Princess Charlene.Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images
Monaco’sPrincess Charleneis recovering after surgery in South Africa and has had to make the “difficult” decision not to return to Monaco for her 10th wedding anniversary.
In a statement sent to PEOPLE, the palace has confirmed the princess, 43, underwent surgery this week “to address complications from a previous operation.” (In mid-May, the Princess underwent surgery for a serious ENT infection contracted during a return visit to the nation where she was raised.)
“This year will be the first time that I will not be with my husband on our wedding anniversary in July, which is difficult and saddens me,” she said in the statement.
“However,Albertand I had no choice but to follow the instructions of the medical team, even if it was extremely difficult. He has been the most incredible support to me,” she continued.
Recovery from that procedure has prevented her from traveling. According to the palace, the princess — who underwent the second surgery on Wednesday — will remain in South Africa indefinitely as she still has to undergo additional procedures to undergo.
“My daily conversations with Albert and my children help me keep my spirits up a lot, but I miss their presence very much. I was lucky to have their visit to South Africa, and it was really wonderful to see them. I can’t wait for us to be together,” she added.
Earlier this month, Prince Albert flew with the couple’s two childrenPrince JacquesandPrincess Gabriellato South Africa, participating in awildlife outingand afamily birthday partyalongside his recovering wife.
According to the palace, plans call for Prince Albert and the couple’s twins to travel to South Africa soon.
On Thursday evening, the recuperating royalacknowledged her upcoming anniversarywith an Instagram post, writing to her husband, 63: “Thank you for the blessing of our beautiful children.”
The Princess has been absent from Monaco since early May when she left to engage in activities in support of her South Africa Foundation and the promotion of wildlife protection. Her subsequent health issues were cited when her appearance at the Monaco Grand Prix on May 21 was abruptly canceled.
Dominique Charriau/WireImage
The couple’s 2011 wedding was a royal marriage spectacular, an estimated $70 million, four-day event. But since the emergence of the global COVID-19 pandemic, planned public anniversary celebration were canceled.
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source: people.com
