power of sport to change lives".
[edit] Relationship with the Prince

Wittstock met Prince Albert II, the sovereign of Monaco, in 2000, when she traveled to Monaco for a swimming competition.[6] They had been seen together since 10 February 2006, at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics when the Prince was accompanied by Wittstock. They were seen again together at the Monaco Grand Prix. The Prince and Wittstock attended the "Bal de la Rose" and the Princess Grace Awards Gala in 2009. They attended as a couple the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling in Stockholm on 19 June 2010, as well as the Royal Wedding of Prince William of Wales to Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England.
[edit] Engagement
Further information: Wedding of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Charlene Wittstock

On 23 June 2010, the couple became officially engaged.[7][8][9][10] Wittstock, who was raised a Protestant, converted to Roman Catholicism, even though this was not a requirement by the Constitution of Monaco.[11] The future princess also learned to speak French and the Monégasque dialect, and to become acquainted with European court protocol.

The civil marriage ceremony had been scheduled for 8 July 2011. The date was changed to 2 July 2011, followed by the religious ceremony on 3 July. The change was made because the Olympic Committee meeting is scheduled to take place in Durban from 5 July to 9 July; the Prince and Wittstock want the Olympic family to be present at their wedding. They also wanted Wittstock to make her first visit as Princess of Monaco to South Africa.[12]

A final wedding date change was to 1 July and 2 July. The civil ceremony will take place on 1 July at 5pm Monaco Time in the Palace Throne Room. The religious ceremony will take place on 2 July at 5pm in the Palace Courtyard. Both July 1 and 2 will be public holidays in Monaco. Other events surrounding the wedding include: an appearance on the balcony, a buffet cocktail in the Palace Square, a gala concert by Jean-Michel Jarre, all after the civil ceremony; and a ball and fireworks display will follow the religious ceremony.[13]

On her marriage, Wittstock will become Princess consort of Monaco and gain the title and style of Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, a position once occupied by the Prince's mother, Grace Kelly. Also on her marriage, she will gain two step children, Albert's illegitimate children, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi and Alexandre Coste.
References from Wikipedia.com