The Royal Correspondent

As you know, Miss Charlene Wittstock, the future Princess of Monaco, has been in South Africa for the past week and a half to raise money for the Special Olympics by participating in the Midmar Dam race.

Whilst in her homeland, Miss Wittstock gave an interview to the South African magazine, YOU, whereupon she discussed her life in Monaco, her family, and her swimming career.

Anyway, there are some new photos of her (wearing a 1940s inspired dress with her hair in a lovely chignon) prior to her interview with YOU magazine.   Click the link to view: Charlene Wittstock

Here’s a snippet from the interview with Talk Radio 702 and a short summary from Channel 24, South Africa:

She also admitted that in the beginning, it was very difficult for her to adapt to Monaco’s culture, food and people, especially since she is a vegetarian (glad to her she doesn’t eat slaughter animals.)

On asking her what she busies herself with in Monaco, she said that she has always been involved with charity work, long before she met “the prince”, as she calls him.

According to Wittstock, she will still do humanitarian work after her wedding.

Charity organisations

A normal day for Wittstock consists of getting a cup of coffee first thing, checking e-mails, studying a thick file which deals with protocol and preparing herself for the upcoming ceremony.

She says she’s presently learning a lot about protocol, they regularly travel to other countries and she also learns what the prince keeps himself busy with.

In the evenings, Wittstock keeps herself busy by spending time at charity organisations.

Wittstock didn’t want to confirm whether she and Prince Albert will be attending the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, but she did, however, say that they would send a representative to attend on their behalf if they were not able to make it to the ceremony.

On January 15, 2011, Carina Axelsson (Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg’s permanent girlfriend)  presented a check, worth $3,335, to Bad Berleburg’s Mayor, Bernd Fuhrmann and Bad Berleburg’s head librarian, Rikard Riedesel.

Last Christmas, Miss Axelsson designed and published an Advent Calendar to be sold in Germany and Denmark whereupon the proceeds from the calendar would be donated to the city library in Bad Berleburg.  Like many libraries around the world, funding for these institutions are limited.  According the German newspaper, Siegener-Zeitung, Miss Axelsson noted:

All public libraries have big problems.   It is a pity and it is very important that all children and adults should have a place to read.  In  small towns many libraries have to fight harder for cash [funding.] We should not wait for the money is, but we need to be active [to actively seek it out.]

Miss Axelsson also noted that she want to illustrate an Advent calendar every year (like the Nigel Awards, but sadly that only lasted one year.  Yeah, it failed) and that she hopes that as each year passes more and more money will be raised.

Good for her!