Albert of Monaco and Charlene have attended together the Mass of Santa Devota, the patron saint of Monaco, to celebrate one of the principality’s most prominent festivals. This event had not happened for two years and, this time, it took place without the company of the twins Jaume and Gabriela, who grabbed all the attention with their spontaneous gestures at the burning of the boat on Friday night.
Both went to the cathedral of Sant Nicolau in sober and minimalist styles, a symbol of the elegance of the crown. In the case of Charlene, she opted for a navy blue dress with a long double-breasted jacket and straight trousers made from a fabric with a satin finish, which she completed with a pashmina to combat the cold winter temperatures. As accessories, some delicate diamond earrings and a handbag. For his part, Albert of Monaco dressed very well together with his wife, with a classic navy blue dress.
A beautiful postcard from both of them that has not been repeated since 2021. Last year, Princess Charlene had to go to the religious service alone because Prince Albert had contracted covid, and she could only enjoy the ‘event on the balcony of the palace to see the masked procession. The same thing happened, but in reverse, in 2022, where the great absentee was the princess, who was admitted to Switzerland to recover her physical and mental health. In fact, it was April of the same year when, after months of absence, he reappeared in the public life of Monaco in a historic familiar pose. Charlene’s presence at this mass shows that the princess is recovering and resuming her public duties, after several years removed from her duties as monarch.
The legend of Saint Devota narrates the hardships of a young Christian, Devota, who was arrested, imprisoned and tortured in 304 in Corsica. He died without ever renouncing his faith. After his death, his body was ordered to be burned, but a group of Christians took it and placed it on a boat that was going to Africa, where, they thought, it would receive Christian grave However, during the first hours of the crossing, a storm broke out. It was then that, from the mouth of Devota, a dove came out that guided the boat to Monaco, specifically to the chapel called Des Gaumates – the current church of Santa Devota. One of the most impressive symbols of the date is the moment when the small boat begins to burn in the port of Hércules, a practice that was reinstated during the time of Louis II as sovereign prince.
The image of the union between the kings of Monaco breaks with the speculation of a marital crisis that was fueled in the summer with news that focused on the fact that Charlene had deleted her personal Instagram account. The media echoed rumors that pointed to the fact that he had left Monaco to go live in Switzerland. Not even some photos of the couple enjoying the summer on the beaches did not calm the rumors about the supposed marital crisis.
