Charlene, Princess of Monaco

The Wittstock family is of German origin; Wittstock's great-great-grandparents Martin Gottlieb Wittstock (1840–1915) and his wife Johanne Luise Wittstock (née Schönknecht; 1850–1932) emigrated to South Africa from the Pomeranian village of Zerrenthin in northern Germany in 1861 to escape hardship.

In South Africa, the Wittstocks worked as handyworkers and unsuccessfully prospected for diamonds.

Charlene (Charlène ; born Charlene Lynette Wittstock, 25 January 1978) is Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Albert II.

Before her marriage, Charlene was an Olympic swimmer representing South Africa.

Charlene was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).

Charlene Lynette Wittstock was born on 25 January 1978 at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, to Michael Kenneth Wittstock (b. 1946), a sales manager, and Lynette, née Humberstone (b. 1959), a former competitive diver and swimming coach.

She attended Tom Newby Primary school in Benoni, near Johannesburg, from 1988 to 1991.

She relocated to South Africa in 1989.

The family relocated to South Africa in 1989, when Wittstock was 12 years old.

She began her swimming career in 1996 (winning the South African Championship) and represented South Africa at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, with her team finishing fifth in the 4 × 100-metre medley relay.

She represented South Africa at the 1998 and 2002 Commonwealth Games, winning a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay in the latter competition.

Wittstock won three gold medals and a silver medal at the 1999 All-Africa Games in Johannesburg.

Charlene met Prince Albert at the Mare Nostrum swimming competition in Monte Carlo, Monaco, in 2000.

She also was a member of the South African women's 4×100 m medley team at the 2000 Summer Olympics, which finished fifth.

Wittstock met Albert II, Prince of Monaco, in 2000 at the Mare Nostrum swimming meet in Monaco.

Wittstock finished sixth at the 2002 FINA Short Course World Championships for the 200 m breaststroke.

Throughout her career, Wittstock gave swimming lessons to underprivileged children.

She left her Durban-based team (the Seagulls) to join the Tuks Swimming Club at the High Performance Centre of the University of Pretoria.

However, she never enrolled in classes.

The Club sponsored her by providing her with free access to their pools, free coaching, accommodation, and gymnasium access.

Wittstock decided to leave Pretoria in January 2005, and returned to Durban; she then went to the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, where she joined a former University of Pretoria swimming coach, Branislav Ivkovic.

They made their public debut as a couple at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Charlene retired from professional swimming in 2007.

On 13 April 2007, Wittstock regained her title as South Africa's 50-metre women's backstroke champion when she completed the 50 m backstroke final at the Telkom SA National Aquatic Championships in 30:16 seconds, to finish third behind Australia's Sophie Edington and Brazil's Fabíola Molina.

She planned to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in China as her swansong, but did not qualify.

Previously, Wittstock had been out of competitive swimming for 18 months with a shoulder injury.

She accompanied him to the weddings of the Crown Princess of Sweden in 2010 and of the Prince of Wales in 2011.

On 23 June 2010, the palace announced their engagement.

Her engagement ring featured a pear-shaped three-carat diamond at the centre and surrounding diamond brilliants.

The ring was reported to be created by Parisian jeweller Repossi.

Wittstock, who was raised a Protestant, converted to Catholicism, despite it not being a requirement in the Constitution of Monaco.

The future princess was also instructed in French and the Monégasque dialect, and became familiar with European court protocol.

The couple married on 1 July 2011.

The wedding was originally scheduled for 8 and 9 July 2011, but was moved forward to prevent a conflict with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting in Durban on 5–9 July, which they both attended.

The couple had invited members of the IOC, including President Jacques Rogge, to their wedding.

Charlene founded the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation in 2012 to support her personal humanitarian endeavours.

On 10 December 2014, she gave birth to twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques.

Princess Charlene's charity work primarily revolves around sports, AIDS, and underprivileged children.

In 2014, she was given a certificate that verified her Irish ancestry.

Wittstock has two younger brothers: Gareth, a coffeehouse businessman in Monaco, and Sean, a promotions and events businessman in South Africa.