Charlene Wittstock's Education & Swimming Career

[rosana]

I'm beginning to wonder why some people here are so convinced that Charlene Wittstock does NOT speak French. Perhaps, before this thread continues, we should establish with certainty that she is unable to speak any French and that she has, as yet, made no effort to learn it.

Of course she must learn the native language of her new country, but so far, I'm not seeing any clear evidence on this site that she knows no French.

One of her problems may have been, for some years, a lack of confidence that Albert would ever marry her. Some might claim that learning French would have helped, but I doubt it. Given the Monegasque royals' history, I don't think Albert's decision to marry her had anything to do with what languages she spoke, nor should it have.

And let's remember that for many centuries, princesses married into countries in which they did not know the native tongue. It's actually rather a standard trope of royal history.

By the way: how good is Crown Princess Mary's Danish, and how good is Princess Maxima's Dutch? From what I understand, from Danish and Dutch colleagues, neither lady is really fluent and comfortable in the language of the country into which she has married.

You will never feel completely at ease in a language that is not your native tongue. I am speaking of "make an effort", which is very much appreciated, especially by French people. Maxima is fluent in Dutch, I have seen interviews, but she´s lived in the Netherlands for a decade. When she knew she was going to marry the prince, she went to live in Brussels to make a course and within a year she could communicate, make complete sentences.
CW has made dozens of interviews this year, many good opportunities to show at least an improvement or an "intention". When she was asked last year Est-ce que vous êtes protestante?, she could only bubble: Je suis Cristian. So, am I losing something? Or she´s a little slow? come on, she´s been living in France for several years. Why is it so "disrespectful" and why I´m a hater if I say she could have employed her time much better?

 

[Renata4711]

Anyone who voluntarily puts himself/herself into the public realm, has to be prepared to come under scrutiny from the public.

It is a voluntary loss of privacy.

Any teacher or clergyperson or doctor in one's locality will, to some extent, feel this loss of desirable anonymity.

CW decided of her own free will to lose anonymity, and she has to live with it, probably for the rest of her life.

 

[FanofMonaco]

PA speaks German and Italian but I don't think he has ever done an interview in either one. PC spoke English when testifying for Ernst. Interviewers try to trip you up even in your own language. Even moreso in a foreign language.

 

[Renata4711]

PA was in Italy not so very long ago, and he had to give a speech in Italian, and it was good.

 

[FanofMonaco]

He had total control over giving a speech. Not so during an interview.

 

[Renata4711]

No, it was off the cuff, actually.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Anyone who voluntarily puts himself/herself into the public realm, has to be prepared to come under scrutiny from the public.

It is a voluntary loss of privacy.

Any teacher or clergyperson or doctor in one's locality will, to some extent, feel this loss of desirable anonymity.

CW decided of her own free will to lose anonymity, and she has to live with it, probably for the rest of her life.

Exactly...BINGO!! I feel the same way about Hollywood and reality TV folk who do everything they can to become famous and then whinge and scream about paparrazzi taking their pictures when they don't want to be bothered....hey...you chose to be famous. SUCK IT UP.

It's a little different with Royals...they didn't choose their station in life. But I look at it this way...they have to deal with a lack of privacy as opposed to the problems of the hoi-polloi...which is how to pay one's phone bills and one's children's tuition.

It's just a trade off of one type of incovenience for another.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

PA speaks German and Italian but I don't think he has ever done an interview in either one. PC spoke English when testifying for Ernst. Interviewers try to trip you up even in your own language. Even moreso in a foreign language.

I have seen PC conduct several interviews in English beginning when she was in her late teens...she speaks a flawless, elegant English with a hint of upper class British accent.

PA and his sister Stephanie speak English with a strong American accent.

Whether CW was certain that she was going to marry PA or not is beside the point.

I have a friend who went to Mexico for six months as an exchange student and is now fluent in Spanish...which she speaks with an American accent but who cares?

Another friend lives in San Diego and makes frequent shopping trips to Tijuana with her eight year old..who is now fluent in Spanish after listening to her mom negotiate deals with the locals.

After a continuous five years of living in Monaco, Charlene should have attained some fluency. Period.

Unless she was closeted in her apartment or one of the Prince's homes not bothering to make it a priority by speaking mostly English, which is what I suspect happened.

And part of the blame for this belongs to Albert himself.

 

[Renata4711]

Yes, it's PA's responsibility, but I think he's not very focussed where his fiancée is concerned.

I, for my part, can forgive him for that...

 

[Frelinghighness]

They had a job, or a University degree. CW has done nothing at all. She hasnt finished school, she didn´t even bother to learn a language. And she´s already 32. If that is not laziness...

And these pictures in a swimming suit are just ridiculous.

CW competed in the Olympics! How can you possibly say she has done nothing at all?

 

[rosana]

CW competed in the Olympics! How can you possibly say she has done nothing at all?

How long does a sportsman train? 3, 4 hours a day? How many years ago did she quit swimming? And can you prove she has done all I said she didn´t?
No, she has done absolutely nothing. Only wait.

 

[MRSJ]

How long does a sportsman train? 3, 4 hours a day? How many years ago did she quit swimming?

I have no feeling either way towards Charlene but athletes who compete at Olympic levels train WAY more then 3 or 4 hours a day- they train sometimes 18 hrs a day, 7 days a week 365 days a year. And just bc she stopped swimming does not mean she didn't achieve the goal of being an Olympic swimmer thus like her or not you can't factually say she achieved nothing ....

 

[FanofMonaco]

I think swimmers train about 6 hrs a day in the water plus weight training, special nutrition, etc. It is a full time job. If it were easy we would all be Olympians. There is no way you can be lazy. What a silly statement. She came in 5th place in the Olympics and won a couple national titles in S. Africa. You don't do that by training 1 hr a day.

 

[Victoria's Secret]

I agree with Rosana. She could have done more with her time since she quit her tennis career. Like finishing her high school diploma at least, and spending more time mastering French -- considering the resources she has had to her disposal. But then again, I guess we don't know what her schedule has been like, or the things she's had to learn to fit into your soon-to-be role. And as far as that is concerned I think she is doing a fairly decent job so far...

 

[rosana]

I think swimmers train about 6 hrs a day in the water plus weight training, special nutrition, etc. It is a full time job. If it were easy we would all be Olympians. There is no way you can be lazy. What a silly statement. She came in 5th place in the Olympics and won a couple national titles in S. Africa. You don't do that by training 1 hr a day.

We would all be Olympians? And that is not silly? Aren´t you forgetting that some people are born with some physical capabilities different than others? It is not only necessary to train several hours but also be mentally prepared to reach the goal. As fas as I know she gave up before winning something, probably because she was already a princess to be. And then a long way to the altar, and wait. What´s more, she was not smart enough to demonstrate that she could achieve something different from swimming all this time, like starting a career , learn a language or prepare for her role. I have high expectations on what a Princess of Monaco has to be, probably because I grew up as seeing P. Caroline as a perfect ambassador for her country. CW is far from fulfilling these expectations.

 

[Victoria's Secret]

In all fairness, Rosana, Charlene did have a very successful swimming career, and she obviously had to work very hard for that. She won several national titles in South Africa, and went on reach a fifth place in an Olympic swimming event. She hasn't faired all that badly for her required role as princess either. I adore PC too, but I'm not blind to her imperfections and mistakes -- and certainly don't feel a need to go into her personal history to point that out. A "perfect ambassador"? Certainly not. Nobody is perfect. Like the Grace-Charlene comparisons, it's also unfair to compare Charlene and PC.

The least we can do is to happy for PA and Charlene in the build-up to their big day, to wish them every success for their life together. And let's hope Charlene is not oblivious to the areas we agree she requires improvement on.

 

[FanofMonaco]

Charlene stopped swimming in 2007 due to injury. Even if you are born with physical talent you still have to work your tail off. There are many others born with that same talent who want to take your place. Even Michael Phelps doesn't win every race and he works the same long hours and is said to have the perfect body for swimming. You are obviously not an athlete and have no idea of what is involved. I swam as a kid 3 hrs a day and it is physically exhausting. I was just a regular swimmer and nowhere near Charlene's level.

 

[blauerengel]

Just to add something new to this discussion-there are several highly succesful people who never finished high school:Abraham Lincoln,Simon Cowell,Richard Branson,Niki Lauda,Romy Schneider,George Bernard Shaw,George Eastman (Creator of the Kodak Camera Company),Quentin Tarantino,Peter Jackson,Lily Allen and a lot of other good actresses/actors and people in showbusiness!
This means that you don´t necessarily need to be dumb or not ambitious or that you have chosen the "easy way"-because I think it is much,much more difficult to make it without a proper educational background-because everybody thinks like most of you do-that they are just silly,lazy und not disciplined!
Oh, and i forgot one important person:Lady Diana, I think she didn´t get any higher education... that´s probably one of the many reasons why her marriage broke up-because Prince Charles is more intellectual and had so much more exprerience as he had seen a lot of the world and (I know I´m getting off topic!) but I just wanted to remind you that formal education is not everything!
Nowadays you can learn a lot out of books,do internet-based courses,watch good documentaries etc.There are also a lot of free university learning materials available online and in every civilised,modern city you will find a library where you can deepen your knowledge (or learn languages with CD´s;-)
And besides that - when Grace Kelly came to Monaco she didn´t speak proper French either,but I hope that Charlene will learn it well (maybe she´s just too shy/nervous when there are journalists around?)

 

[Renata4711]

blauerengel - thanks for an excellent post.

Just a few points ... Grace didn't have time to learn any French because her prince did not give her the time to do so.

Charlene, on the other hand, had been installed in Monaco by Albert, with her own flat, for five years. She had more than ample time to learn some basic French.

 

[MRSJ]

Just to add something new to this discussion-there are several highly succesful people who never finished high school:Abraham Lincoln,Simon Cowell,Richard Branson,Niki Lauda,Romy Schneider,George Bernard Shaw,George Eastman (Creator of the Kodak Camera Company),Quentin Tarantino,Peter Jackson,Lily Allen and a lot of other good actresses/actors and people in showbusiness!

And Bill Gates never finished college- he seems pretty successful ......

 

[Fürstin Taxis]

I think Charlene doesn´t care for her education. That´s my impression and we saw in her interviews that she isn´t the brightest. Sorry to say this. She is maybe a good swimmer, but all the years of doing nothing isn´t impressive.

 

[madrid]

What was Charlene 's job after the Olympic. Did she get money for swimming?

 

[Renata4711]

As far as I know, she's been doing a bit of modelling.

Instead, she could have applied herself to learning French.

 

[SandwichSheik]

A bit if inside information on Charlene's education; if she left high school at 17 in South Africa, it means she failed out of school. At 17, unless she was behind a couple of years, she would've been in her last year of high school. All she had to do was stick around for a while and take her matric exams. Very few white South Africans leave school without a high school diploma. I know 2 people, a friend's brother who has some issues and he became a log splitter. Another girl in my highschool class was the only person to fail in 3 years but she was a mess and became pregnant soon after.

Charlene's only options after failing high school was to become an excellent swimmer, get out of South Africa, make it big abroad and earn endorsements or find a man to take care of her. I know people like to point to her place on the Olympic team but that doesn't mean a great deal. Charlene was part of a relay team and not a great one at that. Did she even qualify for any individual events? As for being a national champion, I competed nationally in track and field during high school and I'm far from talented. My b-i-l was a South African national high jumper and he even got a scholarship from the University of Pretoria where Charlene trained and it went nowhere. It's only in recent years that South African atheletes(unless you're a top golfer) started making decent money. Back in the day even the top rugby and cricket players who played for South Africa had other jobs. To quit high school to go swim for a club in South Africa, it says a lot about your mental acumen. I don't know how Charlene was making money. She's not part of the South African swimming 'royalty' like Penny Heyns or Sarah Poewe, olympic medal winners. She's not a well know South African model either. Her parents aren't rolling in the money. She wasn't a good enough swimmer to have sponsorhips so it is kind of puzzling.

As for speaking Afrikaans and English, that doesn't make you a genius. Everybody in South Africa speaks more than one language especially white South Africans. You learn both languages in school. Just to watch tv you had to speak 2 languages because on night shows would be in English, the next night at prime time they would be in Afrikaans. I grew up speaking Afrikaans but my cousins are English speaking. I also speak some French just from living in Belgium for a while. My job was in English and almost everybody I knew spoke English and chose to speak English with me to practise. I still managed to pick up enough French to communicate with people around me, shop and just live. The fact that Charlene can't give a simple interview in French or even tries to say a few lines and her crazy comments like 'as a princess I want to bring Starbucks and Mahnolo Blanik to Monaco', I'm sorry but the woman is vapid mess. Comparing her to Diana, Diana at least tried to speak other languages. She gave a short speach in Welsh after her marriage. She spoke some Italian on her tour to Italy. I'm pretty sure she did the same in French. So what if you're not fluent, Diana at least tried and put the effort in and she lived in an English speaking country. Comparing the two is useless.

I'm probably going to be labled as a hater but honestly while I'm interested in the royal soap opera in Monaco, to me there is nothing admirable about Charlene or her husband.

 

[Renata4711]

Personally, I would not label you a "hater", rather someone who is critical of certain people in the "limelight".

I also make critical remarks in the threads, or ask questions (real ones or rhetorical ones.

And, as to the royal soap opera ...... well, some of us wouldn't mind being in it - but probably only for a day, if at all

You obviously have some knowledge about South Africa, its school system etc., and I'm sure people would like to hear about it.

 

[SandwichSheik]

I can answer any questions you guys have on the school system or just general question on South Africa. I was born and raised there. I'm a couple of years older than Charlene but we share some similarities. I've been to Benoni and competed there in track and field. Benoni is well let's just say if you're familiar with Essex girl jokes, in South Africa they are interchangable with Benoni girls. Benoni gets picked on a lot in SA.

 

[FanofMonaco]

Sheik I think you're full of baloney. I graduated from high school at age 17 and didn't skip any classes. It just depends on what time of year you are born. I doubt you were in any US national tournaments or you would be very proud of it. There are 300 million people in the US. I think Charlene dropped out of highschool to pursue her swimming career. To be at the international level you have to swim at least 6 hrs a day plus lift weights etc. It's a full-time job in itself. Charlene's relay team came in 5th in the Olympics, an excellent finish. She had to be good or she would have dragged the rest of the team down. You don't seem to know much about sports.

 

[Renata4711]

Okay, here's a question - did you ever meet Charlene, and, if so, how did she strike you ?

 

[SandwichSheik]

Sheik I think you're full of baloney. I graduated from high school at age 17 and didn't skip any classes. It just depends on what time of year you are born. I doubt you were in any US national tournaments or you would be very proud of it. There are 300 million people in the US. I think Charlene dropped out of highschool to pursue her swimming career. To be at the international level you have to swim at least 6 hrs a day plus lift weights etc. It's a full-time job in itself. Charlene's relay team came in 5th in the Olympics, an excellent finish. She had to be good or she would have dragged the rest of the team down. You don't seem to know much about sports.

Uh FanofMonaco, I think you need to do a bit better job of reading people's posts.

I've stated a couple of times now that I'm South African and so is Charlene. Our experiences and the level of financial backing for athletes in South Africa is nowhere near the same as in the US. A fith place finish in the Olympics is a great achievement but it doesn't bring you fame and riches. Even in South Africa a country far far smaller than the US we have Olympic gold medal athletes. There's not much glory for a 5th placement and no money either.

 

[SandwichSheik]

Okay, here's a question - did you ever meet Charlene, and, if so, how did she strike you ?

Never met her and honestly when I lived in South Africa she wasn't known at all. She became famous after she started dating Prince Albert. In South Africa people like to latch on any South African that does anything that garners international attention. However in my circle she's not very admired because she's not seen as very bright and there are some who wonder how she was able to afford her lifestyle. I don't want to get into trouble by coming out and saying it but I think it's pretty obvious what people are refering too when they point out that an attractive woman with no marketable skills who doesn't speak the language is able to do well in a foreign country even when not dating a prince.