Charlotte Casiraghi Current Events Part 32: Dec.2008 - July 2009

[Doncella]

Hi People!!!

Happy New Year!!...There are some pics in isifa of Char...Can somebody post it, PLEASE!!! Thanks a lot in advance!...

[iceflower]

The pics you may mean, Doncella, the ones that appear first when
you search for her name today, are not new, they show Charlotte
at the opening of the exhibition "Pierre Bonnard" in Paris in February
2006

[CasiraghiTrio]

Well, with Charlotte it seems like ....... she is at an experimental stage in her life, the early 20s, a very exciting time of life, a French girl on the London party scene, what do you expect? 22,23 years old

[Maricar]

Can anyone tell me what Charlotte is doing these days? university? post-graduate work?

[oxygen]

^^ Attending art galleries.

[Empress Merel]

I think of all the royals over the world she is by far the most beautiful one of them but is it just me but she changed a bit negatively? Maybe because she dresses in a lot in dark colours from what I have seen from her but there's something a bit depressing about her.

[Moonmaiden23]

Originally Posted by Empress Merel

I think of all the royals over the world she is by far the most beautiful one of them but is it just me but she changed a bit negatively? Maybe because she dresses in a lot in dark colours from what I have seen from her but there's something a bit depressing about her.

I thought it was just me who felt that way. I agree about her beauty, I think it's astonishing. She is more beautiful than even her mother Princess Caroline was at the same age, IMO.

BUT...Caroline had a certain "spirit" about her that Charlotte seems to be lacking....I like to think it's because we knew more about Caroline back then, her passions, her interests, her intellect. Charlotte is probably much shyer and more private, more mysterious.

Still, there seems to be a strange, dead energy around that young woman that I can't quite put my finger on, especially since she has moved to London. Hopefully she has a spark that just doesn't translate well on camera....

[hibou]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaDreamin

I thought it was just me who felt that way. I agree about her beauty, I think it's astonishing. She is more beautiful than even her mother Princess Caroline was at the same age, IMO.

BUT...Caroline had a certain "spirit" about her that Charlotte seems to be lacking....I like to think it's because we knew more about Caroline back then, her passions, her interests, her intellect. Charlotte is probably much shyer and more private, more mysterious.

Still, there seems to be a strange, dead energy around that young woman that I can't quite put my finger on, especially since she has moved to London. Hopefully she has a spark that just doesn't translate well on camera....

Yes she is beautiful and I agree also about the dead energy but then I thought that was because of the new boyfriend. I thought she was more alive when she dated Felix.

[Empress Merel]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaDreamin

I thought it was just me who felt that way. I agree about her beauty, I think it's astonishing. She is more beautiful than even her mother Princess Caroline was at the same age, IMO.

BUT...Caroline had a certain "spirit" about her that Charlotte seems to be lacking....I like to think it's because we knew more about Caroline back then, her passions, her interests, her intellect. Charlotte is probably much shyer and more private, more mysterious.

Still, there seems to be a strange, dead energy around that young woman that I can't quite put my finger on, especially since she has moved to London. Hopefully she has a spark that just doesn't translate well on camera....

I'm glad i'm not the only one with that opinion. I was doubting if I would even post the suggestion because I thought it looked a bit silly.
I think her beauty is something that you can't see in the royals of this generation but when I see photo's from her when se was with Felix she looked more lively, enjoying life more and just having fun but now she is dating Alex and I just can't see that. I can't really put my finger on it to be honest.

[iloveroyals]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaDreamin

I thought it was just me who felt that way. I agree about her beauty, I think it's astonishing. She is more beautiful than even her mother Princess Caroline was at the same age, IMO.

BUT...Caroline had a certain "spirit" about her that Charlotte seems to be lacking....I like to think it's because we knew more about Caroline back then, her passions, her interests, her intellect. Charlotte is probably much shyer and more private, more mysterious.

Still, there seems to be a strange, dead energy around that young woman that I can't quite put my finger on, especially since she has moved to London. Hopefully she has a spark that just doesn't translate well on camera....

What a wonderful expression, "dead energy" ! If I can put in my two cents' worth, we may agree or disagree about who is the fairest of them all, since beauty is all in the eyes of the beholder. I kind of lean toward Caroline being more beautiful, partly because Charlotte can often look "like the girl next door" (yes, there are a lot of beautiful girls out there), as she can "femme fatale". Caroline never looked like "the girl next door" and never really went for a femme fatale look except for photoshoots. Charlotte is definitely more mysterious and hard to pin down.

I'll venture some explanations as to why Caroline showed more "spirit".
1. I think that being raised as the eldest child in a princely family and carrying and understanding the title of princess from birth must have added to a personality that was already and always (from the biographies and so on) a domineering one. She had "attitude" and showed it. It seems that Charlotte always had a more delicate personality for lack of a better word.
2. Her build is different from Charlotte's build, broader, taller. I think that makes a difference in how others perceive you and in turn how you perceive yourself. She has always accentuated that advantage by wearing very high heels from early adolescence on, carrying herself with her shoulders down and pushed back and tilting her head up. Her demeanor is imposing, and add to that her sparkling smile and habit of laughing her heart out when something amuses her, and it gives her that "spirit" lacking in Charlotte, whose often sulky look, unfortunate habit of standing and walking with shoulders hunched over (a habit she seems to have worked on repairing, thank goodness), and, as someone pointed out, not knowing how to walk in high heels, all give her an awkward look. Her heels are usually too high for her figure anyway, they call attention to themselves too much, and it doesn't have the same effect as on Caroline, whose high heels were better proportioned with her figure or outfit and just enhanced her heigth unobstrusively. Caroline had a lot of presence, with a body language which, even on photographs, showed a "need to move". Having been privileged to see her from up close (with press credentials) at the Jubilee picnic in 1974 with her whole family, when she was 17, she had a way of moving that called irresistible attention on to her, without having to put on a "look at me" manner. She seemed to take after Prince Rainier that way, very at ease, whereas Princess Grace looked stiff and wooden and poor Stephanie looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole. Caroline would have been great at "working the crowds" as they say. Her father, in spite of being said to be shy, could obviously conquer that shyness and seemed very jolly and comfortable. I don't think Princess Grace liked crowds. Also, Caroline never shied at the camera, looking straight at the lens with a combination of simplicity and haughtiness.
3. When Caroline was young, her mother looked already quite middle-aged and started looking frumpy and dowdy compared to her lovely daughter who enjoyed being experimental in her clothing. Caroline, until recently, shared the limelight with her daughter in terms of style, youthful appearance, and had not lost that characteristic ebullience and exuberance, even making her daughter sometimes look a bit dull by comparison. Princess Grace was more low-key, at least in public, so from the age of 15 or 16, Caroline got center-stage attention. Caroline often accompanied her mother with little Stephanie in tow (as for Stephanie's first day of school) and somehow, it looked different from when Charlotte and Alexandra and Caroline are together. Charlotte is often more affectionate in public with Alexandra than Caroline ever was with Stephanie (in public), acting more like a benevolent and a little bored second mum than the big sister. (except for posed pictures as in their skiing vacations).
4. Caroline was brought up with duties and public appearances associated with her rank and manifested leadership qualities from early on, whether carrying her own when meeting important people in gala gowns (such as Prince Charles at 19 or so) or leading Red Cross groups of youth through Monaco in her shorts for fund-raising occasions and so on. Being given state enhancing responsibilities from an early age, she was able to strengthen and hone qualities that were in her from the beginning. Remember that even Princess Diana did not really come into her own until she was comfortable in her role as a princess with the attending responsibilities. Being raised as a princess with the entailing "noblesse oblige" behavior may make a difference.

[moby]

^ Agree.

Mother and daughter have a world of difference when it came to their experience growing up. Also I think Charlotte took after her father in personality.

[gemini85]

I'm agree with you moby .There is a world of differences between them probably because she always had more freedom than her mother, in fact I think that Charlotte is just doing what she likes for the moment.

[lea]

Originally Posted by moby

^ Agree.

Mother and daughter have a world of difference when it came to their experience growing up. Also I think Charlotte took after her father in personality.

You make two very good points here. Stefano seemed like a very private person and so does Charlotte. Perhaps Caroline is as well but she wasn't allowed to be a private person and developed her personality in part because of those circumstances. Charlotte was brought up to believe she had a right to be a private person and may feel no need to share herself in any way.

[Horseygal]

I agree - Charlotte and her brothers, while they fulfill certain obligations, none of them feel pushed or obligated to live a public life, or in any deliberate was publicize that they are of royalty.

[Pixilated]

Originally Posted by iloveroyals

What a wonderful expression, "dead energy" ! If I can put in my two cents' worth, we may agree or disagree about who is the fairest of them all, since beauty is all in the eyes of the beholder. I kind of lean toward Caroline being more beautiful, partly because Charlotte can often look "like the girl next door" (yes, there are a lot of beautiful girls out there), as she can "femme fatale". Caroline never looked like "the girl next door" and never really went for a femme fatale look except for photoshoots. Charlotte is definitely more mysterious and hard to pin down.

I'll venture some explanations as to why Caroline showed more "spirit".
1. I think that being raised as the eldest child in a princely family and carrying and understanding the title of princess from birth must have added to a personality that was already and always (from the biographies and so on) a domineering one. She had "attitude" and showed it. It seems that Charlotte always had a more delicate personality for lack of a better word.
2. Her build is different from Charlotte's build, broader, taller. I think that makes a difference in how others perceive you and in turn how you perceive yourself. She has always accentuated that advantage by wearing very high heels from early adolescence on, carrying herself with her shoulders down and pushed back and tilting her head up. Her demeanor is imposing, and add to that her sparkling smile and habit of laughing her heart out when something amuses her, and it gives her that "spirit" lacking in Charlotte, whose often sulky look, unfortunate habit of standing and walking with shoulders hunched over (a habit she seems to have worked on repairing, thank goodness), and, as someone pointed out, not knowing how to walk in high heels, all give her an awkward look. Her heels are usually too high for her figure anyway, they call attention to themselves too much, and it doesn't have the same effect as on Caroline, whose high heels were better proportioned with her figure or outfit and just enhanced her heigth unobstrusively. Caroline had a lot of presence, with a body language which, even on photographs, showed a "need to move". Having been privileged to see her from up close (with press credentials) at the Jubilee picnic in 1974 with her whole family, when she was 17, she had a way of moving that called irresistible attention on to her, without having to put on a "look at me" manner. She seemed to take after Prince Rainier that way, very at ease, whereas Princess Grace looked stiff and wooden and poor Stephanie looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole. Caroline would have been great at "working the crowds" as they say. Her father, in spite of being said to be shy, could obviously conquer that shyness and seemed very jolly and comfortable. I don't think Princess Grace liked crowds. Also, Caroline never shied at the camera, looking straight at the lens with a combination of simplicity and haughtiness.
3. When Caroline was young, her mother looked already quite middle-aged and started looking frumpy and dowdy compared to her lovely daughter who enjoyed being experimental in her clothing. Caroline, until recently, shared the limelight with her daughter in terms of style, youthful appearance, and had not lost that characteristic ebullience and exuberance, even making her daughter sometimes look a bit dull by comparison. Princess Grace was more low-key, at least in public, so from the age of 15 or 16, Caroline got center-stage attention. Caroline often accompanied her mother with little Stephanie in tow (as for Stephanie's first day of school) and somehow, it looked different from when Charlotte and Alexandra and Caroline are together. Charlotte is often more affectionate in public with Alexandra than Caroline ever was with Stephanie (in public), acting more like a benevolent and a little bored second mum than the big sister. (except for posed pictures as in their skiing vacations).
4. Caroline was brought up with duties and public appearances associated with her rank and manifested leadership qualities from early on, whether carrying her own when meeting important people in gala gowns (such as Prince Charles at 19 or so) or leading Red Cross groups of youth through Monaco in her shorts for fund-raising occasions and so on. Being given state enhancing responsibilities from an early age, she was able to strengthen and hone qualities that were in her from the beginning. Remember that even Princess Diana did not really come into her own until she was comfortable in her role as a princess with the attending responsibilities. Being raised as a princess with the entailing "noblesse oblige" behavior may make a difference.

Wow,that is QUITE a post and so well written! Bravo!
Charlotte certainly has very few "duties",and is seen as a normal(well almost) person so she is very informal.I loved her style in 2003 so much.She is just entrancing...

[iloveroyals]

Originally Posted by Pixilated

Wow,that is QUITE a post and so well written! Bravo!
Charlotte certainly has very few "duties",and is seen as a normal(well almost) person so she is very informal.I loved her style in 2003 so much.She is just entrancing...

Thanks, Pixilated. There is so much to say when it comes to comparing Charlotte with Caroline. I tend to agree with moby, that in the end, it is a question of personality and that Charlotte may just be taking after her father's personality. You may give a child all the opportunities in the world in encouraging leadership and charisma, if the child (and later, young woman) has a private personality, it's not going to change things. (Not that there is anything wrong with having a private personality). I was thinking about how Princess Grace insisted on exposing Caroline to all kinds of people and experiences, from politicians, to Hollywood personalities, to underprivileged youth, the yearly summer visits to her relatives and summer camps in America, the 2 years of schooling in England between the ages of 14 and 16, getting her high school degree there before achieving the equivalent French degree (baccalaureat) in Paris, her intensive work with youth in distress, her close ties with her church... We never saw any of that with Charlotte, but would it have made any difference ?

It may be that Charlotte may have seemed more alive with Felix, but certainly never to the extent that Caroline always seemed alive. I think it is also that Caroline dated (and married) a man who was much older than herself, a man about-the-world with as strong a personality as his wife-to-be, who could never have been seen or called "Mr. Caroline". They were the couple of the moment, the perfect couple for the right time, as dashing and energetic one as the other, both of them equally well-dressed (Junot was named best dressed man of the year by Vogue some time in the seventies: can you imagine Alex ever being named best-dressed man of the year ? I think well-dressed here also has the connotation of behaving like an adult), and that's what made them so fascinating for the press, and inspiring for the public, in an era of transition. They were always photographed "doing something", jogging, playing tennis, Caroline watching Philippe play football, attending parties and weddings of the best-known and richest people in the world, while Caroline continued her studies (photographed studying, going to class), had already started appearing and making speeches at UNESCO conferences, and had launched into a writing career, writing articles for magazines. You could feel the vibrations emanating from the two of them, reverberating onto the public. Two very strong personalities bound to clash with each other. But the excitement of the press was that Junot had tamed the untamable Caroline while channeling her energies in a positive, constructive and productive way. I would say that one of the major differences is that Caroline was surrounded by adults, who propelled her into a world of adulthood, whereas Charlotte is surrounded by her peers, who, even if they are slightly older, continue to live the lives of belated, rather spoiled adolescents, who look limp in comparison to Caroline's group.

The dead energy California Dreaming speaks about is also wasted energy. Here, it is not a question of personalities, but of "what are they doing with all their talent" ? It is all very well that Charlotte does not have the responsibilities of a public person, but the endless stream of photographs of her going from beach to beach and party to party (and "black suits her so well because it shows off what an intellectual and artistic person she is"), with one article so far under her belt (as far as I know), is not worthy of the potential we know is there.

[moby]

Yet another well articulated post, iloveroyals.

I certainly agree about the "untapped potential" (like an oilfield, lol) that these kids possess. It's unfortunate because all the resources in the world are at their disposal yet they seem to choose not to take advantage.

Anyway, I find it interesting that Caroline raised Charlotte in a manner that's different from the way Ps Grace raised her. I think that says a lot about how she would have wanted her life to be like, were she given the choice.

[iloveroyals]

Originally Posted by moby

Yet another well articulated post, iloveroyals.

I certainly agree about the "untapped potential" (like an oilfield, lol) that these kids possess. It's unfortunate because all the resources in the world are at their disposal yet they seem to choose not to take advantage.

Anyway, I find it interesting that Caroline raised Charlotte in a manner that's different from the way Ps Grace raised her. I think that says a lot about how she would have wanted her life to be like, were she given the choice.

moby, thanks for your response. I both agree and disagree with you. I think you are right when you say that it "says a lot about how she would have wanted her life to be like, were she given the choice". We tend to try to give our children the life we would have liked to have... sometimes erring a little too far in that direction. Times change, fashions change, how do we really know what our children want ? I guess we base it on what we really disliked...But as far as the reason "Caroline raised Charlotte in a manner that's different from the way Princess Grace raised her", I can't read her mind of course, but it's hard to believe she thought all those experiences Princess Grace exposed her to were worthless or useless. Excessive, perhaps. I know I am eternally grateful for all the opportunities my parents gave me, with much smaller means, to travel widely, ensuring that I met people from all walks of life, encouraging initiatives at all levels and leadership skills. I have found it invaluable, why would I want to deprive my children from the same opportunities ? So I think it has more to do with ensuring her children's private life, at the cost, given the fact that anything they do is blown out of proportion by the media, of making them less involved than their potential would allow. It's certainly much more complicated and complex than that, what with their not being in the direct line of succession etc, etc... Two other factors that may come into play are that Charlotte and her siblings did not have a stable father or male figure to enforce or support the mother's way of raising the children in their early formative years, and that nowadays children have much more say in how they want to be raised than in the past. Princess Grace's authoritarian way which was so often blamed for her daughters' rebelliousness is not the current, enlightened way of raising children, so a child personality's is given more free rein, for better or for worse.

[Moonmaiden23]

Originally Posted by iloveroyals

Thanks, Pixilated. There is so much to say when it comes to comparing Charlotte with Caroline. I tend to agree with moby, that in the end, it is a question of personality and that Charlotte may just be taking after her father's personality. You may give a child all the opportunities in the world in encouraging leadership and charisma, if the child (and later, young woman) has a private personality, it's not going to change things. (Not that there is anything wrong with having a private personality). I was thinking about how Princess Grace insisted on exposing Caroline to all kinds of people and experiences, from politicians, to Hollywood personalities, to underprivileged youth, the yearly summer visits to her relatives and summer camps in America, the 2 years of schooling in England between the ages of 14 and 16, getting her high school degree there before achieving the equivalent French degree (baccalaureat) in Paris, her intensive work with youth in distress, her close ties with her church... We never saw any of that with Charlotte, but would it have made any difference ?

It may be that Charlotte may have seemed more alive with Felix, but certainly never to the extent that Caroline always seemed alive. I think it is also that Caroline dated (and married) a man who was much older than herself, a man about-the-world with as strong a personality as his wife-to-be, who could never have been seen or called "Mr. Caroline". They were the couple of the moment, the perfect couple for the right time, as dashing and energetic one as the other, both of them equally well-dressed (Junot was named best dressed man of the year by Vogue some time in the seventies: can you imagine Alex ever being named best-dressed man of the year ? I think well-dressed here also has the connotation of behaving like an adult), and that's what made them so fascinating for the press, and inspiring for the public, in an era of transition. They were always photographed "doing something", jogging, playing tennis, Caroline watching Philippe play football, attending parties and weddings of the best-known and richest people in the world, while Caroline continued her studies (photographed studying, going to class), had already started appearing and making speeches at UNESCO conferences, and had launched into a writing career, writing articles for magazines. You could feel the vibrations emanating from the two of them, reverberating onto the public. Two very strong personalities bound to clash with each other. But the excitement of the press was that Junot had tamed the untamable Caroline while channeling her energies in a positive, constructive and productive way. I would say that one of the major differences is that Caroline was surrounded by adults, who propelled her into a world of adulthood, whereas Charlotte is surrounded by her peers, who, even if they are slightly older, continue to live the lives of belated, rather spoiled adolescents, who look limp in comparison to Caroline's group.

The dead energy California Dreaming speaks about is also wasted energy. Here, it is not a question of personalities, but of "what are they doing with all their talent" ? It is all very well that Charlotte does not have the responsibilities of a public person, but the endless stream of photographs of her going from beach to beach and party to party (and "black suits her so well because it shows off what an intellectual and artistic person she is"), with one article so far under her belt (as far as I know), is not worthy of the potential we know is there.

Oh my. I could NOT agree with you more about the waste of talent. I said something to that effect on another Board and nearly had my head taken off but I think it's a shame. By all accounts she is a dazzling intellect like her mother...she seems to have even abandoned her equestrienne activities very suddenly. Other than an endless stream of parties, fashion shows and beach holidays we never see her apply herself to anything.

One could say that she is under no obligation to since she is not a public person with public duties. But I am old fashioned enough to feel that someone blessed with so many obvious gifts...wealth, beauty, glamour and intellect could and should channel it somewhere to make a real difference.

But she is young and there is still time...

[iloveroyals]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaDreamin

Oh my. I could NOT agree with you more about the waste of talent. I said something to that effect on another Board and nearly had my head taken off but I think it's a shame. By all accounts she is a dazzling intellect like her mother...she seems to have even abandoned her equestrienne activities very suddenly. Other than an endless stream of parties, fashion shows and beach holidays we never see her apply herself to anything.

One could say that she is under no obligation to since she is not a public person with public duties. But I am old fashioned enough to feel that someone blessed with so many obvious gifts...wealth, beauty, glamour and intellect could and should channel it somewhere to make a real difference.

But she is young and there is still time...

Well, it is my experience that you will get your head cut off one way of another, by fans and foes alike, if you don't agree with their all or nothing positions. You try to conduct a well thought-out argument (without aiming for perfection, it's not for publication, for heaven's sake) and someone will snip out the one phrase that ticked them off, even though most of us are well-meaning and even-handed when we write about the Monaco family.

Like you, I regret the days when Charlotte associated with ambitious young women like Valentina Pozzo di Oro (sorry, I forget her correct name) who went on to finish a management degree, if I am not mistaken, when she strived to be an accomplished equestrian, and when her mother's influence was quite apparent, as they so often appeared together with that air of utter complicity, support, and goal-sharing. With her educational background and connections, Charlotte could have achieved the kind of noteworthy results her mother had already achieved at her age. But I am not pessimistic. I realize that as a young adult, she had to get from under her mother's wings and what she is doing may be her own version, though not quite as blatantly defiant, of Caroline's rebellious phase. It may just take her a little longer to be aware of the difference she can make in the world. With all the political upheaval in the U.S, reverberating across the world, the example of Queen Rania, who is so involved, even the fact that Caroline Kennedy had made a bid for the position of New York senator, even though these women are of a different generation, she may be swept into the general excitement of changing things and take pride in the fact that she has been given all the essentials to carry on the torch of the Monaco family. It will be interesting to see what path she chooses to embrace and dedicate herself to.