HAPPILY EVER AFTER

NO ONE could be more delighted to see his wife thriving than Prince Albert. His support has been unwavering, Charlene (39) says, and she has nothing but praise for “the wonderful husband and father” he is. “My husband continued to be my greatest support. He didn’t put me off my dreams or stop me from going to the end of my desires.”

Speaking to US magazine People, Prince Albert (59) concedes he’d once underestimated his lovely wife. But the past few years have taught him of Charlene’s incredible resilience and pace. “Husbands and wives sometimes rediscover one another’s qualities, and she has good judgment – she has excellent judgment in people. If she trusts somebody, there’s reason.”

He adds that acclimatising to the demanding royal role was a process. “It’s more an ongoing process, getting her more familiarised with the people of Monaco, the institutional side, to give her a better understanding of how things work,” he says. “In the past I haven’t always had as much time as I’d like to devote to that, and I didn’t want to throw too much at her at once.

“I know that it was an issue. People felt they didn’t see enough of her in Monaco. And she wants to and will do more of that, but she’s wanted to be as involved as she can in raising the children.”

When she talks about them, it’s clear the twins are the loves of her life. “Gabriella is very girlie at the moment and Jacques is so protective of her,” the doting mom revealed in an exclusive interview with YOU during her visit to South Africa in April.