Charlene and her African Heritage


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Renata4711

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This thread is about Charlene Wittstock's life in Africa, from childhood to today.

All of us are influenced by our birthplace and other places which have been important to us.

Which are the places that influenced Charlene?
 
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Not many of us may remember a state named Rhodesia, or Southern Rhodesia. It is named after Cecil Rhodes.

When I attended the Sixth Form (16 to 18), I had to do a project on Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyassaland.
Over forty years later, I'm finding out info again about these three countries, only now they are called Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia.

Charlene was born in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. It is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, with Harare being the largest city and the capital city.

Bulawayo is a city with a subtropical climate, with no less than 128 primary school and 48 secondary schools.

Here's a link about Bulawayo with info, also Zimbabwean proverbs!!

http://www.bulawayo1872.com/
 
Charlene expresses herself now a lot like a proper European. BUt I hope she still keeps one foot in Africa to may be create a charity for one of the many problems it faces. Does anybody know if Charlene will keep her Afrian Passport and citizenship?
 
Would that be a "Republic of South Africa" passport ?
 
Would that be a "Republic of South Africa" passport ?

Charlene expresses herself now a lot like a proper European. BUt I hope she still keeps one foot in Africa to may be create a charity for one of the many problems it faces. Does anybody know if Charlene will keep her Afrian Passport and citizenship?

Jaya, I agree.I think she may as Grace kept her US citizenship until what? Her 25th wedding anniversary? Perhaps Charlene will do the same and her and PA's children will have dual Moneguse/South African Citizenship growing up the way PA and his sisters supposedly did.
Renata:
I believe so. I think South Africa is a commonwealth of Great Britain/The United Kingdom.....
 
Jaya, I agree.I think she may as Grace kept her US citizenship until what? Her 25th wedding anniversary? Perhaps Charlene will do the same and her and PA's children will have dual Moneguse/South African Citizenship growing up the way PA and his sisters supposedly did.
Renata:
I believe so. I think South Africa is a commonwealth of Great Britain/The United Kingdom.....
Dual nationality

Dual nationality is strictly forbidden under Monégasque law.
Nationality law of Monaco
 
Back to Charlene's African Heritage:

The Wikipedia article on Bulawayo states that most residents of the city can speak at least three languages (including English, Ndebele, Kalanga, Sotho, Tonga, Nambya and Venda)

Bulawayo is twinned with Aberdeen, Scotland !

Apart from Charlene, Chelsy Davy and the writers Doris Lessing and Alexander McCall Smith were born there.
 
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Back to Charlene's African Heritage:

The Wikipedia article on Bulawayo states that most residents of the city can speak at least three languages (including English, Ndebele, Kalanga, Sotho, Tonga, Nambya and Venda)

Bulawayo is twinned with Aberdeen, Scotland !

Apart from Charlene, Chelsy Davy, Doris Lessing, and the writer Alexander McCall Smith were born there.

Naturalized American actress Charlize Theron was born in Beoni, South Africa-where Charlene moved when she was 10, and where I believe her parents and brothers are currently located.

 
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Naturalized American actress Charlize Theron was born in Beoni, South Africa-where Charlene moved when she was 10, and where I believe her parents and brothers are currently located.


I'm not sure about her mother or brothers, but her father died when she was 15.
 
Tregoddess, I'm coming to that - I'm trying to keep a chronological order of places connected with Charlene.

At the moment, we're still in Zimbabwe.
Lumutqueen queried the "tough lessons" one might learn in a country like Zimbabwe.

The former Rhodesia regained its independence as Zimbabwe on April 18, 1980.
Before that day, a Civil War was raging in the country/countries in question.

Even now, Zimbabwe is regarded as one of the poorest countries in the world, and white citizens are still having a tough time.

History of Zimbabwe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
Yeah I can understand that but do we know if Charlene was ever involved in incidents during the Civil War?
You say in a country like Zimbabwe, but Charlene grew up in Bulawayo so we should be talking about the lessons she may have learnt where she grew up. You don't know that her family was ever personally affected by the white discremination, her parents are still living there yes? So they seemed to have adjusted.

Bulawayo looks like a wonderful city,
Bulawayo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
The family moved from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe to the Republic of South Africa.

Whichever way you look at it, both these countries have had more than their fair share of violence, unstable governments, and the like.

It may well have been a very different upbringing from, say, in Europe.
 
I'm not sure about her mother or brothers, but her father died when she was 15.

No-Charlene's parents and brothers still live in Benoni, South Africa. And contrary to popular belief, NO, Lynette does not live in Monaco with Charlene and Prince Albert. She is still located in Benoni with her husband and sons.

Yes, Charlize Theron's father died in 1990, and Charlize was a witness to her mother shooting him in self-defense, according to her wikipedia page. Theron was an only child.
 
No-Charlene's parents and brothers still live in Benoni, South Africa. And contrary to popular belief, NO, Lynette does not live in Monaco with Charlene and Prince Albert. She is still located in Benoni with her husband and sons.

Yes, Charlize Theron's father died in 1990, and Charlize was a witness to her mother shooting him in self-defense, according to her wikipedia page. Theron was an only child.

My post was to do with Charlize, because I didn't see your addition about Charlene in the original post.
 
Charlene grew up on what we would consider "the wrong side of the tracks"--partly why her parents are rarely included, trips with pr albert to SAfrica with her are rare & one can read their responses to her engagement for the quality of their relationship.
 
Angeline, that may be just a little unfair.

I think it's possible that the Wittstocks may be a little bemused by the change in their daughter's fortunes - however one would describe that!

I'm sure it must be very strange for Granny Wittstock to understand what's happening. The sheer distance between a little place in Europe and South Africa must be almost incomprehensible.

Sure, the two brothers may find it much easier.
 
Angeline, that may be just a little unfair.

I think it's possible that the Wittstocks may be a little bemused by the change in their daughter's fortunes - however one would describe that!

I'm sure it must be very strange for Granny Wittstock to understand what's happening. The sheer distance between a little place in Europe and South Africa must be almost incomprehensible.

Sure, the two brothers may find it much easier.
Renata, I agree with you entirely. It has to be weird for all of them-Mike, Lynette, Garreth and Sean to see her like this...
but in a sense, even weirder for her to go from being this common girl one day, to the future princess of Monaco the next
 
How true .... especially since she was not brought up to be a princess.
I wonder whether her African heritage will help her a little.

Africa is in the news very much at present, and for all the wrong reasons, what with the Mediterranean countries, or Côte d'Ivoire.

I'm wondering whether she still thinks of Africa ....
 
Charlene has been sent a letter from a school in Benoni asking her for her help in refurbishing the swimming pool.

Africa will probably never be very far from her thoughts.
 
I think with her new found status, Charlene will attempt to use her celebrity for good. Africa may be one of her main priorities regarding charitable work, Her heritage gives her a unique view few royals have.

I just noticed how much she looks like Charlize Theron.
 
Yes, I wasn't going to type that, just in case... :)

She's already shown her commitment to African sport through the Midmare event.

I wonder whether there are any other occasions where she has made a point of doing something good for African sport?
 
People need to realize that you can't use African to describe her heritage.
Even though Benoni is a craphole, she still had a better life than 90% of other Africans as a white South African. Her life experiences are completely different than most Africans.

As a South African she also grew up watching American soaps and television, eating hamburgers and KFC. Her family probably had a maid and gardener.

Somebody like Chelsea Davy, white with a lot of money, they live in a complete bubble. They might be born on the African continent but their lives are nothing like the Africans who don't have the resources they have.

The nationality law of SA states that a person holding dual citizenship has to use their South African passport to enter and leave the country. South Africans need visas to travel making the South African passport completely useless. Much easier for her to stick to her new nationality.
 
Thanks for the interesting information, SandwichSheik.

So, do you think there should not be a thread named "Charlene and her African heritage" ?
 
Well Africa is made up of many different ethnicities, and many different socio economic groups, from the north to the south of Africa. I see no reason why a white person born and raised in southern Africa should not consider themselves or be referred to as African. Being white in South Africa may have its advantages but they are still Africans and citizens of South Africa and presumably proud of their nation. Being a white South African does not mean they are unaware of the many problems facing the continent or RSA, as the recent attack on Charlene's father would prove.
 
Well Africa is made up of many different ethnicities, and many different socio economic groups, from the north to the south of Africa. I see no reason why a white person born and raised in southern Africa should not consider themselves or be referred to as African. Being white in South Africa may have its advantages but they are still Africans and citizens of South Africa and presumably proud of their nation. Being a white South African does not mean they are unaware of the many problems facing the continent or RSA, as the recent attack on Charlene's father would prove.

You are right on the mark. She is African, as her birth shows. Those who want to, narrowly, define people, because of race have no concept of place of birth. I am an American and am white, but Americans come in all colors, we are all the same.
 
Countess, I don't find "race" a useful indicator about human beings.

The same goes for "census" - although the recent British Census allowed many different descriptions....

I'm a Western European, and multilingual. For me, language is far, far more interesting than skin colour.

So where does this leave Charlene and other sports personalities?
Are they able to transcend man-made boundaries easier than people who don't get around much?
 
Well I consider myself as European. British born but of Russian, German, Scots and English ancestry. Educated in England, Switzerland, France and USA. My career has me dividing my time between the UK and Canada with business trips to many other nations on a frequent basis. This, I like to think, gives me a broad view of the world and other people. Oddly enough though I sometimes feel more British/European when I am away than I necessarily feel when I am at home but that might just be because others point out that I am not Canadian or American. I do feel that people can transcend national boundaries and that the more you see of the world the less parochial your views become as you realize that "they" are just like "you".
 
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Well, that means that people like you and I can be comfortable in many places and situations - just like PA and CW. The only difference is that these two (and the rest of the Grimaldi) probably have more opportunities for travel and the enjoyment of culture.
 
she born in africa but she is blond blue eyes, is she dutch decent? it was a big dutch inmigration thre i belive?
 
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