Why Princess Charlène must now be left alone
She doesn’t give interviews, she gives rise to speculation. Every detail of Charlène’s life is exploited, but the princess is obviously not doing well. Benedikt Amara demands more sensitivity in dealing with her.
Body language experts were booming at the weekend: Princess Charlène made a rare public appearance at the FIA Formula E World Championship in Monaco. Her face according to media reports: bitter. Your eyes: empty. The princess seemed unhappy and thoughtful, self-appointed amateur psychologists talked shop.
Almost every day, “the bitter truth” comes to light in an article about Prince Albert’s 44-year-old wife, experts give their forecasts for the future of the princess or photos like her Easter greeting with the family are “scrutinized more closely”. In addition to Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry, who turned their backs on the British royal family in 2020 and moved to the USA, Charlène is the share price of the European noble families: Every little movement is meticulously monitored, evaluated and classified.
The price of your share has been increasing in media interest since last year. The princess spent 2021 mainly in South Africa – officially because of a severe ear, nose and throat infection. After returning to the Principality of Monaco, she received treatment for health problems. Charlene suffers from “physical and emotional exhaustion,” Prince Albert announced in a rare statement. To date, his wife has not commented on her condition. She rarely posts anything on Instagram, and she doesn’t give any interviews.
“The less I know, the more I interpret purely”
That could be the problem – and the reason for the permanent media observation of the princess, as media psychologist Prof. Dr. Jo Groebel, as he explained to t-online: “The less I know about a situation that interests me, the more I interpret it.” Every gesture in a public appearance, every little detail in a photo is suddenly used to shed light on the darkness.
Will she get better? will they break up Then what will become of the children? What sounds like the cliffhanger of a bad telenovela is the current driving force behind countless contributions to Princess Charlène. “Nothing is more exciting than a story that no one knows how it will end. It’s almost like a mixture of Shakespearean drama and a daily reality show,” the expert continues. Charlène and Albert want to protect their privacy and hardly reveal anything – but they may achieve exactly the opposite: interest in them increases even more.
But that’s not due to their secrecy alone. According to Groebel, in addition to purely voyeuristic curiosity, the so-called “parasocial interaction” of the audience also plays a role: “As a viewer, listener and reader, you develop something like a bond of friendship. Even though you don’t know that person and that bond isn’t mutual, you feel like you’re close to that person and want to share in their destiny.”
The press also threw themselves on Princess Diana
No question: Charlène must have known when she married Albert of Monaco in July 2011 that public scrutiny would be the high price of her new life. A life that certainly entails many privileges and is legitimized by the press: the Grimaldis use the hated but necessary media for their purposes and need it to justify their existence. Playing with the press – it is playing with fire, which was fatal to the British Princess Diana, for example. In 1997 she was followed by paparazzi in Paris and died in an accident. She had always been the subject of the media before, being ambushed, rumored by British tabloids and her looks a frequent topic.
Same with Charlene. Some media not only commented on her cool appearance at the FIA Formula E World Championship in Monaco at the weekend, but also on her hairstyle. That is, dear colleagues, completely unnecessary – because it is old-fashioned and sexist. Then it would also be necessary to talk about her husband’s thinning hair. But this is another story …
One thing is certain: the media and fans should give Charlene, who – without wanting to participate in speculation – does not appear to be completely healthy, time for her recovery. Without malicious insinuations and absurd assumptions. We urgently need to leave Charlene alone.
