No one thinks twice about a husband paying the bills for his wife. Even in the case of something more casual anyone would be thought a jerk if he did not pick up the check for his girlfriend. I would like to see Albert properly married but I also do not want to see any more Grimaldi divorces. I would rather he go on as he is than to get married and then divorce or marry someone else and be seeing Charlene on the side all this time. Mistress seems a very ugly word. Both are unmarried, no one is cheating on anyone else and if they prefer to keep things casual and both are unattached; what is so scandalous about that?
I also certainly do not think the Grimaldis are any worse than anyone else. They have had failed marriages -so have numerous other royals. There have been affairs -they are not the only ones. Albert has illegitimate children. Doesn't the King of Belgium? It is also true that most of the other crowned heads of Europe are much older than Albert and come from a different time with different values. I have my doubts about Charlene but I think it very unfair to call her character into question just because her boyfriend is paying her way. Would many not think Albert a snob if he only dated women who were super-rich? It is his money to spend and his life to live. Do I approve of it all? Is my approval sought or required? Is anyone else's? I don't think so.