The small city-state of Monaco is shaking. And not only because the publication of Claude Palmero’s notes revealed some surprising information about the Grimaldi family’s finances, but also because one or two family secrets are revealed in them. There is supposed to be a real crisis between Charlène of Monaco and Caroline of Hanover.
Until 2006, Princess Caroline was the First Lady of the Principality of Monaco alongside her brother, the perpetually single Prince Albert. Then the prince’s relationship with the swimmer Charlène Wittstock became official. She gave up professional sports for him, moved to Monaco and became his wife in July 2011. Since Charlène moved into the palace, there have been rumors of jealousy between the two women, which Palermo now confirms in his notes.
The finances of the two women already show significant differences. Charlène is said to receive around one million euros in annual pocket money, plus countless additional expenses from house renovations to supporting her family in South Africa. The former swimmer is constantly expected to live beyond her means and Albert always makes up for it. Princess Caroline, on the other hand, is only supposed to receive pocket money of around 800,000 euros.
When the two women appear together in public, they often treat each other coldly. As if the other were air. According to Palermo, the reason for the women’s hostilities is power. In his notes published by the French press “Le Monde” it is said that in the past there was even an internal desire to change the succession. Princess Caroline, who has been separated from Ernst August von Hannover for 15 years but is still married, has been behind the former swimmer in the line of succession to the throne since Charlène and Albert’s wedding. A fact that, according to the notes, is said to disgust her.
Due to this hierarchy in the principality, Albert and his wife are also responsible for managing the Grimaldi treasures, such as paintings, jewelry, antiques and much more. But Caroline doesn’t want to take this into account; she should use the crown jewels without inhibition and treat them like her personal accessories. Palermo writes that “Caroline decides everything and causes chaos in the inventory.”
According to the notes of the former financial advisor, who resigned from his position in the palace in 2023, there are said to have been heated arguments between the two women. Palmero writes about the conflict in the palace: “Their cries sometimes echoed through the golden halls.”
Sources: Le Monde, Nau, Blick, The List, Express
