Princess Charlene put on a united front with Prince Albert at the Monte Carlo Television Festival on Tuesday evening amid allegations that her husband had a ‘discreet bachelor pad’ set up shortly after they wed.
The royal mother-of-two, 47, channelled her late-mother-in-law Grace Kelly as she stepped out in a sky blue halterneck ballgown that elegantly fell to the floor paired with silver heels, oozing old Hollywood glamour.
Sporting dazzling diamond earrings and a glamorous 20s style flapper girl crimped bob, the former Olympic swimmer appeared to be enjoying the spotlight as she strutted into the prestigious event arm-in-arm with her husband of 14 years, Prince Albert, 67.
The pair beamed as they made their way onto the blue carpet and posed alongside stars such as Famke Janssen, Robin Wright and Judith Light for the 64th international Television Festival.
Charlene and Albert put on a display of unity as palace sources claim the Princess is seeking solace in Brigitte Macron following explosive claims made by Claude Palmero, the Palace’s former money man.
French newspaper Le Monde last week published excerpts from a police interview with 68-year-old Palmero, former financial adviser to the Palace of Monaco, who was arrested by Monegasque officials last September and released without charge.
Included in Palmero’s statements were claims he had prepared a ‘bachelor pad’ for Prince Albert in 2012 – a year after he married Charlene.
The Prince’s former confidant claimed he had been ‘commissioned’ to find his boss ‘a discreet pied-á-terre in complete confidentiality’.
Princess Charlene continues to be thrust into the spotlight following claims her husband Prince Albert was seeking out a bachelor pad just months after their wedding in 2011 (pictured yesterday evening)
Charlene and Brigitte Macron have allegedly forged a warm bond over having difficult relationships with their spouses, according to the Mail’s Alison Boshoff (pictured at the start of June)
In 2017, he was also allegedly asked to ‘make sure the property was ready’ for the Prince to go there. Palmero also claims that Albert had listed him as the official tenant to conceal his true motives.
In light of the explosive claims, the Mail’s Alison Boshoff has reported that Princess Charlene, who shares 10-year-old twins Jacques and Gabriella with Albert, has been seeking solace in Brigitte Macron, wife of French president Emmanuel.
‘Both are high profile women who are regularly caught up in unpleasant situations,’ a senior Palace source in Monte Carlo told the Mail.
‘They accordingly had much to discuss, and were very glad to be able to share their experiences. They gave each other advice, while enjoying a very happy time together.’
The pair were recently seen cosying up to each other at the start of the month during a visit to the Albert II Nautical Centre for an event organised by the Princess Charlene Foundation.
They have also enjoyed a spot of tea in the gardens of the royal palace in Monaco and lunched together at the Colombe D’Or restaurant in France over the past couple of months, echoing their close-knit friendship.
Both women are in sizable age gap relationships, as Charlene is 20 years younger than her Albert and Emmanuel is 25 years Brigitte’s junior.
Brigitte hit headlines after she was caught on camera pushing Emmanuel in the face at the end of a flight on a private jet last month. The images reverberated around the world, however the French politician explained that they were ‘just joking around as we do’.
And Charlene’s marriage was once again thrust into the spotlight last week as it was claimed that Prince Albert – who has at least two illegitimate children – was reportedly on the hunt for a ‘love nest’ within a year of their wedding.
Rumours have been swirling for almost a year since French outlet Le Monde, and other media outlets, first published extracts from his former trusted advisor’s ‘secret notebooks’ in September.
Princess Charlene was seen alongside her husband and Robin Wright at the event on Tuesday evening
Charlene channelled her late-mother-in-law Grace Kelly as she stepped out in a sky blue halterneck ballgown that elegantly fell to the floor paired with silver heels, oozing old Hollywood glamour
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene put on a unified display during the 64th Monte Carlo Television Festival on Tuesday evening
The recent police transcripts revealed by the outlet included conversations detailing Claude Palmero’s running of the royal’s ‘discreet bachelor pad’ and financing his illegitimate children and their mothers.
Palmero, 68, looked after the family’s money (including their investments, their properties and the main palace) from 2001 to 2023, just as his father, André, had done for Prince Rainier III of Monaco two decades before him.
However, he was sacked by Albert in 2023 after being targeted by a mysterious anti-corruption website. A few months later, French newspaper Le Monde published Palmero’s ‘secret notebooks’, which claimed to detail reckless spending by the Royal Family, with a particular spotlight on Charlene.
The controversy escalated in September after the former financial adviser was reportedly arrested – and released without charge.
The outlet has shared what Palmero reportedly told Monégasque officials – after his successor at the palace Salim Zeghdar accused him of poorly managing assets and ‘making himself the economic beneficiary on all the files’.
Palmero allegedly told investigators however that the royal is ‘only trying to harm and harass me’ with ‘absurd and slanderous complaints’.
Claiming he was a ‘victim’, the royal’s former employee – who is accused by Albert of ‘breaching professional secrecy’ and ‘invading privacy and family life’ – Palmero insists he ‘was bound by confidentiality, but not by professional secrecy’.
He also denied handing notebooks over to Le Monde, as well as the claim that they were written without the Prince’s permission.
The advisor was asked: ‘Do you confirm that these notebooks contain information related to the private life of the princely family?’
He replied: ‘As I handled all matters for the princely family, some aspects were private.’
Palmero also was said to have, in interviews with police, detailed getting a ‘bachelor pad’ ready for the royal.
In 2012, the year after Albert married Charlene, he was reportedly ‘commissioned’ to ‘find him a discreet pied-à-terre in complete confidentiality’.
Prince Albert, Famke Janssen and Princess Charlene of Monaco are pictured at the Monte Carlo Television Festival on Tuesday evening
President Emmanuel Macron, Prince Albert, Princess Charlene and the First Lady of France huddle together at last year’s Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Jazmin, whose mother is estate agent Tamara Rotolo who Albert was seeing in the 90s, was also at the Monte Carlo television on Tuesday evening, seemingly in a show of support for her father
In 2017, he was also allegedly asked to ‘make sure the property was ready’ for him to go there. Palmero also claims that Albert had listed him as the official tenant to conceal his true motives.
‘That proves how unusual the missions he assigned to me were,’ the former advisor told officials. ‘So it is quite inappropriate to claim that I overstepped my duties. Do you think it is the job of a financial asset manager to take care of his bachelor pad and such matters?
‘He trusted me… And who else could he have asked for such things, apart from me?’
The books also alleged that Albert spends millions every year from a secret French bank account to pay his former mistresses and love children – with Jazmin Grimaldi, 31, and Alexandre Coste-Grimaldi, 20, receiving allowances of £344,000 a year each.
Jazmin, whose mother is estate agent Tamara Rotolo who Albert was seeing in the 90s, was also at the Monte Carlo television on Tuesday evening, seemingly in a show of support for her father.
In his conversations with the police, as per Le Monde, Palmero claimed that he and Albert’s childhood friend and lawyer Thierry Lacoste, who was also dismissed, ‘handled’ matters in regards to Alexandre’s mother Nicole Coste, including the birth and recognition of their son.
The Prince was said to be ‘very uneasy and wanted to carry out these operations without anyone finding out, which was done successfully’.
Palmero claimed he was also tasked with handling the salaries of UK-based Nicole’s employees, covering everything from accommodation to dismissals.
At one point, about 10 years ago, he detailed a purchase of a £6.5million luxury London apartment for Alexandre’s mother.
‘So that Charlene would not find out, Albert created a trust for which I was the trustee, which means a trusted person,’ Palmero continued.
‘HSH signed the trust himself and he kept me as trustee until January 2025. He therefore still trusted me after my dismissal, and you don’t trust a crook or a thief. That destroys his argument.’
Jazmin’s mother Tamara, then a waitress, had a fling with the monarch back in 1991, while on holiday (pictured together in the same year)
In his conversations with the police, as per Le Monde, Palmero claimed that himself and Albert’s childhood friend and lawyer Thierry Lacoste, who was also dismissed, ‘handled’ matters in regards to Alexandre’s mother Nicole Coste (left), including the birth and recognition of their son (centre)
In a statement to officials, he added that the royal family’s wealth is largely ‘in civil companies that, through chains sometimes involving companies in other countries, ultimately lead to Panamanian companies’.
The ex-employee explained that these companies are allegedly registered in the names of Albert and his siblings – Princesses Caroline and Stephanie.
Dubbing the case ‘Monacogate’, Le Monde also highlighted an audit from firm Alvarez & Marsal – appointed by the palace after Palmero was dismissed which suspected him of using a ‘fake invoicing system’ to manipulate funds ‘detriment of the princely family’.
Palmero allegedly called this ‘colossal nonsense’, adding that Albert had a ‘frequent need for cash’ used to ‘settle various problems, such as buying back compromising photos’.
The outlet also detailed Palmero’s denial at creating ‘slush funds’, which he was by Zeghdar accused of using to ‘pay informants and invoices from intelligence agencies’.
MailOnline reached out to representatives of the Monaco Royal Family for comment last week when the story was initially published, but did not respond.
Charlene and Albert reportedly did not have the easiest start to married life after a Parisian news magazine claimed Charlene had been stopped at Nice airport clutching a one-way ticket to South Africa the week before her wedding day after allegedly learning a ‘distressing’ revelation about her future husband’s private life.
Charlene sparked rumours when she was seen crying on her wedding day. She later said: ‘There were all the mixed emotions because of the rumours and obviously the tension built up and I burst into tears’
Princess Charlene was seen shedding a tear on her wedding day to Prince Albert in 2011
A senior Monaco detective told MailOnline at the time: ‘Charlene had her passport confiscated so that the Prince’s entourage could persuade her to stay.’
But she denied that the tears at her wedding were of sadness and instead insisted that she was simply emotional because she was overjoyed at the ceremony.
In a rare interview, the South African former swimmer revealed in July 2013 that they were tears of happiness and has described the speculation as ‘categorical lies’.
‘Everything was just so overwhelming and there were all the mixed emotions because of the rumours, and obviously the tension built up and I burst into tears [immediately after the ceremony],’ she said.
Millionaire Palmero, who prefers his privacy and is rarely photographed, has vowed to ‘restore his honour’, his lawyer Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard told The Telegraph in September.
Palmero, who is now said to work as a freelance financial consultant in Monaco, hasn’t heard from Prince Albert since July 2023, according to the publication.
Recalling his ‘very sudden’ dismissal, the former financial advisor’s lawyer said: ‘Palmero loved his job. It was his life, in fact. His life was Monaco; it was the Prince, the Prince’s family, helping and doing everything he could to protect them.
‘It was very sudden. He felt completely depressed… it was incomprehensible,’ she added, before saying that if Palmero didn’t have the support of his family, ‘I think he would not be with us.’
The lawyer added: ‘Three years ago, someone decided to dirty the name of Claude Palmero… At the beginning, the Prince said to Palmero, ‘OK, I want to help you, it’s horrible, they are lying. I know that you are clean.’ And two years later, the Prince says, ‘I am fed up of all these stories, and I want you to go away.’
