The Royalty Nerd

The enigmatic princess of Monaco has a style distinctly her own.

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Princess Charlene is often described as a royal rebel, a princess that doesn’t wear poofy, frilly dresses (which is honestly a very outdated idea of princess life but I digress). She’s only ever worn a tiara once, in a photoshoot no less, and makes waves with every hair cut: she keeps her hair short, sometimes with shaved sides or blunt bangs.

Her relationship with Prince Albert II of Monaco became public in 2006, and so this is where we are starting our evolution, as this is also when she began attending events with him and the family.

2007:

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At the 2007 Red Cross Ball in Monaco, Charlene wore a long, sleeveless white gown with dangly earrings. The statuesque silhouette is one that we will come to see again on Charlene.

2008:

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2008 is where we see some signature Charlene styles come to life. For instance, this black dress gives her that tall, graceful look, but is also a bit daring: the dress is backless.

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Also in 2008, we saw some full glam, in a very classic, old Hollywood style deep red dress. The dress is one shouldered, and if I had beautiful swimmer shoulders like Charlene, I’d be showing them off too!

So we’ve got the foundation for Charlene’s style: sleeveless or shoulder baring, monochrome, and with emphasis on her long and lean figure. Let’s jump ahead a bit, to 2010, when she attended royal events with Prince Albert as his fianceé.

2010:

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In 2010, she attended the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and the now Prince Daniel wearing a style we’ve seen before. A strapless, floor length gown, single colour, with long earrings. With the exception of the shawl and wedding setting, this look wouldn’t be out of place at the Red Cross ball or Rose ball in Monaco.

I’m not trying to repeat myself, but I think it’s clear to see that Charlene has a specific look she gravitates toward. All of these looks are from 2010.

Also in 2010, we saw Charlene in another style we will come to see more often:

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Still with the sleek, svelte frame, but fully covered; long sleeved and high necked but still monochrome.

2011:

2011 was a big year for Charlene. She married Prince Albert in a spectacular wedding celebration, which kickstarted many rumours and stories that she was deeply unhappy and tried to leave Monaco not once, not twice, but three times. That’s not the point of this post though, so let’s get back to the fashion.

We saw more of the same from Charlene this year, with a notable difference. A lot of her outfits were in muted neutrals.

“But Allie,” I hear you say. “You’re only showing formal dresses”

Let’s see some of Charlene’s more informal outfits.

All of these photos are from 2011. You’ll notice that when Charlene goes casual in jeans, she still brings a little Monaco sparkle with her in the form of heels or a statement necklace. What is consistent though, are neutral colour blocks.

Now like I said earlier, 2011 is the year Charlene and Albert married. First, the civil ceremony:

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For the civil ceremony, Charlene went with a baby blue Chanel outfit (perhaps influenced by her sister-in-law Caroline who lives and breathes Chanel?) in a departure from what we might expect from a bride. Her individualistic streak coming through again in her clothing.

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For the religious ceremony, Charlene wore a simply gorgeous Armani gown. It fits the look we’ve seen Charlene become obviously comfortable with: sleek, form fitting, with an emphasis on her wonderful shoulders and tall stature.

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She also eschewed the typical royal bride tradition of a tiara, instead going for a floral hairpiece.

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For the reception, she changed into another Armani creation that still kept in mind her signature silhouette. Even with the frills, the dress gives her a tall pillar look. Her royal guests wore tiaras, but again Charlene stuck to her own ideals; she wore the Baumer aigrette.

Later in 2011, Charlene attended the Red Cross ball for the first time as a Princess of Monaco. She wore potentially my favourite dress I’ve seen on Charlene, a metallic pink Akris gown. Akris is a designer we will see time and time again on Charlene. She also wore a tiara in necklace form; the Ocean tiara that was created in mind of her swimming past.

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I think I’ve made the case for Charlene having a certain style. Let’s take a quick look at times when she bucked the typical “princess” look, and really wow’d me.

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I’m not entirely sure which other royal could pull off this very dramatic look other than Charlene. She wore this Ralph Lauren dress in 2013. It’s a little vampy, a little artsy, all Charlene.

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I mean? This Versace jumpsuit is everything Charlene’s style embodies.

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In 2018, Charlene wore a classic menswear look, complete with suspenders. With a few top buttons undone, we got a peek of a beautiful diamond necklace. Bold, glam, and what we’ve come to expect from Charlene.

As we move into the 2020’s, we started to see less of Charlene. The rumours surrounding her marriage with Albert were swirling and she was dealing with what seems to be a multitude of health issues. For a while there, we didn’t see Charlene for months.

When we did see her, one big change came in her hair.

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Princess Charlene has always kept a short hairstyle. At the very least, if her hair was shoulder brushing, she usually had it slicked back into a chignon. In 2020, we saw her really experiment with her hair by shaving the back and sides. Again, this really contributed to her reputation as a royal rebel. Her hair seems to be big expression of herself, especially in a time when Covid prevented us from going out or even seeing each others faces.

Some have speculated that her relationship with her hair matches the times when Charlene wasn’t doing well mentally or physically. I don’t think any of us have the authority to say things like this definitively about Charlene. It very well may be true, as it is for many people, but it also might be that she wanted to change it up and try something new.

You’ll notice as well that she is wearing a patten here too. It’s not that Charlene never wore patterns in the past, it’s just that for the most part, her patterns in the 2010’s were muted in her outfits, often of the same colours as the rest of the outfit. Here, we see a big, bold print.

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Also in 2020, Charlene rocked some blunt, straight across bangs. A sparkly (Jenny Packham) gown, diamond necklace and a bright red lip? Is this 2020 Charlene or 2015 Charlene?

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In 2022, Charlene attended the Akris show at Paris Fashion Week in a full monochrome look and bleached hair.

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For National Day in 2020, Charlene wore this full length Akris coat with a high necked black top underneath. I want to mention how this is a look we have seen before and will see again. There are moments when she wears long, full coverage outfits. Now to be fair, Monaco’s National Day takes place in November so the weather is likely a factor here.

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We have seen quite a bit of Charlene in 2023. Here, she wore a tidy pantsuit in cream.

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In May 2023, we saw Charlene reach back to a style she used to favour: a jumpsuit with fun details on the sleeve. This was for the pre-coronation celebrations for King Charles III. She stood out (in a good way!) amongst royals in classic cocktail dresses.

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In an Akris dress with a peekaboo rainbow, Charlene debuted another hair change. This time, she went brunette.

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In a return to the Red Cross ball, Charlene wore a single colour, neutral dress, with dangling earrings. A look that has remained consistent throughout the years.

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Just last month, we saw Charlene in a pattern! Along with a maxi skirt. While she may have switched up the prints she wears, we are still seeing the same silhouette Charlene has been keeping for a while now. Long, full coverage.

Some takeaways:

Charlene goes for lean figures, straight lines, bold but few pieces of jewelry, and monochrome looks. If it’s Akris, she’ll be wearing it!

Over the years, Princess Charlene of Monaco has given us some incredible fashion moments and I know we will definitely be getting more. With Charlene, anything is possible.